Beauty review: RMS Beauty Eyelights Cream Eyeshadow

Celebrity makeup artist and the organic beauty mogul behind rms beauty, Rose-Marie Swift has been a make-up artist for over 35 years, so when I was given the chance to get up close and personal with her a few years ago I was beyond excited.
Swift’s work has been featured in Vogue (French, Italian, American, Japan China, Russian) W, Harper's Bazaar, I.D., Self Service, V, Allure, Numéro, Marie Claire, Glamour, Interview, and Elle. Her make-up has appeared in ads for the likes of Diane Von Furstenberg, Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren and Louis Vuitton, and her photographic partners over the years include Mario Sorrenti, Peter Lindbergh, David Simms, Annie Leibovitz, Arthur Elgort, and Patrick Demarchelier. The words “industry legend” have been bandied about, and with good reason.
She visited New Zealand for the first time when we met as a guest of MECCA, who stock her products exclusively Down Under. After us she was flying to Australia and then on to Los Angeles, where she was to be a guest at supermodel Miranda Kerr’s wedding to tech mogul Evan Spiegel. I spent a morning speaking to her about her unique approach to makeup, which has that ever-elusive “glow” as its end goal, and came away with so many beauty hacks I felt like my brain was going to explode!
Clearly one smart cookie, the ageless beauty also gives some great insight into natural and organic beauty solutions, stressing that we mustn’t be so affected by marketing, product claims and brand names: “just get cleaner makeup”. All of which bring me to her line, rms beauty. It is essentially an original, pure, organic colour cosmetic line that performs and then some. Based on living and organic principles, each product is created to hydrate and illuminate vital, radiant skin and is the perfect choice for your best ever ‘natural’ look. rms beauty is dedicated to transforming the way women use makeup, creating a product that is not only non-toxic, but actually heals and nourishes skin. Consider it skincare with mineral colour - giving make-up a whole new meaning.
RMS beauty already makes the most beauty editor-approved highlighter on the planet in the form of the legendary Living Luminiser, which I have been using in various shades since meeting its creator and absolutely adore. A subtle and shimmery highlighter, it has reached cult status among beauty freaks, editors, and celebrities, thanks to the supremely dewy effect that it lends to the skin. Since then, I've used many products from the collection and have loved them all, so when news reached me that RMS Beauty was launching a new longwearing, crease-proof cream eye shadow formula I put my hand up to try it straight away.

Formulated with organic green tea and natural peptide quinoa extracts to nourish and smooth delicate eye skin, the richly textured and heavily pigmented shades create a luminous, light-reflective finish that is instantly flattering. Ingredient-wise, the organic green tea extract is included for its antioxidant properties that soothe and helps defend against free radicals, while natural peptide quinoa extract helps to smooth and firm the eyelid area for easier application over time.
I love that the formula is subtle enough for a little extra daytime sheen when you’re in the mood for looking a little more polished, but buildable for creating a more dramatic look after hours. And it goes the distance – rare for such a clean formula. A little most definitely goes a king way, and each tube even comes with a reusable key you can attach to the end and twist to press every last bit out before recycling – how clever is that? And like all RMS Beauty products, it’s made without animal products, parabens, sulphates, phthalates, mineral oil, gluten and fragrance.

The shade line-up thus far is:

flare: deep warm gold
spark: bronzed plum with a hint of violet
blaze: muted silvery mauve
sunbeam: a golden coral with a hint of peach
strobe: champagne mink
halo: a rich ruby brown

Highly recommended whether you’re a clean beauty stan or not, these little tubes of wonder are in store and online now.