The Accidental Beauty

(updated 8/21/10 w/ new swatches!) When my parents and I pulled up into their driveway today, my mom said “There’s a package on the doorstep” and I just knew it was mine. I walked up to it, saw the HAUTELOOK tape wrapped around the small brown box and literally hit a Mariah Carey note of excitement. I knew exactly what it was! I grabbed my dog, tossed my box in the passenger seat and sped home to open my little box of joy in the form of Rock & Republic blushes ($40 each). I didn’t order these directly from the Rock & Republic website…instead I got them half price on Hautelook! *poplocks with passion and conviction*

Rock and Republic is a high-end clothing, accessory and cosmetic line headed up by the always fabulous Victoria Beckham (The chick from the Spice Girls who was always pointing…at..nothing ). Her cosmetics are known for their rich color and pigmentation and beautiful packaging. These very large blushes are available in 10 shades (all with sexually-charged names lol), so you’re bound to find one that suits you.

Smooth, silky texture

Available in three finishes: matte, shimmer and translucent

Can be used to highlight or accent

Source: Rock & Republic

Each compact arrives in a round case with the Rock & Republic logo printed inside, cradling each blush safely. Inside is a highly reflective (and fingerprint loving) metal compact with the beautifully intertwined Rock & Republic logo on top. It’s really pretty ya’ll…Every blush weighs in at 9 grams, just one gram short of a MAC Mineralize Skinfinish — and you know how huge those are. When you take the size, national price average for high-end blushes, and the intense pigmentation into account — these blushes are actually a steal.

LET’S DO A LITTLE MATH

For example, a NARS blush will cost you $26 for 4.5 grams of product. The Rock & Republic blushes are 9 grams (almost the same amount of two NARS blushes) and therefore $11 cheaper. I understand your reservations though (if you have any), because dropping that much money on just one product is still in your head and you probably cant appreciate the value at the present moment. Bottom line, these are almost twice the size of a NARS blush and still cheaper than two NARS blushes…so the price really isn’t terrible.

Here’s a couple of pictures of this gorgeously packaged lil mama…

Rock & Republic Contrived Pressed blush in “X-Rated”

Rock & Republic Contrived Pressed blush in “All-Nighter”

Rock & Republic Contrived Pressed blush in “Lust”

Rock & Republic Contrived Pressed blush in “Lust”

Rock & Republic Contrived Pressed blush in “Shameless”

Rock & Republic Contrived Pressed blush in “Shameless”

Rock & Republic Contrived Pressed blush in “Shameless” and “Lust”

Rock & Republic Contrived Pressed blush swatches in “Shameless” and “Lust”

Rock & Republic Contrived Pressed blush swatches in “Shameless” and “Immoral”

Rock & Republic Contrived Pressed blush swatches in “Immoral” and “All Nighter”

Rock & Republic Contrived Pressed blush swatches in “Lust” and “X-rated”

Rock & Republic Contrived Pressed blush in “Bedroom”

Rock & Republic Contrived Pressed blush in “Bedroom”

Rock & Republic Contrived Pressed blush swatch in “Bedroom”

Rock and Republic X-Rated worn on cheek

Rock and Republic All-Nighter worn on cheek

Rock and Republic Immoral worn on cheek

Rock and Republic Shameless worn on cheek

Rock and Republic Lust worn on cheek

Rock and Republic Bedroom worn on cheek

I applied these blushes a tad on the heavy side. You have to use a very light hand with these to avoid looking like that midget wooden Jigsaw doll from those terrible Saw movies — you know the dude with the red clown cheeks. You don’t have to run your brush back and forth thru these blushes, just tap the brush softly on the top of the product — no friction — and I promise you that you’ll have picked up plenty for a natural flush of color.

The colors I own so far are as follows (along with a description of each color, as best described as possible lol):

• All Nighter: reddened orange with gold shimmer (think a redder version of NARS Taj Mahal)
• Bedroom: warm rosy peach matte (this one looks the most natural on my skin tone — love it)
• Immoral: super bright coral matte (this one also looks beautiful on my skin tone)
• Lust: warm pink with gold shimmer (an NC44/NW43 version of NARS Orgasm, but far more pigmented)
• Shameless: pinkish brown with gold shimmer (an NC50 version of NARS Orgasm)
• X-rated: rich raspberry matte (pinker version of MAC Frankly Scarlet blush)

Needless to say, application and technique matter when it comes to how a blush will make you look. Also, just because you hate a color doesn’t always mean it looks bad on you — you may just not be used to it and feel too overwhelmed or scared to even go there. Don’t clown yourself up by applying too much, just softly use that key amount to achieve a beautifully enhanced face. Easy.

I found these blushes to be very smooth and soft to the touch. They didn’t crumble when I swatched or bounced my brush into the product — and for $40 a piece, they better not. I’m very pleased with the luxurious packaging and the value of the product. I think if you’re a blush-freak and want something very special for your money, you’ll be very pleased with Rock and Republic’s line of blushes. Give them a try!

Availability: Rock & Republic, and occasionally on sale at Hautelook

-Stay beautiful

**This post contains affiliate and invite links to Hautelook and NARS. Click here for policy and disclosure information.