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!!

REVIEW: Clinique Redness Solutions Instant Relief Mineral Powder

A common problem we older women face is redness of the skin. I know I have a bit of redness around my nose and chin. My redness is caused from past sun damage. When I was a teen, my friends and I slathered on baby oil and literally fried in the sun. We thought we had to get a sunburn in order to tan and I had some killer sunburns—ouch! Of course the truly stupid thing about it was that I never did get what would be considered a 'good tan'. Stupid, stupid girl!!

Anywho, a common side effect of sun damaged skin are the tiny, burst capillaries that crop up on and around the nose. These ‘spider veins’ are harmless, but visible enough to bother many women who have them, including vain 'ol me.  Laser treatments are available in a dermatologist's office and usually take 2 or 3 treatments to correct. I don’t know for sure, but I imagine they are pricy.

It bears mention that if your nose turns red frequently or the redness persists, you may have rosacea—a common skin disorder which usually becomes noticeable around age 30-40 and affects approximately five percent of the population. In this condition, the blood vessels leak, causing a low-grade inflammation that makes the nose, chin, cheeks and forehead look like you spent too much time in the sun.

The good news is I’ve a found an easy and affordable solution! Clinique Redness Solutions Instant Relief Mineral Powder. I recieved a sample of this with a Sephora order and I liked it enough to try the full size. The finely milled yellow powder is loose, comes in a sifter jar and includes a retractable fluffy brush. When trying the sample I put my makeup on as usual and then brushed on the powder over my foundation which gave me very sheer coverage. After purchasing the full size, I asked the Clinique sales associate the best way to apply it. She said to press the powder into the red areas of yur face with your fingers and then use the brush to brush off the excess and to apply under foundation. This application technique worked much better and made the powder a great deal more effective.

I really like this powder; this is a product that truly delivers on its promise! It totally eliminates the redness around my nose and chin and lasts all day. The consistency is very, very fine, kinda like powdered sugar but yellow. I can see how this would be a lifesaver for those with rosacea and acne. My only complaint is that the jar is so large—there is so much product it will probably take me a couple of years to use it up, but that’s just being picky. Clinique’s Redness Solutions Instant Relief Mineral Powder retails for $32.50, is oil-free, talc-free, non-irritating and non-acnegenic. Available at Clinique counters nationwide and Clinique.com

Overall: Clinique Redness Solutions Instant Relief Mineral Powder gets high marks for doing what it claims—“visible redness and broken capillaries virtually disappear—instantly and for hours under the care and cover of this unique mineral treatment”.  I say---an affordable and effective treatment for redness.

Grade: A-Recommended

Best For: Anyone who has slight to moderate redness from rosacea or reactive redness.

Check out more of Clinique's Redness Solutions online at Clinique.com

Review: Cargo Best of Cargo Collection

Returning something to Sephora can be dangerous to your wallet--well for me at least. Especially since I just got a Sephora in my town and even though it is a downscaled version in a Penney's store I am verklempt. So, while wandering around the store knowing I had a $32 credit....I found this really great Best of Cargo Collection. The set is housed in a nice re-usable tin and features an eye shadow palette in shade Shanghai, Suede Blush in Montebello, High Pigment pencil in black and Classic Lip Gloss in Sig Sur. All full sized products and all only for $34.

The Best of Cargo Collection is ideal for an everyday neutral look. Shanghai eye shadow palette contains a nice white shimmery shade for highlighting, a pale shimmery pink that can also be used as a highlighter or as a nice lid shade, a peachy nudish shade also nice on the lid and a taupe shade with a lot of grey in it. The palette is neutral, maybe leaning toward cool.

I especially like the Montebello SuedeBlush. It is a pretty pink that imparts a nice glow but is not shimmery or glittery, which is a bit strange because when I swatched it on my hand at Sephora it was very, very shimmery on my hand. I would have skipped this set for that reason alone had the sales associate not told me she was wearing Montebello and it looked very nice on her. I think because the blush has pale pink, a deeper rose and beige swirled together, it appears more subtle on the skin. The pigment is very good though, which allows you to build the color--the more you apply the deeper the color you get. I find one swirl gives a very natural look to my light-medium skin. For deeper skintones, just go a bit heavier.

Cargo's Classic Lip Gloss is Big Sur is a mauvy rose shade--very very pretty. The texture is fairly thin and not sticky at all. This gloss comes with a time-strip that you insert into the tube and it turns red when you need to replace the gloss. A silly gimmick and pretty much useless in my opinion. I can tell when it's time to replace my gloss; not that I ever fully use one up . I love this shade but I wish it was longer lasting.

The High Pigment black eyeliner is fine; not the best, certainly not the worst. It's just fine.

Overall: The Cargo Best of Cargo Collection is a real beauty bargain. At $34 each product works out to only $8.50. The eye shadow palette alone retails for $28.

Best For: Any skintone and anyone who likes a neutral daytime look. I really don't think this set can be 'smoked up' for a dramatic night look.

Do You Need It?  If don't have many neutrals in your makeup arsnel, this would be a good addition at a great price. It would also make a nice gift for someone who loves makeup. If however, you do have a lot of neutrals in your 'stash' you can certainly pass it up. But.....it is a great bargin even if your favorite things are only the blush and the gloss.....and the eye shadow :)

I purchased this collection myself at my local Sephora.