When Rihanna launched Fenty Beauty in 2017, the Gloss Bomb was the brand’s only lip product. It’s one universal shade, Fenty Glow, quickly became a fan favorite and defined the brand’s playful, inclusive ethos.
Now, Fenty is taking its cult-favorite gloss into a new dimension. On Thursday, the brand launched its first shoppable experience on Roblox, offering beauty fans a chance to buy real-world products without ever leaving the game.
This is part of a bigger e-commerce move by Roblox. The company has launched Commerce APIs, a new feature allowing eligible brands and creators to sell physical products directly within its Roblox experiences via an existing partnership with Shopify.
The third chapter of the Fenty Beauty Experience on Roblox blends gaming and commerce in a way few beauty brands have attempted. U.S.-based players aged 18 and older will be able to purchase physical lip products, including an exclusive-to-Roblox Grape Splash Gloss Bomb, for $22. The limited-edition, holographic purple gloss features a Rhenna head stamped into the cap — a nod to Rihanna’s alter ego and a viral in-game avatar accessory from previous activations.
“We wanted to keep it fun and rooted in community, and to build on what our fans loved most,” said Nanette Wong, vp of global marketing and brand strategy at Fenty Beauty. “They can explore, play, talk to our team and buy if they want to — all from inside the game.”
Fenty isn’t new to Roblox. Its past experiences on the platform focused heavily on co-creation and interaction. In the first chapter, launched in 2023, players designed over 450,000 custom glosses and cast 1.1 million votes to select a winner.
In the second chapter, Fenty brought that fan-designed product to life in-game, offering deeper immersion through new quests and a retail-style reveal moment that mirrored a real-world product launch. Rihanna chose the top design, which was then produced and sold through FentyBeauty.com and Sephora. It sold out in 10 days. That rollout served as a bridge between digital co-creation and IRL beauty commerce, setting the tone for what’s next.
Now, the brand’s third chapter is its most ambitious yet. The entire Fenty Beauty Experience has been overhauled, with a refreshed Gloss Bomb Lab, a first-of-its-kind Roblox store, new digital quests, and influencer-hosted meet-and-greets. The new environment is a visually rich, branded world featuring maze-like labs and fantastical behind-the-scenes “factories” that draw inspiration from the brand’s real product development process.
Fenty Beauty is not the only beauty brand testing e-commerce on Roblox. In July 2024, E.l.f. Cosmetics became the first beauty brand to integrate e-commerce into a Roblox experience, setting the stage for others to follow. Its “e.l.f. UP!” activation allowed users to shop hero products like the Halo Glow Liquid Filter directly through the platform while engaging in quests and beauty-themed mini-games.
As returning Fenty Beauty Experience players may know, Fenty’s marketing team logs in during launch weeks to play alongside users, answer questions and gather real-time feedback. “We don’t just post and hope. We’re in the game with them,” said Wong. “It’s a real dialogue.”
Rather than relying on pre-programmed dialogue or NPCs, Fenty’s approach to Roblox reflects its broader brand voice: confident, accessible and unfiltered. Players meet team members, access exclusive content and participate in community challenges that mirror the energy of TikTok trends and Rihanna’s own irreverent tone.
The digital storefront was designed to feel like an extension of the game, not a detour. Products are shoppable in just a few taps, thanks to a Shopify-powered integration that avoids redirects and checkout forms. Alongside Grape Splash, players can also shop Fenty Beauty’s Gloss Bomb Sticks and Plush Puddin’ lip mask in a Kalahari Melon shade.
“We kept the assortment small because we wanted it to feel intuitive,” said Wong. “[People are] there to play. We didn’t want the shopping experience to interrupt that.”
According to Roblox, beauty brands like Fenty succeed on the platform when they lean into creativity and interactivity. “They’re tapping into what makes our platform unique,” said Stephanie Latham, vp of global partnerships and advertising at Roblox. “From letting users design products to experimenting with selling digital and physical items, brands like Fenty are creating spaces that reflect how Gen Z and Gen Alpha want to engage.”
For Gen Alpha, in particular — a generation that spends more time gaming than watching TV — Roblox has become a new kind of social platform. It’s where friendships are formed, identities are shaped and tastes are explored. A 2024 study by Newzoo, a leading provider of games and esports analytics, found that 94% of Gen Alpha either play or watch gaming content.
Fenty is responding by making its presence in the space both interactive and impactful. Players who complete quests in the Gloss Bomb Lab unlock surprise content, and those who enter the secret room gain early access to unreleased shades — a digital twist on the IRL product drop. The shoppable function is currently limited to U.S. players.
“Some fans just want to scroll through our TikTok,” said Wong. “But others want to be immersed. They want to design gloss, meet our team, unlock products and feel like they’re part of the world. Roblox lets us give them that.”
