Rock & Republic Skintight Eyeshadow - Review

I was sort of shocked when I finished MAC's Shroom eyeshadow. As in, I looked at the shiny silver pan, devoid of any shadow, and wondered "What happened? Where'd it all go?" After a few moments of silence, I had to ask the ever-sensitive question "Do I need to go buy another one?" I had to answer that with a "Not right now, I think." Having a massive collection of eyeshadows, I don't really need to buy any more, ever, period. But, Shroom was my favorite highlight shade ever. It was glowy without being glittery, barely-there light. Perfection in a pot. I dug through my eyeshadow drawer and found this, Rock & Republic's Skintight eyeshadow, a failed purchase (it was not what I wanted it to be at the time - I wanted a my-lid-but-better matte nude color), and decided to give it shot at being my Shroom replacement.

Rock & Republic is very, very good at many things. Their cosmetics line is amazing, but launched at precisely the wrong time, I think. Packaged in a luxe, rather large compact, Skintight is packaged like every other Rock & Republic product (minus the glosses) - impressively. Shiny silver with black accents, these look and feel weighty, which I always like when I'm paying through the nose (okay, $28) for a single eyeshadow. Granted, these are about twice the size of the standard MAC eyeshadow, and cost a bit less than double MAC's $15 price tag. Inside the lid is a mirror, which is relatively useless to me, but it's roughly the size of the pot, so it may be useful to someone, just not me

The shadow is both creamy and powdery. My brush can kick up a bit of excess powder, which is a little annoying, but I'll live. To the fingertip, however, it feels great.

Skintight is a pale, soft golden color. Like Shroom, it gives that lighted look without frostiness. It's the perfect brow-bone and inner corner highlight, I think. It could easily be used as a lid color, because it's pigmented, but using a fluffy brush, it's really easy to blend to that candle-lit glow I love.


I can't rave enough about this shadow. I still like Shroom, but I don't need to worry about replacing it. I have Skintight, and I love it. Current Rock & Republic seems to be in a stasis - their website is a splash page. The company did file bankruptcy earlier this year, and their cosmetics (and everything else, not that I can wear anything they make, sadly) have been Haute Look and Gilt Groupe fodder. Great for people on a budget, but bad news for anyone who loves their products (what'll I do when I finish this?!). Regardless, if you find this, and need a beautiful shadow, pick it up!

Rock & Republic Blush in "Immoral" - Review

I love Rock and Republic cosmetics. I really do. Their powder products are an extremely awesome value, even at full price. They're smooth, pigmented, and lovely to work with, not to mention the color selection is very, very good.

I have several of their blushes, but I wanted to focus on my newest acquisition, Immoral. In the pan, this is a screaming orange/coral color (or, it would if my camera could handle it. It looks very, very subdued here - but if you were to see it, you'd be "OMGWTF is that?"). With anything but the lightest of hands, it appears on the cheeks the same way. With a light hand, however, it's beautiful glow of coral with a bit of orange (not the most flattering undertone on my NC15 face, but hey, I wear what I want, dammit!). I usually use a MAC 188, 184, or a NARS Yachiyo (after carefully tapping off excess powder) to apply blushes, and they all work well for Immoral. This blush wears fairly well on me; over liquid foundation and under loose powder,it's still visible on my cheeks after about 11 hours.

I know someone out there is dieing to say "LADY! THIS BLUSH IS $40! OMG!" but, calm down and listen: you get 9 grams of product. Chanel, for a little more money, gives you 6 grams, for a slightly less pigmented product. Additionally, R&R seems to be on Haute Look and Gilt Groupe every couple of weeks, so you can usually pick up their products on the cheap, but be warned: their blushes are very popular, because they are excellent, and in my opinion, worth the full admission price.

Rock & Republic Luxe Lip Gloss in Drama Queen - Review

I am a lip gloss fan. I love glosses, because I like the moisture, and the ease of application (I prefer glosses I can apply without a mirror). I also seem to prefer products that I can actually see that I've used them. Glosses are, well, awesome. But some are more awesome than others.
I may never own a pair of Rock & Republic jeans, but I own a number of their cosmetic items - and they are fantastic! Their lipgoss is no different - good pigmentation, great formula, and a generous amount of product. I have the shade "Drama Queen" - a warm peachy-pink hue.

The applicator is a doe foot, which I greatly prefer to a brush (the bristles can get bend backwards or can be cut all wonky or any number of other annoyances). The tube is physically fairly large, and really reminds me of a test tube, for fairly obvious reasons. For $26, you get 0.11 fl oz of glossy-goodness. This line seems to frequent sample-sale websites like Haute Look and Gilt Group, however, so you may not need to pay full price. Quality-wise, I'd easily place this product with Chanel Glossimers, so the price is justified (Glossimers retail at $28.50 for 0.19 fl oz, so they win in the quantity category, however.)

Generally speaking, I usually gravitate towards thicker glosses, but I'll make an exception for Drama Queen. It has good pigmentation, no scent or taste that I notice, and actually feels like it's hydrating (which doesn't happen with some glosses). It does have a thinner consistency and feel, similar to the Dior Addict Ultra lipglosses. I'd say the wear time is 1 - 2 hours max, but due to the pigmentation, after the glossiness is gone, the color faintly remains.

In some ways, I wish the tube were a bit smaller. On the other hand, however, it's super easy to find in my purse. I also wish Rock and Repulic cosmetics were still available in stores like Nordstrom, where I'd have a chance to swatch them on me to see what colors I wanted (like I need more lipgloss). If you like the Dior Addict glosses, I think you'll really like these. If you like thicker glossess, though, I'd pass on these, since they seem fairly thin.