This post is a collaboration with Naturelle.fi
I’ve never been a fan of cream eye shadows, and today’s foray should provide an interesting challenge, therefore, as not a single powder product, or even eyeliner, features in it.
American cult brand RMS Beauty finally came to Finland last fall, and its products were recently snapped up by Naturelle. I love all of RMS’ products, but have been just a tiny bit skeptical about their cream shadows, so I figure you might be curious to see how, and what, I did with them.
RMS gets its name from founder Rose-Marie Swift. Swift has worked as a makeup artist in New York for the past twenty years, with clients including celebrities and fashion magazines from Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Marie Claire and Elle, to Milla Jovovich, Demi Moore, and Sofia Coppola.
A few years ago, however, Rose-Marie began experiencing a variety of physical, psychological, and emotional symptoms. After undergoing a number of tests, it was discovered that her blood contained alarming concentrations of heavy metals such as aluminum, barium, cadmium, and lead. Swift was surprised when she was asked if she worked in cosmetics. It took years of hard work before Swift regained her health, and the rest, as they say is history. RMS Beauty was founded in order to help women stay healthy by avoiding the harsh chemicals found in cosmetics. Swift is also the creator of Beauty Truth, a website dedicated to imparting information on toxic chemicals found in cosmetics.
And now, for the products themselves.
All of RMS Beauty’s products are raw, and contain only color pigments and cold-pressed vegetable oils and fats. A few of the colors do contain small amounts of synthetic ingredients to help create a bright and clear shade, but as they are mentioned in the ingredients list, they are easily avoided.
RMS Beauty’s foundation “Un” Cover is one of my absolute favorite makeup products. It is perfect for all skin types and photographs amazingly well, which is why I like to use it when I work with clients, and on photo shoots. My skin began showing great improvement after I began using the foundation two summers ago, and it’s no wonder – without a single filler ingredient, “Un” Cover is in fact a skin care product. In these pictures, I’m wearing shade 22.
“Un” Cover is a favorite among top models and actors across the world; its latest proponent was Elin King, who called it the best foundation she had ever tried.
Before applying Un Cover, I primed my face with Living Luminizer. Worn under a foundation, it “luminizes” the face through the makeup, but it can also be mixed in with the foundation itself, or worn as a normal highlighter. For this look, I chose to highlight my brow bone, the tops of my cheeks, above the middle of my eyebrows, my cupid’s bow, and the bridge of my nose with an Eye Polish eye shadow in the shade Lunar. Lunar contains more light-reflecting pigments than the Luminizer, and the final effect was more dramatic, but not over the top.
The Buriti Bronzer is going into my makeup bag as soon as our side of the globe gets some sun. I like using bronzer to highlight my tan, but the shimmer-free Buriti Bronzer could also be used for contouring or to add color to winter pale skin. Here I used it to contour the cheeks and bring some color to my forehead and temples.
Since RMS’s newly-launched pigmented “Un” Powder loose powder has yet to make it to Scandinavia, I used Juice Beauty’s Blemish Clearing loose powder (the only powder product in the look) instead. The consistency of the sheer “Un” Powder is otherwise perfect, but I’ve been wishing for a slightly pigmented one – the Tinted “Un” Powder might well be my new favorite, if I could just get my hands on it.
The Lip2cheek multipurpose products are great, too. I love cream blushes and matte lips, and lip2cheek combines the two, and comes in a delicious range of colors. Here I am wearing the coral-toned Smile, which happens to be my favorite color in general. These pots are highly pigmented, and can be used to create both light and intense looks – I went lightly on the cheeks, and all-out on the lips. Together with Smile, other favorites are the Parisian red Beloved for the lips, and the pink nude Demure for the cheeks – you know how I love pale pastel blushes. I’m eagerly waiting for Naturelle to extend its collection to include the bright orange Curious – my signature lip color for next summer.
In the photo on the left, I’m wearing a Lip2cheek in the shade Beloved, and Diabolique on the right.
The Lip Shines are closer to lip-glosses without the shimmer, giving a wetter and glossier surface to the lips, which is right up my alley. The shines are gorgeous, too; I was especially taken with Sacred, a bright mix of coral and fuchsia and, if there was any way I could make it work for me, the bright lilac Royal would be my absolute favorite. If you’re into cool tones, consider Royal your new black!
The Defining Mascara is the second best mascara in the world, and could even be the best if not for its lash-straightening quality – I like mine to point heavenward. If you’re not as bothered about curvature, this might be the holy grail of mascaras, and here is why: thanks to the small and precise brush, the color gets applied evenly from base to tip, without a single lash left out. It also doesn’t make your lashes clumpy or stick together, no matter how much product you slather on them. It can be built up to give volume, doesn’t smudge, and also stays put and needs a bit more than your average cleanser (or wind, or blizzard, or rain) to come off.
Lipshine in Sacred on the left; Lip2cheek in Smile on the right.
And now, for the most fascinating part of this post, the Eye Polish shadows. I got all four colors available at Naturelle: Lunar, Magnetic, Karma, and Seduce. Earlier, I’d noted that their strong pigment and shine would make them excellent primers and intensifiers for powder shadows. This time, I wanted to create a look using only the cream shadows themselves. I also skipped the shadow brushes this time, using my fingers from start to finish.
On the left I’m wearing a Lip2cheek in the color Demure; on the right we have a Lip Shine in the color Sublime.
The best way to apply these shadows is by tapping and patting, not stroking or, indeed, polishing. I started by patting the pale color, Lunar, into the inner corner of my eye. I then patted the plum-toned Magnetic on the middle part of the lid, blending it into Lunar, and bringing it up and just slightly above the crease. I also applied Magnetic along the lower lash line. In the outer corner I applied Seduce – the perfect brown color, if you ask me – which I then blended into the crease. Finally, using tiny strokes, I lined my upper lash line with the black shadow called Karma, creating shadowed points at the outer corner of the lash line. The brows are au naturel.
Working with these finger-colors was super fun and easy. Blending consisted of patting and tapping and was entirely effortless; any mistakes one made were easy to fix, and perfection wasn’t an issue. The darker colors began creasing a bit whilst I was shooting, but a few taps later I was good to go, once more. The makeup wore off from the upper lids as the day progressed, but stayed put on the lower lash line.
How would I use the Eye Polishes, and who are they suited for?
I intend to keep using Lunar as a face highlighter and the darker colors to prime powder shadows. Once the time is right, I might also test them to see if they can be used for a casual, hot-summer’s-day look. The Eye Polishes are certainly suited for easy and carefree application. They also work great on dry lids; for oily or hooded lids, I suggest pairing them with a powder shadow. The Polishes would also be great starter products for teens just getting into makeup.
Which of RMS Beauty’s products have you tried, and which are your favorites? How do you feel about cream shadows?
Products provided for testing by Naturelle
Garance Doré Beaute – planner and Mason Pearson hairbrush from Proloque
Jewelry Sofinah
Photos Katja Kokko
Translation Katja Nikula
