What Clean Beauty Means to Rose-Marie Swift
Rose-Marie Swift brings 36 years of industry experience, passion, wisdom, and skill to her craft. RMS was first launched in October of 2008, bringing over 11 years of clean beauty to the public eye. We connected with the RMS Beauty founder to gain some insight behind this Kolya-favourite brand.
Rose-Marie, is there any one childhood memory tied to the future founding of RMS?
My first obsession with beauty was my mother's red lipstick tube and her powder with white Marabou feathers overflowing from the jar that was always sitting on her vanity. I would watch her, and just marvel at how pretty that red looked on her lips, and how soft those feathers must have felt as they danced across her face.
Out of all the beautiful ingredients RMS uses in its formulations, which is your personal favourite and why?
I would have to say our coconut oil! It’s one of the healthiest oils in the world, if not the healthiest, and I chose this one in particular for its high levels of lauric and caprylic acids. These are known for their anti-fungal and antibacterial properties that help clean and nourish even the most sensitive, irritated and aging skin.
It’s an exceptional moisturizer and it actually helps condition your eyelashes and your hair as well as the whole body. Add a little to your bath water and your skin will feel like silk. Nothing removes makeup better than coconut oil, as its fine, delicate texture melts away any makeup, even waterproof mascara, so easily.
Who wouldn't want the healthiest, fastest makeup remover, skin cleanser and moisturizer all in one? And a bonus - you need very little of it to get the job done. Plus, it’s 100% edible!
Tell us about your personal favourite product! Why is it your favourite, and do you have any unforgettable memories attached to this item?
My favourite product would have to be the Un Cover-Up. For years I painted the faces of the Victoria’s Secret models, and I wanted their facial skin to look as perfect as the skin on their bodies, no matter how they were lit, or what condition their skin was in. Un Cover-Up covers beautifully, but it always, always, always looks like real human skin. It never looks dry. I am very proud of this product. And the press has called it the ”Meryl Streep of concealers” because of all the awards it has won, so that’s a nice bit of validation, too.
But I can’t forget my Living Luminizer, as that product is our cult hero. It is the ultimate light-reflective, lit-from-within highlighter for just really enhancing the beauty of each individual’s skin like never before. It never looks greasy or sparkly, just sensually luminous.
In an increasingly fast-paced and stressful world, what are your go-to's that hit the reset button on the soul?
I love a really great, healthy and relaxing meal. A nice organic lunch or dinner of super fresh-tasting vegetables, beautifully prepared, maybe sitting outside in the warm sun - you can’t beat that.
What is one thing Optimum Health & Kolya customers should know about your brand?
12 years ago, I was told it was impossible to create a clean makeup brand that delivered high-performance results using only high-quality, clean and organic ingredients. Back then, I was like a salmon swimming upstream against the tide. No one had any idea that clean beauty would become the new normal.
Now, of course, it’s the fastest-growing sector of the beauty industry. My products have always been both clean and healthy for the skin, the body, and the soul. My brand is about life force ingredients, rather than synthetic chemicals. It is both user friendly and fashion forward, so it delivers an elegant yet simple approach to makeup that centres on the glow of inner health and wellness.
How is RMS contributing to a more sustainable world for future generations?
Our personal health and beauty is tied to the health and beauty of the planet, so sustainability is an obsession. Overall, our packaging is as minimal as possible. You will never see oversized boxes, unneeded paper, or excessive materials from us. Sustainability is always top of mind. Our printed paper items are made from post-consumer recycled paper that’s manufactured using 100% wind power and printed with vegetable soy-based ink.
Whenever possible, we use glass jars that can be recycled - plastic can only be recycled two or three times, but glass can be recycled infinitely. The glass we use is acid etched to avoid any form of spraying or frosting, which can be toxic to the environment, and can release VOCs.
We’re using a new airtight cap made of a high-grade recyclable plastic, which is best for an organic product, and it preserves our high standards of product purity. As part of our sustainability initiative, we are now looking to use 50% or more post-consumer recycled plastic whenever possible - the majority of our packaging is recyclable and/or made from recycled materials.
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