RMK Christmas Palette 2012

Earlier this month, I purchased the RMK Christmas Palette 2012 at Selfridges in London. It retails for £75 (versus 11,550yen in Japan) and was included in Lisa Eldridge's list of recommended Christmas beauty gifts. Aside from a mascara and petite lipstick, the set includes a small leopard print bag, which I didn't really care for. Last year's Kate Spade accessories were much more elegant in comparison.

Made in Japan, the palette is pretty niftily constructed. The top lid flips up to reveal four generously sized eyeshadows and two eyeshadow brushes while the lower compartment swivels out to the right to reveal the three cheek shades and a cheek brush.


The trays holding the eyeshadows and blushes can be easily removed, so that you can replace any of the shades with RMK's Ingenious Eyes or Cheeks. There is no glue securing the pans to the tray.


It was the eyeshadow shade combination that attracted me to this palette, in particular the lovely periwinkle blue. All four shades have a very refined pearl shimmer that provide a soft luminosity that is not frosty or glittery.

If you've tried RMK eyeshadows in the past, you would know that they tend to be sheer and translucent. RMK described this palette as containing "vibrant seasonal hues" but to be honest, the shades are hardly what I would call vibrant. If you prefer a more intense finish, you're better off with the Urban Decay Vice Palette instead.

After experimenting with primers from Too Faced, Pixi and NARS, I found that the NARS primer worked best with getting the blue shade to show up and even then, it's a soft muted tone that is nowhere as intensely purple as shown on the model on the RMK website. The brown shade is similarly very muted and not dark enough to act as an eyeliner shade. The gold shade does a nice job of highlighting the lower lashline and inner corners but this too is ultra sheer.

The blushes and highlighting shades are easy to work with, as both the pink and tan beige shades give the cheeks a natural hint of color. The white highlighting shade adds a luminous glowy effect.

The brushes are of good quality, as is typical of RMK. However, it is better to use a sponge applicator to help the blue and brown shades show up better.

Here's a simple look that I did with the blue shade from the upper lashline to the crease, the white shade over the browbone area, the gold shade along the lower lashline and in the crease, and the brown shade along the upper lashline.


On the cheeks, I used the tan beige shade topped with the white highlighting shade.


The Irresistible Lips B EX01 Pink is a natural, non-descript pink that feels emollient on the lips with a bit of shine. It doesn't last very well though, and comes off easily at the lightest contact. Overall, this coffret wasn't a complete hit for me as I was disappointed by the sheer texture of the eyeshadows and the lipstick shade was lacklustre and boring. Nevertheless, the shades are easily suitable for everyday wear. Still, I wish I had saved my pennies for the Vice palette instead, which retails for significantly lesser.