Review: Rock & Republic Cosmetics

Hi Prime Beauties! I'm excited to bring you a review of Rock & Republic's cosmetic line. You know, the same Rock & Republic of jean and clothing fame. I have been curious about this line for quite some time but the prices prevented me from trying it. I realize this makes no sense whatsoever as I will voluntarily fork over $56 for a Chanel or Dior eye shadow palette--but those are known entities, know what I mean? Rock and Republic was untried and untested--a mystery, or to me at least. So, when my favorite online sample sale site, Hautelook offered R & R cosmetics at 50% off, I jumped! I mean you wouldn't expect any less of me would you? Originally launched in 2008, I've been seeing R&R show up on several discount sites so it makes me wonder if the brand is in trouble. I don't know but I'm going to take advantage of these sales!


I ordered Spank blush and Exile eye shadow on my blogger friend Karlasugar's recommendation. Rock & Republic's packaging is ultra luxe and the sizes are huge! The black and chrome compacts were enclosed in round cardboard packaging with a silver logo--very nice presentation. I feel a little like royalty using these compacts--the logo reminds me of the monogram of someone from a royal family--a mysterious Russian princess whose family was slaughtered in the revolution; Anastasia perhaps? Umm, except her initials weren't RR--maybe her REAL name was Ranastasia Romanov? Okay, whatever.

 

Enough chatter, on to the review! The Contrived Pressed Blushes come in matte and shimmer textures. Spank is a neutral matte true ballet slipper pink blush; it is highly pigmented and applies flawlessly. R&R blushes are $40 at regular price, but I got it for $20 on Hautelook. Even at regular price, you get twice the amount of product in a NARS blush for $25---at $20 it's a fantastic value and comparable to MAC prices. The texture of these blushes is excellent. Spank is a very wearable shade, a wonderful choice for an everyday blush. All of the Rock & Republic blushes are pigmented and most are bright--Spank is the softest of the line.

Saturate eye shadows are $28 at regular price, I picked up Exile, a lovely peachy, goldish bronze shimmer for $14 at Hautelook. Saturate eye shadows come in three textures; matte, satin and shimmer. The texture is medium-soft; soft but not so much that they crumble. This is good shimmer for us 'mature' women--not sparkly or glittery, but a slight shimmer and not to loud. There is a fairly large selection for a new line and there are several nice colors in the line-- I will definitely pick up more of these at the next sale.

Here is a swatch of Spank and Exile:

Originally I thought exile wasn't very unique but as you can see from my swatches, I really don't have anything like it. It looks like a combination of MAC Honeylust or Stila Oasis to me, what do you think?

 

Comparision swatches:

Left to right: Urban Decay Half Baked, R&R Exile, Smashbox 35 mm, Benefit Dandy Brandy, Cat Cosmetics Peace (very coppery). You can see too that Exile has less shine than the rest.

Packaging: ultra luxe and classy, but may be a bit too heavy for some--I'm a sucker for nice packaging

Value: buy from Hautelook, Gilt, Idelli or any of these sites for a great deal! Click here for an invite from Hautelook

Quality: excellent--just as good an any high end brand

Overview: excellent quality, beautiful packaging and great prices--give this brand a try!! I will definitely buy more blush & shadows and I want to try the lip gloss too!

Grade: A

The Rock & Republic cosmetic line includes; Contrived Pressed powder blush, Imitate Mousse blush, Saturate eye colour, Bound Gel eyeliners, Extremist mascara, Luxe Lip Gloss and makeup brushes. Available at Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdale's and rockandrepublic.com BUT wait for the sample sales!!