Stash Swatch: Rouge Bunny Rouge Lip and Cheek

As Zuneta are currently running a 20% off discount code (ELLE20) until February 28th, I thought it would be useful to swatch my Rouge Bunny Rouge collection to help you make your blind-buying decisions. Not that there's any great shortage of those any more, but I'm not one of those fastidious sophisticates who think that less is somehow more. Or, if it is, then more is even MORE. And better, always!

First up, lip and cheek products.

RBR blushes are my favourites, and the core of my 'wardrobe'. They are richly pigmented, creamy-feeling powders with satin finishes (not entirely matte, no visible shimmer once applied). They are one of the few powder formulas which I can wear year-round, even on dessicated winter skin, and conversely stay true-to-colour and are impressively long-lasting even in tropical climates.

Yeah, I'm a depotter. The other nice thing about creamy powders like RBR (rather than dry ones like Illamasqua or Nars) is that they're relatively safe and easy to depot.

Paper swatches, natural light

Arm swatches, natural light

Arm swatches, natural light, shade

Delicata is the perfect nude 'my cheeks but more better' blush for pale skin. No, I never knew such a thing existed either but I always get cheekbone compliments when I wear this.
Starina is a light, yellow-based coral. It's very unusual to find a shade like this in a non-Asian brand, which tend to assume that pale skin is always pink. As birkinbeautybag writes, it's the perfect brightening wamth for pale skin, without any ruddiness or muddiness.
Orpheline is my favourite, as you can see. Perfect face-brightening clear coral-pink. Think Illamasqua Hussy, but in a creamy, smooth texture with a slight dimensional sheen.
Gracilis soft rosy mauve. I usually find RBR's shade descriptions spot-on, but this shade is warm enough not to be a cool-skintones-only option in my experience.
Florita neutral raspberry red
Rubens blush stick, the cooler, deeper, sheerer cream version of Florita. These blush sticks are not overly creamy -- more comparable to the blush sticks by Shu Uemura or Shiseido than traditional potted creams by Illamasqua or Becca. On my skin, Rubens leaves a slight sheen and feels weightless and completely unsticky.

All of these swatches were one-swipe with a sponge applicator.


Lips
Swatch-queen Karla Sugar has now lined up all the RBR lipstick shades but when I was first discovering this line, I really did have to buy 'blind'. Just a general warning: RBR shades tend to look very different on the lips than in the tube. The majority of their shades are complex and look warm once applied (even a cool shade will often be grounded by brown tones or lifted by warm-toned shimmer or sheen) and are largely out of my shimmer-comfort-zone.

The two shades I kept are both warm roses with a cream finish: Irreverence and Whim of Mine. Other shades which worked for me were Word of Mouth (cool jelly-finish cherry red) and Raw Silence (retro pillar-box red cream).

Lip swatches, natural light:

Irreverence, a warm, soft rose

Whim of Mine, a brighter warm coral-rose

The last product I'm drivelling about today is the liquid blush/lipgloss duo in Samba Enredo. The gloss side (Samba) comes with a doefoot applicator and the liquid blush side (Enredo) with a brush. Samba is a sheer warm rose in a blendable gel-cream texture which sets as a weightless satin stain, and the gloss is exactly as RBR describes it: a sheer lavender base with coppery-red and gold shimmer, in a balmy, thick (but not sticky) texture. It is also sold separately as a full-sized Gleaming Temptations Gloss, under the name Inflammable.

Samba (Inflammable), which adds a milky warmth to my mauvey-pink lips. The shimmer isn't remotely gritty once applied, and adds dimension; I'm just not a gloss/shimmer on lips girl, even for a lovely formula like this which plumps up my lips and fills in liplines.

Paper swatches, natural light

Arm swatches, natural light

Arm swatches, flash

RBR lip products are scented/taste faintly of spiced honey (more clovey than sweet) and are creamy and moisturising even on my dry lips. The blushes (powder, cream or liquid) are unscented.

Guest Post: Chikuhodo Z-4 and RMK Cheek Brush S Comparison by toto850

Today, I bring you a guest review (hopefully the first of many) by the fabulous toto850 of makeupalley, who has one of the sexiest makeup brush collections around.

RMK brushes are manufactured by Chikuhodo (as are Suqqu, Lunasol, EST, Shiseido etc.) and a meme floating around the beauty net suggests that they are therefore all the same. In my experience, having tried all of the brands above, this is categorically untrue, even when you compare two brushes of very similar shapes and hair types, as she proceeds to:

Chikuhodo Z-4 and RMK Cheek Brush S Comparison by toto850

The first thing I noticed is that they have both a simular dome shape to it. The Chikuhodo Z-4 is made from grey squirrel hair and the RMK brush from grey squirrel hair and goat; I did find that the Chikuhodo is a little bit softer than the RMK one.

Although the RMK brush fluffed up after washing, it's not as densely packed as the Chikuhodo one and is even a little flatter. The reason for this is because the bristles are more splayed than the Chikuhodo one.

How about the application of blusher? I did a swatch for Nars Exhibit A on my arm using both brushes. Left is the Exhibit A applied with the Chikuhodo Z-4 and on the right the same blush applied with the RMK S brush.

You can see that the Chikuhodo Z-4 gives a more pigmented and even application than the RMK one, b/c of the densely packed bristles.
With the RMK one you need to layer the blush more to get the same result, but generally it's good if you want a more diffused look.

-----

The Driveller again:
Another misconception which toto850's review corrects is the 'rule' that soft brushes cannot deposit pigment as effectively as scratchy ones, which in makeup terms seems to come down to an oversimplified duel (and high-larious mental picture) of squirrel vs goat. The no-pain-no-gain approach to brushes is one that I've always found frankly baffling, being a fan (as you all know by now) of all kinds of looks from subtle to bold, and therefore requiring my (mostly squirrel) brushes to be just as versatile.

There are many more factors which affect how a particular brush performs, and hopefully detailed comparisons like this one will help those of you hesitating over brushes with very similar 'stats'.

Something old, something...flu?

Now for an illustration. Somewhat fluey, mildly hungover, in need of comfort both physical and psychological = '90s throwback RMS face. Because if you're going to go brown, you may as well go brown.

Products

Shu Uemura Stage Performer Instant Glow

RMS Beauty 'un' cover-up 11 under eyes

RMS Magnetic eyeshadow over lid and lower lashline

RMS Rapture lip2cheek on lips and cheeks

Shu Eye Light Pencil matte white on lower waterline, natch

Shu H9 eyebrow pencil Stone Grey

Shu Mascara Basic (DC) (being propped up by an RMS lid)

90s Day, natural light

Just for fun, Outfit (I did the plaid and lingerie things, sadly no DMs remained. Also, I washed my hair. Hey, I had to go out.)

Shoes were an Anthro sale score, comfy/quirky enough that they're authentic in spirit. Ahem.

Slightly amped up for night-time, with three additional products

 RBR Long-lasting eye pencil Lola smudged along outer halves of lashlines

Illamasqua Intrigue blush (I am still searching for the a matte ashy taupe contour shade that works for my pale skin -- in the meantime, reverse contouring (matte highlighting) will have to do

Hourglass Lash Lacquer over the Shu mascara

I also added extra coats of Magnetic on lids, Rapture on lips and white on the waterline

90s Night, artificial light

It looks like I have a darker matte on the outer half of my lid here; I don't, it's just a quirk of the lighting. Magnetic manages to both look very sheeny when it catches the light, and very subtle/muted when in shadow.

RMS Beauty Swatches

RMSBeauty is one of those slightly oddball brands I first read of on Londonmakeupgirl. As Grace writes, these organic, raw (no ingredients heated above body temperature), emollient products are a boon for sick days, lazy days and bitter wintry days, whenever they should strike.

As winter deepens, I reach for these more and more -- my skin is prone to eczema and despite assiduous (well, ...ish) care can still sometimes get chapped, flaky or even cracked from the cold and central heating. These RMS creams are actively moisturising (rather than simply not-drying) and feel comfortable to wear even when my skin is at its sulkiest. As this is usually also when I particularly need the pleasure and consolation of the ritual of playing with pigment to start the day, my small RMS collection has joined the likes of alphabetti, the Ankh-Morpork Watch, Cold Comfort Farm, Diana Wynne Jones, hot Ribena, pikelets, The Princess Bride, The Thin Man and fat Victorian novels as comfort-blanket essentials.

My Collection

Paper swatches, natural light

Natural light

Natural light with flash

Even my poor photography skills captured the creaminess of these pigments. <3 Please note that they never 'set' even on my very dry skin, which I personally love, but beware if you've very oily skin or are precious about makeup looking 'perfect' rather than sometimes undone and, well, organic.

Now onto the beef I have with Ms Swift -- the shade range. I think RMSBeauty has many affinities with Ellis Faas, including the whole 'human colours' thing (er... that'd be brown tones in everything then?) which I find beautiful in conception and bloody difficult to wear in practice. Although in fairness, RMS tries to avoid synthetic dyes, which may be a factor; my favourite shade, Smile, is the only one that currently contains a synthetic colour.

In particular, 'un' cover-up, the only concealer I'd even contemplate wearing over sore or irritated skin, comes in a whopping three shades, all of which are distinctly yellow-toned. You can see that the palest shade (11) is too yellow and a bit too dark for me, even as an undereye concealer; once sheered out so that the mismatch is less obvious, the coverage it offers becomes just nominal. I'm currently praying for a white mixer in the same rich, blendable formula.

RMSBeauty is stocked at Content, Cultbeauty and Dollyleo. I am not affiliated with any of these companies but have ordered from all three with no problems. Content at least also has an RMS display in the shop, so if you're in the area, you can try before you buy.

Eleven and Twelve

Happy New Year, everyone!

My beauty resolution for your future smirking and I-told-you-so-ing pleasure is to buy only twelve new beauty products in 2012.

If the blog still exists a year from now, it will be interesting to see whether I manage to stick to it, and if so, which things I regret buying or not buying. I've applied this one-a-month rule (staples and basics excluded) to clothes for the last four years out of five, with such success that I needed to relax it so that laundry day didn't roll around quite so tyrannously often...

In the meantime, here's my jump on the 'best eleven of 2011' meme bandwagon. All products were new to me this year, and the colour products were all released this year. Brushes/tools excluded as a separate 'favourites' post for those is in the works.

Group shot

Base

Hourglass Film Noir Lash Lacqueur
Odd to have a gimmicky impulse buy turn into an essential staple, but this volumising, glossy black topcoat (v)amps up any mascara for night-time or more dramatic looks in a few slicks, without clumping, smudging or making my curl droop. Dispenses with the need to faff about with falsies, and easier to remove too.

Shu Uemura Stage Performer Instant-Glow
Magical pore-minimising, skintone-evening, kind-to-flakies, glowy-but-not-dewy-or-god-forbid-sparkly potion. Nominally a 'skincare' product and usually marketed as a primer-with-benefits, in my opinion it is a platonic base that replaces foundation for everyday looks.

Suqqu Nuancing Loose Powder Natural
Single-handedly converting this lifelong powder-shunner, this blurs all the pesky minor flaws and textural issues (pores, fine lines) which it's not worth or even possible to hide using foundation/concealer. Setting to a natural skin-like finish, it is genuinely translucent, as undetectable on my skin as my NC40 friend's, and from what I hear, does a bang-up job at controlling oil too. Airbrush in a sleek black jar.
(The Glow version contains micro-shimmer, which makes it less flattering on flaky or bumpy dry skin, despite the tempting name.)

Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer SX-1
This is the best blemish concealer I've ever tried, and it helpfully runs pale enough for me to wear without mixing. Creamier and lighter in texture than other products offering comparative coverage (Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage, Dermablend), it is therefore much easier to work with and more flattering to blemished skin which usually needs texture- as well as colour-correction.

Lip/Cheek

Addiction Cheek Stick Revenge
blah favourite multi-purpose cream blush / matte lipstick ever blah

Suqqu Creamy Glow Lipstick 12 Hiwada 檜皮
Technically released in 2010 in Japan, this new lipstick formula only made it to the UK in spring. I had impossibly high hopes as the Blend and Creamy Lipsticks it displaced were two of my favourites, and this exceeded them. Emollient enough that I can skip lipbalm underneath even in winter and so richly pigmented that my very pink lips barely skew the shades, these were easily my favourite new lipstick in a year which saw so many new releases, such as Guerlain Rouge Automatique (an honourable mention), Chanel Rouge Coco Shine and Rouge Allure Velvet, Dior Addict, Shu Uemura Supreme Matte, Shiseido Shimmering Rouge, Burberry Lip Mist, Laura Mercier Gel Lip Colour, Bobbi Brown Rich Lip Colour, Clinique Chubby Stick, Revlon Lip Butter, NARS Velvet Glossy Pencil...
I was forced kicking and screaming into this warm peachy nude by the Suqqu International Makeup Artist Kazumi Obayashi (who had learned from past makeovers of my deathly fear of such shades) and months later, a continent away from her sweetly evil grin, I still love it and the new colour-options it's opened up.

Eyes

1. Fyrinnae Eyeshadow Madame and Eve's
My love for unique, complex glitters waged a long and bitter internecine war with my strong dislike for loose pigments before I finally succumbed to the lure of Fyrinnae earlier this year. Five orders and an overflowing drawer later, the first shade I added to my basket remains my favourite -- a complex blackened teal shimmer that shifts to bright violet at different angles. Honourable mentions go to Sacred, Bastet and Newcastle (the first golds I actually liked on me), Conjurer and Velvet Vampire (ditto, reds), Damn Paladins (cool taupe with icy blue duochrome) and Dokkálfar (blackened golden green). Their Pixie Epoxy primer is an essential.

2. Sonia Rykiel Quatre Eyeshadow 10
Blah blah again. Leapfrogged over my first purchase, no. 9, to become my favourite. The unusual colour combination of cool lilac, neutral silvery pink, warm blackened green and bronze compose my favourite neutrals-with-a-kick look.

3. Addiction Eyeshadow Concrete Jungle
and blah. You thought I was going to go for a glitter, but nohoho! Those who love grey shadows as I do will know just how elusive the perfect warm-grey-with-a-lavender-undertone is. Factor in Addiction's excellent texture (this time in a silky satin) and we have Instant Holy Grail.

4. Chanel Illusion D'Ombre Cream Eyeshadow Mirifique
Back in character now: glitter + cream = win! This is the sparkly black liner I've been searching for, like, forever. If I could revisit my angst-ridden teenaged self, I would bring much wisdoms regarding Boys, and a few pots of this.

5. Suqqu Blend Colour Eyeshadow 07 Komorebi 木漏日
Released in Autumn 2011 and joining the permanent line-up along with its sister 08 Mizuaoi, this features two sheerish iridescent shimmers (the top left adding depth despite that, the top right functioning more like a traditional light-reflecting highlighter), a very pigmented satin liner (bottom left) and the standard matte powder primer shade (bottom right). While I love both quads, Komorebi's unusual pairing of clear orange-peach and soft leaf green with rich sepia is a better reflection of Suqqu's refined and consistently inspiring approach to colour.
For those familiar with the old Suqqu line, Komorebi and Mizuaoi seem to be updated versions of the 2008 Kirari collection quads (06 Touryoku, 07 Sousei and 08 Koucha).