Alexandra de Montfort, Creative Director of Rouge Bunny Rouge
I am an admirer of Alexandra de Montfort the Creative Director of Rouge Bunny Rouge and it is fortuitous that being a fan of the fragrances led me to Rouge Bunny Rouge's cult beauty and cosmetics which are not easy to test without a blind buy in the USA (Twisted Lily in Brooklyn is currently the only brick and mortar store near me that sells the brand). The same whimsy and attention to detail is evident in their cosmetics -from the neo-Victorian illustrated packaging to the delicate embossing on the eye shadows. Rouge Bunny Rouge kindly sent me a few of their best selling beauty products but I could not do them justice in a review as they were too pale for my warm tan complexion (for reference I am Nars Barcelona, Mac Nc42 ).
Rouge Bunny Rouge Limited Edition Eye Shadow Palette
It is interesting how we make rules for ourselves; “I cannot wear olive” or “I cannot wear metallics because they are aging". Indeed you can; it is all in the undertones, texture or the chromatics of the product. When I received the first ever Rouge Bunny Rouge Limited Edition RAW GARDEN in Chronos Eyeshadow Palettewhich is new for Fall, I gave the evil eye to the third color, Aged Bronze which looked olive green and glittery in the pan, but is more of a smoky taupe bronze sheen on my skin. It turned out to be one of my favorite of the five colors in the palette.
Daylight (no flash) applied to skin with Mac 239 Eyeshadow brush
The Company’s descriptions of the Rouge Bunny Rouge Raw Garden Chronos Eye Shadow Quintet:
‘Champagne Pewter Highlighter’, a peachy metallic champagne
‘Metallic Rosy Brown’, a peacock pink and gold shade
‘Aged Bronze’, an interchanging, cool olive metallic
‘Aubergine Gunmetal’, a dark, tinged eggplant-grey metallic
‘Midnight Blue Gunmetal’, a deep, smoky blue-grey gold- metallic
According to the press materials, the eyeshadows of Raw Garden Chronos are inspired by the lustre and varying shades seen in the darkness and dancing shadows of Black Pearls. Now that might sound like purple prose, but it is true. Each color is a shifting hue reminiscent of Tahitian black pearls. The finish is more shimmer than metallic with beautiful color payoff, and can be applied wet or dry. The shimmer isn't as noticable with the two deepest colors Aubergine Gunmetal and Midnight Blue Gunmetal. If you love smokey eyes this palette is perfect for you. I mixed Midnight Blue Gunmetal with the Aubergine Gunmetal and this blend smolders applied to the outer v and as an eyeliner. There are no glitter particles at all and no fallout. These colors offer fresh alternative to the same old shades of dark brown, dark greys and black, that I tend to use for Fall. Metallic Rosy Brown when wet is pearlescent with hints of rose gold and looks beautiful as a wash all over the eye with Aubergine Gunmetal as a liner. The colors may look dramatic, but it is in the application. Those of you who want a soft diffused look should try Champagne Pewter as a wash with Aged Bronze in the crease. If you have a lighter skin tone the eyeshadows will appear differently on you. If you have pale (Mac NC-NW15-20) skin check out Bestthingsinbeauty for her review and swatches.
Rouge Bunny Rouge Chronos Palette
You cannot screw up creating a customized look and all five shades can be worn together without looking theatrical. My only criticism would be the brush. I hope that the Company includes a good quality eyeshadow brush in the kits in the future, as the sponge applicator brush is just a waste for me. For more tips and techniques go to the Rouge Bunny Rouge Website. If you are in the USA I believe that these will be available next month at their US stockists, including Twisted Lily Fragrance Boutique and Apothecary. If you NEED it NOW (you know who you are) buy The Chronos Palette on the Rouge Bunny Rouge Website for €55.00 excl. shipping. For those of you who couldn't care less about eyeshadows, I had a sneak sniff of one of the new Rouge Bunny Rouge Fragrances, named Arcadia which is composed by Sonia Constant and is one of the new Rouge Bunny Rouge perfumes for Fall, This scent and two others will be available sometime in November. A tease: Amaretto accord.
Disclosure: I received my Rouge Bunny Rouge Eye Shadow Palette from Rouge Bunny Rouge.
Michelyn Camen, Editor in Chief