Rimmel London Review: Get The Lowdown On The London Look!
- History Of Rimmel London
- Rimmel London Products Overview
- Stay Matte Line Review
- Stay Matte Foundation Review
- Stay Matte Primer Review
- Stay Matte Powder Review
- Lasting Finish Foundation Review
- Lash Accelerator Serum Review
- Wake Me Up Concealer Review
- Kate Moss 104, 107, 08 Review
- ScandalEyes Waterproof Kohl Eyeliner Review
- Is Rimmel Cruelty-Free?
- Conclusion And Future Of Rimmel
Rimmel’s edgy, cool-girl style is more mainstream and popular than ever. Sultry, smudged liner, thick spidery lashes, and matte nude lips are all over the company Instagram feeds and fashion magazines. This represents the classic “London Look,” which is Rimmel’s self-proclaimed inspiration. Ambassadors of the brand like Kate Moss, Cara Delevigne, and Rita Ora are some of the biggest names in fashion and entertainment right now. Like Rimmel, these women embody a carefree, bold attitude.
The Rimmel brand encourages leaving your comfort zone and experimenting with makeup, and with Rimmel’s competitive product price-range, that’s very doable! We’ll tell you all that there is to know about this exciting brand, as well as present you with a selection of its top products here in our Rimmel London Review!
What Is The History Of Rimmel London?
Eugene Rimmel, Founder of Rimmel
With a young target demographic, Rimmel loves to promote how current and fresh they are with brightly colored ad campaigns. It might surprise some to learn that this company is actually almost 200 years old! This makes it an even older personal care company than Erno Laszlo, Avon, Nivea, and Vichy. It all started with Eugene Rimmel, who got into the cosmetics industry when he was only a teenager. Rimmel got his start as his father’s perfume apprentice in the 1830’s (yes, that’s 1-8, as in, the 1800’s).
He opened up his own perfumery in London in his early twenties and later expanded the business to include other kinds of rudimentary cosmetics. Rimmel gradually became wildly successful, winning the loyalty of clients like the Queen of Spain and the King of Portugal (which was proudly announced on old advertisements) who would sing Rimmel’s praises to whoever would listen.
“The London Look” – a Trademarked Tagline of Rimmel
Rimmel was constantly trying out new ways to use fragrance and color, and developed some products that were simply ahead of his time. Eugene Rimmel actually created the world’s first non-toxic mascara.
In 1917, the brand managed to revolutionize mascara again with their powder and brush mascara compact, which is very similar to modern mascara. Mascara is now an iconic part of the company’s history and branding, and much like using “Kleenex” to refer to tissues or “ChapStick” to refer to any lipbalm, “Rimmel” has held mascara brand association in quite a few languages around the world.
Rimmel has come a long way from Eugue Rimmen’s perfumery, now operating a number of iconic cosmetics lines and proudly boasting brand loyalty across the globe. Yes, it seems like just about everyone would like to ‘get the London look!’
Rimmel London Products Overview
Rimmel produces makeup that helps you “Get the London Look.” They have products great for a night out or party look such as bright glosses, their Jumbo liquid eyeliner marker for an out-there cat eye, trendy lip colors, and the Scandeleyes XX-treme extreme volume mascara. They also have some lovely products for a more easygoing day look like their beautiful moisturizing lipsticks, Natural Bronzer and Match Perfection concealer.
Rimmel Stay Matte Line Review
The Rimmel Stay Matte line includes a primer, foundation, and powder, so they’ve got you covered from start to set. The three nicely complement each other and are really effective for oil-control. As these are formulated for oily skin, they are simply not suited for dry skin – do not use them on dry skin unless you’d like to become even drier!
Rimmel Stay Matte Foundation Review
The Stay Matte Foundation is a full coverage foundation – sheer it out with some oil-free moisturizer if you prefer a less “made-up” look. It has a liquid mousse consistency, so it feels nice and lightweight on the skin and offers a soft, matte finish which minimizes pores. The foundation is also oil-free, and completely safe to use on skin of all sensitivities.
The “Stay” in Stay Matte is on point because this foundation really does last all day long. I’ve had the best results applying the foundation with a wet beauty sponge, as it can cake up a little with a heavy application (like you’d get with a dense foundation brush).
Rimmel Stay Matte Primer Review
Rimmel Stay Matte Primer is definitely mattifying, and assuredly lives up to its smoothing and pore minimizing claims! Perfect for people with oily, clear skin, Rimmel Stay Matte will become your go-to primer after just one use. If you have some scarring or a rougher texture anywhere on your skin, know that it may be advisable to use different primers on different areas of the face.
Most people do have ‘combination skin’ in some way, so it makes sense to target products on specific areas. If, say, your nose is oily but you have dryness on your cheeks, you can use this product only on your nose, and apply something more moisturizing on the areas where you want some highlight or glow.
Rimmel Stay Matte Powder Review
Rimmel Stay Matte Powder
The Stay Matte powder helps lock in makeup, keeps concealer from creasing under your eyes, and adds an extra layer of oil prevention on very oily areas. If you like to use a more dewy foundation, this can be used to keep oil at bay on the center of the face where shine looks less youthful and more greasy.
This powder claims to be translucent, but there is a slight tone to it and the coloring can make deeper skin tones look ashy. If you have darker skin and already bought this powder, try using a very light hand when applying to minimize this problem.
Rimmel Lasting Finish Foundation Review
Rimmel’s 25-Hour Foundation provides luminous, full coverage that looks natural and sits really nicely on the skin. It’s lightweight and really easily blend-able. Again, Rimmel has great shade options for very pale to tan skin tones but fall short when it comes to catering to darker skinned gals.
Rimmel Lash Accelerator Serum Review
This serum works, which is pretty amazing considering that other lash growth serums are at least triple the price, usually more. I saw a real difference in my skin after a few weeks of use, and I even checked out some videos and pictures of 30 day updates and some drastic results from others – it’s not just working for me!
Use this at night and the Lash Accelerating mascara during the day for the best results, but don’t try to use it under mascara because it can make lashes stick together and clump up.
I started using @rimmel lash accelerator a week ago, my lashes are NOTICEABLY longer already! New fav beauty product! pic.twitter.com/NPGAPv8ExT
— Jasmine Johnson (@attorneyjas) January 6, 2015
Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer Review
The Wake Me Up Concealer is an amazing under-eye concealer. It camouflages dark circles but looks really smooth and natural. The product layers nicely and won’t get too heavy if you need extra coverage. Pixiwoo, co-creator of Real Techniques Brushes and renowned makeup artist, included this in her list of best affordable concealers and I couldn’t agree more.
Rimmel Kate Moss 104, 107, 08 Review
Kate Moss for Rimmel
Kate Moss has been working with Rimmel for about 15 years now. She is basically the quintessential London it-girl, totally representing the brand’s casual, fashion-forward style. This lipstick line was inspired and co-created by the iconic model and personality. The lipsticks are creamy, very pigmented, and stay on the lips pretty well. Three of my favorite shades are 08, 104 and 107. 08 is a perfect “your lips but better” shade.
It’s a soft, dusty pink/peach nude and can be worn for a natural look or to balance out a strong eye look. 104 is a deep, rosy pink that would look great on a variety of skintones. It gives you a fresh pop of color but is still subtle. 107 is a demi-matte red shade with blue undertones (so it’ll make your teeth look whiter.) It is a really flattering color that falls somewhere between a wine and a berry red.
Rimmel ScandalEyes Waterproof Kohl Eyeliner Review
When it comes to using an eyeliner, I think the one thing we’d all like to avoid is smudging. Far too often have I spent too much time getting prepared and applying makeup, namely eyeliner, only to have it run or smudge in the first few hours of the day or after having put it on.
ScandalEyes Waterproof Kohl Eyeliner
This is the most annoying thing ever as not only will it make you look like some creature from a horror show, but it could also cause irritation and may even stain your clothes.
So when it comes to buying an eyeliner, I look for the best and would definitely recommend Rimmel’s ScandalEyes Waterproof Kohl Eyeliner for it’s simplicity, long-lasting hold and the fact that it’s a waterproof eyeliner – that is actually pretty waterproof.
It comes in pencil form, which means you have more control over the type of lines you’d like to create on your skin and allows you to be more expressive when it comes to the application process – your imagination is the limit.
When it comes to applying the eyeliner, I’d recommend using a light powder first as this helps to ensure a more even spread and prevents your skin from drying out under the eyeliner. It will also make it a little easier to remove, when the time comes.
I’d also recommend purchasing the Rimmel Gentel Eye Makeup Remover or the Garnier SkinActive Micellar Cleansing Water to help remove the makeup as they’re the safest and most effective means to do so. I found that using a combination of Eucalyptus oil, coconut oil and lemon oil (or lemon juice if you’re out of oil) was quite effective as well, but definitely took a while longer to achieve the same results as the products mentioned above.
All in all, it’s a really great eyeliner and one I’d recommend to anyone who’s interested in finding an easy-to-apply, long-lasting eyeliner. It well-worth it’s price as it should last you around a month if you use it regularly and about 2-3 months if you’re not wearing it ever second day etc. Definitely something every make-up lover should have in the bag or bathroom cabinet.
Is Rimmel Cruelty-Free? Does Rimmel Test On Animals?
Rimmel is cruelty-free, ish. They seem to be passionate about the issue and their website clearly states: “We do not undertake animal testing for any of our products or even product ingredients, and do not commission such tests with outside test institutes either.”
However, if you read further you’ll find that they do make exceptions in countries where products must be tested on animals to be sold legally. China is currently the only country where this still applies, so companies that are truly cruelty-free cannot sell their products there. This closes these companies off from an enormous consumer market, and that’s a sacrifice that Rimmel is unlikely to make.
Conclusion And Future Of Rimmel
Data has shown that Rimmel’s clientele is primarily 18-25 year old’s, and that many of them have ethnic heritage or ancestry. This is puzzling to me, given that the face shades are so limited when it comes to darker or olive skin, but the truth is that there are lip, shadow and nail shades that are really universally flattering. It would obviously be in Rimmel’s best interest to expand their shade range to be more all-inclusive, and it appears that they have plans to do so in the near future.
They’ve launched some exciting new products like brightly colored liquid eyeliners and the Provocalips 16 hours Lip Color, which isn’t drying and is completely kiss-proof and food-proof. Rimmel is always coming out with new shades and products to stay up-to-date with beauty trends – I’m very eager to see what’s next for the beauty company!
