Beauty Haul- RCMA & More.

Jun 21, 2016

Marleen B.

Went to Naimies for a tweezers and came out with RCMA 5-shade Shinto Foundation Palette, RCMA Setting Powder, Bdellium Duo Fiber Brush, Rubis tweezers and an a amazing Beauty Blender bundle which included 1 purple, 1 black, 1 pink & 1 green mini beauty blender, and a travel size BB liquid cleanser, all for just $35. The BB bundle was $35, not my total bill. First impressions, BB bundle awesome of course. RCMA foundation, so far, I've used it as concealer only, but so far I like it, it covers well. Tweezers, no brainer, I've already owned a couple pairs before. The Bdellium brush is nice, but not as nice as I thought it was going to be. I thought it would be better in quality than my Morphe brushes. Not that the Bdellium brush is bad, but my Morphe brushes seem just as good and some are slightly better. I just bought it because I was looking for a particular shape. There were 3 colors, yellow, black & pink. I wanted the black one, but the particular brush I wanted came in pink & yellow only, so I got the yellow one. Now, the RCMA powder is the one thing I'm not crazy about so far. I've played with it a bit, and felt it look ashy on my skin. Yes, I did use a lot while testing it, but I just wanted to see what would happen if I piled it on, as if I was going to bake, although I NEVER bake. This powder is similar to my Eschiko powder. I will be doing a comparison later. I bought the RCMA powder , because I heard of a lot of dry skin girls rave about how it wasn't drying. Well, it felt drying to me. Again, I will keep experimenting with it. So far, like my Mac Careblend Powder better.
Also, a heads-up on the revamping of the beauty sections of Rite Aid. I visited one near Naimies and was pleasantly surprised to see a lot of new brands in the front of the store. It looked like Ulta when I walked in. 2 of the brands that caught my eye were GIRLACTIK (sp?) and SENNA. And a bunch of other brands that I have not seen at Walgreens, CVS, Target or even UlTA. I didn't have time to freely browse because my husband was with me, but I am looking forward to this new design change coming to my local Rite Aid.

Jun 21, 2016

Alma M.

I feel like this is why I think certain pro cosmetics should just be in the hands of pro's since so many product's that are raved about are more than likely misused and misinformed just like all these people using RCMA powder on dry skin. It won't look good and I sure would not use it to bake a face in fact bake a face brings out unflattering line's,I feel like that dry skin rumor needs to stop. I'm glad your able to come across item's you could try and play with maybe as time passes and you get the hang of it all it would be a more clearer review. Also glad you were able to try out the Mac careblend which I have yet to try but been wanting to for awhile since Jackie said it was great.
I'm also excited you found the Rite Aid that is like a mini ulta,can't wait for all the rite aids to join in on that.
Can't wait to hear a follow up review. :)

Jun 21, 2016

Marleen B.

I did a comparison between RCMA, Nars Crystal Loose Powder & Eschiko Loose Powder. I did not want to include the Careblend in the comparison since it's a compact powder. I Found the RCMA to be the softest of the 3 powders, almost creamy compared to the other 2, but I felt it was the thickest of the 3 because of the softer texture probably due to the talc. I honestly preferred the Nars Crystal Powder the best. It seemed to really melt into my skin, whereas the the RCMA really sat on top of my skin. The Eschiko came somewhere in the middle. I even looked at my skin under a magnifying glass to really inspect the surface of my skin. I think the Nars is the least drying on my skin because there is glycerin in it and no talc. I'm not saying the RCMA is a bad product. It just doesn't seem to mesh well with my skin issues and needs. I have a medium, olive tone, mature, dry,and dehydrated skin and silica is meant to suck up moisture. That is its purpose. The Nars also has silica but it has other ingredients in it like glycerin in it to offset the drying effects of the silica. Why else would they mix a moisterizing ingredient in with a drying ingredient. I'm sure I'm in the minority when I say, I don't use powder to mattify or set my makeup. My makeup rarely needs setting. I like to use a powder to blur & fill in my pores to create a smoother surface. I'm still going to play with the RCMA for awhile because I don't want to give up on it to soon. I will often find a use for a product different than from what I intended it for. So, the jury is still out on the RCMA, I'm going to try using it in different ways. Maybe only on certain spots or with a BB cream or tinted moisterizer.

Jun 21, 2016

Marleen B.

*too
Also, I have never baked and don't intend to. When I do use powder, I use it sparingly and not allover my face. My skin is strange whereas, not only does my makeup not fade or wear away through out the day, but the color, shadow, blush, lipstick etc. all intensifies as the day goes on. I say this to make the point, that I have very specific needs for my strange skin behavior. I don't want anyone to be offended if I decide to give up on the RCMA powder. Not even the greatest, most popular product out there is not going to work with a 100% of consumers. I may end up saying to the powder, "It's not YOU, it's me, who has the problem".

Jun 21, 2016

Roz X.

Marleen, I own that powder. I do not feel it is a fit for very dry skin, like purs, unless the use is rare. I think I've used mine 3 times in 2 years. It's a great product and perfect fit for many members, but I've never personally recommended it to a true dry member. I say true because I think we see a number of seasonally dry, normal and combo members who confuse dry skin with a period of dryness or patches of dryness. I also see a lot of product use in the forum and recommendations that are actively worsening dry skin. I know you take skincare seriously and know your own skin very well. As such, you appreciate that there are also different levels of dry..and we both run very dry.

I'm interested in the By Terry powder, but even then, I'm like you in that I do not need powder on a daily basis or full face. Honestly, I wouldn't powder daily anyway because I cherish that natural oil dearly..lol It's been 4 months since I've powdered and I'm fine...my wear is fine. I think the powder you purchased is lovely...it certainly photographs well...but I cannot see a true dry skin using it routinely. Have you tried By Terry?

Jun 21, 2016

Roz X.

(Ms. Jacqueline has spoken of it before to me.)

Jun 21, 2016

Roz X.

*like ours forgive my typos on the app. My nails aren't phone friendly and there's no edit option on the app.

Jun 21, 2016

Alma M.

I figured this would be a good conversation to have for any one interested or just consumers when reading your observation thread. I understood what your skin type is as you mention many times in threads how "unusual your skin is" and I know you don't bake because we've had a previous discussion on that subject on a thread you've made as well. My thing is if you know silica powders you are comparing like Nars & Eshiko which you mentioned obsorbs moisture and (may I add are silica gel based powders that need moisture to melt into the skin since it's silica mixed with water formed to solid then milled which has a better chance to give slight hydration) why would you be purchasing a product such as RCMA which is just talc for dehydrated skin? That's seems to be a obvious fail on the skin with a product like "Talc " on dehydrated texture unless you plan to continue to add moisture spray every time or build up a sweat to obsorb and lay on top. I don't think anyone would take offense if the product's don't work for you or that all product's are not made 100% for everyone. I do feel as though that a consumer should really look into what they buy for their own skin type for a clearer outlook of product's. I do agree with you that this powder is not for the dehydrated skin type but because of so many misinformed information out there nowadays I think it's best to do ingredient research before purchase in my opinion and comparing powders that are different from each other really doesn't give a clear view But if your saying you feel as though your hydrated silica works best for your dry skin versus Talc I agree and that makes sense when used with moisture and body oil. :)
I don't use powders on myself often but use them on those as needed. 

Jun 21, 2016

Marleen B.

I admit, I should have looked at the ingredient list, although I have never used loose talc on my skin before so I didn't know how my skin would react to it. My other mistake was to trust the few YouTubers whose opinion I respect & have dry skin who have raved about it. Not only do I have naturally dry skin, I also have surface dehydration and rough texture. All those qualities are especially hard to work with in finding products that don't make it look worse. Again, the RCMA powder doesn't seen to be targeted to my skin type. But, I did buy it thinking and hearing it would work for dry skin. I haven't tried by Terry, but I am pretty happy with my Mac Careblend, even more than the loose Nars. I'm figuring out, that I prefer a powder that is flesh toned, but just slightly lighter than my skintone to counteract oxidation and to avoid that whitish or grayish cast that my skin just wants to hang onto when using a translucent powder no matter how little I use. I was just curious in trying a loose powder. I made the comparison on 3 silica based powders. Of course they are all not going to have the same ingredients in them, but there purpose is the same. I think it is helpful to compare products with similar functions and different ingredients, so one can pinpoint what ingredients work and don't work for their skin. I don't consider it a complete fail, it was a learning experience, it wasn't expensive, and I satisfied my curiosity. I will look for another use for it and if I can't, I will probably give it to a friend who will really appreciate it. But on a positive note, I really do like the RCMA foundation. And when I pinpoint my exact shade, I will be repurchasing the full size instead of the 5 shade palette.

Jun 21, 2016

Roz X.

Very helpful thread, ladies. Thank you. :)

Jun 21, 2016

Marleen B.

I'll post a picture when I get home from work this evening. It's funny coz the pink was more expensive than the black. And the black was more expensive then the yellow. I didn't compare every brush, just took a look at a few.

Jun 22, 2016

Jacqueline H.

Ahhh, the 985 Duet Fiber Studio line brush. To the best of my knowledge, that particular brush is not offered in the Pink Bamboo, but is offered in the Studio and Maestro line. Of all the lines BDellium offers, the Maestro line is the most expensive of them all, and similar brushes in the Pink Bamboo series are anywhere from $1 to $4 cheaper than the brushes offered up in the Maestro (black handles). I could be wrong though. In all things BDellium related, I would defer to Kristen. :)

I use the Studio, Maestro, Pink and Green Bamboo brushes and I love them. I hope you don't form a firm opinion on an entire range of brushes based upon only looking at a few and purchasing only of 1. They aren't for everybody though, and we all like what we like. ;)

Naimie's sigh., along with Nigel's and Frends. I miss being able to go to Naimie's. I used to live right around the corner from that store, and I was always in there. I miss the smell of massive product the minute you went through the double doors. I'm glad you like the RCMA, it's truly a fantastic foundation.  :)

Jun 22, 2016

Marleen B.

I actually do like the brush. And I'm thinking about getting another one. I think it's the 965, the smaller version (blush) of the 985. I did read up a little on the brushes and found out the bamboo are all synthetic whereas the Maestro & Studio line are a mix of natural & synthetic. And the Maestro is more expensive, probably because of the nickel ferrules as opposed to the bamboo & studio ferrules that are aluminum. The one thing that's hard to get used to is the thicker handles, but I'll get used to it.

Jun 22, 2016

Jacqueline H.

Correct, the nickel plated brass ferrules is what makes them more expensive.  :)