RCMA Foundation VK #11 Palette: Shinto-1, S-1, CS-2 Reviews

RCMA Makeup Foundation VK #11 Palette, $72.00 via Beautylish

 Happy Sunday! So recently, one of my friends approached me with the idea of me doing makeup for his new collaboration, consisting of singers, dancers, and musicians. I jumped at the opportunity and purchased the RCMA Makeup VK #11 foundation palette, which completely made me feel better about purchasing more makeup. Ha ha. This was an awesome excuse for me to try out the brand for myself and figure out my shade, cause who doesn't?

 As you can tell, I got a bit excited and used the palette before taking photos. RCMA is famed for being the makeup brand used in the Star Wars series, which already puts this product way out there, in my opinion. I did some research on this brand before buying; I watched YouTube videos, read blogs explaining the different series (Shinto, Olive, KN, KO, etc.), and learned a bit of history as well.

RCMA makeup is made with castor oil and a variety of waxes. RCMA is free of perfumes, animal extracts, mineral oils, and lanolin. Unfortunately, they DO contain parabens (propylparaben). The formulation of waxes and castor oil makes it a-okay for all skin types. But since the foundation is made of oils and waxes, it HAS to been warmed up. You need to scoop it out, then warm it up with your fingers and trust me, a little goes a long way. 

For starters, RCMA foundations have 55% pigment, compared to Becca which has 21% (commercial brands have 18%-23% pigment). I can't say what the exact numbers are. Becca claims most brands only have 10%-15% pigment, whereas RCMA says 18%-23%. Who knows. The way the foundation is formulated is in order to make it look like SKIN. So it has a sheen look just like skin does, but provides full coverage. This foundation is literally your skin but better, because it appears so much like skin.

As noted before, RCMA has many different "series" of foundations, meaning foundations that are specific to different undertones and such. They even have specialty series. You can learn more about them here. I watched Kevin James Bennett's video on how to use RCMA products. I've linked it so you can find it more easily. I will express my preferred application techniques and such, as I've learned from the video.

Shade Shinto 1 for my base

Shade S-1 for Contour

Shade CS-2 for Highlight

Shinto-1: Shinto-1 was the perfect shade for my skin tone. I'm the shade Desert Beige in Estee Lauder Double Wear and Buttercup in Becca Ultimate Coverage. This is what worked for me. Sometimes I'm considered neutral, other times more warm. The good thing with this palette is that there are pinker shades, so if one is too yellow, mixing them is not an issue. My preferred tool for application is a flat foundation brush. Truthfully speaking, I hate flat foundation brushes. With regular foundations they create streaks and I feel like they just leave the foundation on top of your skin, instead of making it look like it's part of your face (but I guess that's the point?). Ha ha. With this foundation, I see better results with a foundation brush than with a beautyblender. If you haven't watched the video, use a setting spray on your brush or beautyblender before blending out the foundation. DO NOT soak your beautyblender in water, instead you should spray setting spray on it. I use Skindinavia Finishing Spray.

S-1: S-1 is what I chose to contour with. This is a very cool/blue-toned brown, which can mimic shadows. When contouring with this foundation, you have to be a bit more careful. The foundation does not set until you set it yourself, be it with powder or a spray. Since a little goes a long way, be careful with trying to blend it out upwards or downwards because then you'll end up looking muddy with one side of your face being a dark, contour color. My contour required more blending and a subtle transition, and that's something you'll have to practice with this product. It's very malleable, and sometimes TOO malleable. 

CS-2: CS-2 is a great shade for highlighting. I used it on my nose, part of my forehead, and below my contour. I would use it solely for highlighting, unless you're just that light. You can also use it to neutralize your lips if you really want color to pop out. 

My first experience with this foundation wasn't too great. I didn't like it much and I was way too impatient when it came to learning how to use it. I was wondering why it didn't seem too great and it was basically because I lacked patience and skill. For this product, it's best to do a lot of small layers and build up the coverage you desire. It's super creamy once you warm up the product and so easy to work with. Just dot the product where you want it, then blend it out. As said before, I prefer using flat foundation brushes with this foundation, mostly because I feel like it yields better results. You should use synthetic brushes (I used Real Techniques). Don't use it expecting amazing results the first time. This is a learning process, just like doing a winged liner. Ha ha. 

For me, personally, this is an amazing product. If you purchase the other shades, say a pinkish color, you can use it as blush or even lipstick. It's so versatile. As far as staying powder, I played volleyball with this on and it stayed on the whole time. I still looked pretty good if you ask me. Ha ha. It has an all-day wear and still looks flawless. I admit that it doesn't help to control oil or anything, if you do have oily skin. It keeps your skin at the condition it usually is. So you might want to use an oil-control setting spray or a hydrating one if you have dry skin.
Overall, I'm loving this foundation. If you want a more natural look, yet still full coverage, this is the foundation for you. Individual shades run at $18 for 1fl oz, so it's very affordable. What do you think?