Rituel de Fille first came to my attention through one of /u/skydart's Swatchfest posts on reddit. They are an indie brand, but I feel like they fall in a different category or clique than many of the indies we review here like Shiro, Fyrinnae, Hello Waffle, etc.--they seem glossier, better-connected, higher-end--maybe "niche" more than "indie"?
They describe themselves as follows: "Rituel de Fille is a new vision for beauty inspired by the magical side of natural ingredients, where pigment is elemental, ceremonial and powerful. Rituel de Fille's lipsticks, lip sheers, eye soots and cream blushes are all carefully handcrafted for uniquely bold, lasting color." The company was founded by three sisters, Michelle, Caroline, and Katherine Ramos, in LA and New York; two of the three are makeup artists.
I was intrigued by their products and branding, so I contacted them to see if they might be willing to send over some press samples. They were, and here's what I thought of them!
They describe themselves as follows: "Rituel de Fille is a new vision for beauty inspired by the magical side of natural ingredients, where pigment is elemental, ceremonial and powerful. Rituel de Fille's lipsticks, lip sheers, eye soots and cream blushes are all carefully handcrafted for uniquely bold, lasting color." The company was founded by three sisters, Michelle, Caroline, and Katherine Ramos, in LA and New York; two of the three are makeup artists.
I was intrigued by their products and branding, so I contacted them to see if they might be willing to send over some press samples. They were, and here's what I thought of them!
Packaging:
I was so excited when the box came in the mail--I absolutely love the packaging, which is sleek, shiny, and black, adorned with silver lettering and sprinkles of tiny silver stars. The aesthetic is like if Barney's were run by rich Goths, sort of high-end, Instagram-wielding hipster Wiccan. They remind me very much of The Wild Unknown and of a trendy, spendy Goth-inflected boutique in Austin, TX, that's all minimalistic metal moon phase jewelry and $30 bird skulls sculpted from graphite.
Everything comes in its own black cardboard box printed with the ingredients, and everything was wrapped in black tissue paper. Did I mention how much I love the packaging? The lipsticks come in slimline twist-up tubes, the cream blushes are in a sleek, rounded compact with a large mirror, and the cream eyeshadows are in a little hexagonal glass jar with a black lid.
Everything comes in its own black cardboard box printed with the ingredients, and everything was wrapped in black tissue paper. Did I mention how much I love the packaging? The lipsticks come in slimline twist-up tubes, the cream blushes are in a sleek, rounded compact with a large mirror, and the cream eyeshadows are in a little hexagonal glass jar with a black lid.
Selection:
I did find they are stocked through Urban Outfitters and Nasty Gal as well, along with a list of some other retailers. Some of their products are on sale at Nasty Gal at the moment!
Samples:
Rituel de Fille does not offer samples, as far as I can tell.
Quality:
I'm impressed with the quality of the products I received for review. I have to say that everything is on the dry side--the lipsticks feel like they drag a little on the lips when being applied, the eye soot lacks the creamy/silky glide of most of my other cream shadows, the cream blush takes a bit more pressure than I'm used to to pick up on my fingers. On the plus side, though, this translates into excellent wear time across the board, and I didn't find the lipsticks drying despite the draggy application. The pigmentation was smooth and strong for all the products I tried.
The cream blushes are lip, cheek, and eye safe.
The lipsticks smell very strongly of lavender. (And oddly, the Eye Soot smells like unscented lipstick.) If you're sensitive to the smell of lavender, be forewarned. It's not a typical scent for lip products, and actually made me a little nauseous the first day I wore one of the lipsticks, because the soapy, herbal smell stayed under my nostrils for a while and I kept feeling like I could taste it.
I did find the eye soot to crease a bit after a while. It's not the type of budgeproof, creaseproof wear I get from Laura Mercier Caviar Sticks or Maybelline Color Tattoos.
The cream blushes are lip, cheek, and eye safe.
The lipsticks smell very strongly of lavender. (And oddly, the Eye Soot smells like unscented lipstick.) If you're sensitive to the smell of lavender, be forewarned. It's not a typical scent for lip products, and actually made me a little nauseous the first day I wore one of the lipsticks, because the soapy, herbal smell stayed under my nostrils for a while and I kept feeling like I could taste it.
I did find the eye soot to crease a bit after a while. It's not the type of budgeproof, creaseproof wear I get from Laura Mercier Caviar Sticks or Maybelline Color Tattoos.
Cost:
No way around it: these products are pretty freakin' expensive, not just compared to most indies, but even when priced out by weight against high-end products.
When you consider the size of the lipsticks, for instance, although the cost of a single lipstick tube is on par with mid-end lipsticks like Urban Decay or Bobbi Brown, the Forbidden Lipstick comes out to $12.78 per gram--compare that to YSL Rouge Volupte Shine, which costs more to begin with, but has more than twice as much product, so it is only $7.78 per gram; or Chanel Rouge Allure Velvet at $10.29 per gram.
YSL Creme de Blush is $6.90 per gram. Rituel de Fille's cream blush is $6.30 per gram.
The Eye Soot seems surprisingly cheap, actually--a MAC Paint Pot is $4.20 per gram, while the Eye Soot is $4.17 per gram. (Maybelline Color Tattoos are only $1.75 per gram.) The packaging must be very deceptive, though, because the Paint Pot looks about twice as big as the Eye Soot when compared visually, in their containers.
Prices:
When you consider the size of the lipsticks, for instance, although the cost of a single lipstick tube is on par with mid-end lipsticks like Urban Decay or Bobbi Brown, the Forbidden Lipstick comes out to $12.78 per gram--compare that to YSL Rouge Volupte Shine, which costs more to begin with, but has more than twice as much product, so it is only $7.78 per gram; or Chanel Rouge Allure Velvet at $10.29 per gram.
YSL Creme de Blush is $6.90 per gram. Rituel de Fille's cream blush is $6.30 per gram.
The Eye Soot seems surprisingly cheap, actually--a MAC Paint Pot is $4.20 per gram, while the Eye Soot is $4.17 per gram. (Maybelline Color Tattoos are only $1.75 per gram.) The packaging must be very deceptive, though, because the Paint Pot looks about twice as big as the Eye Soot when compared visually, in their containers.
Prices:
- Lip Sheers: $21 for 1.8 g
- Lipsticks: $23 for 1.8 g
- Cream Blush: $24 for 3.8 g
- Ash and Ember Eye Soot: $24 for 5.75 g
Customer Service:
Rituel de Fille has an email address for customer support, and they do offer returns within 30 days, although shipping is non-refundable.
TAT:
Unfortunately, I can't speak to the typical TAT since I did not place a paid order with Rituel de Fille. I received my order within a week after sending over my shipping details.
Shipping:
Rituel de Fille only ships to the US and Canada at this time, although some of their stockists may do international shipping. Standard US shipping seems to be a $6 flat rate (most likely USPS first class, as this is how the package I received was shipped, although it's possible it was different due to it being a press sample). Canadian shipping is $15 for normal shipping without tracking, or $35 for priority shipping with tracking. Domestic shipping is free on orders over $50, and shipping to Canada is free for orders over $100.Personal Thoughts:
I totally had my eye on Hex from skydart's swatches, but as it turns out, I still haven't learned my lesson about skin tones--while it's gorgeous on her pale complexion, it looked ghastly on my medium warm skin tone (~NC30), far too pale and cool, rather chalky and corpselike. Bittersweet, on the other hand, is a very friendly shade to my complexion, a wearable, cheerful, muted orange with a slight translucency but good pigmentation.Desire is unique among my blushes, a cool, grayed-out lavender mauve. I have nothing remotely similar--the closest I have is Tarte Exposed, which is brighter and more pink.
The Ash and Ember Eye Soot in Golden Age was one of my favorites, although it's a neutral, so it may be too boring to some to justify the price tag. I think it's beautiful, though--a medium cool golden-toned brown that looks like bronzey antique gold in the light, smoky cool taupe brown in shadow, and applies with a glowy satin finish. It looked great just applied to the mobile lid and smoked out at the edges, with some black liner. I did get some creasing with this shade by about 4 hours into wear, but it stayed better over primer.
Bottom line: I think the packaging is wonderful, the quality is there, and there are some unique products and colors, so I think these are wonderful indie splurge items, but for many people, the price point will be a dealbreaker. That said, the total price point is not outrageous, so if you don't mind the smaller size of the product relative to the price, the total out of pocket is under $25 for any given product.
Have you tried Rituel de Fille? What do you think?
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