Countdown to rhode! Here are Our Beauty Editor's First Impressions
February 5 | 5 minute read
Words by Romy Erdos
When it comes to hyped brands, rhode most certainly is the blueprint. While we have all seen our fair share of ‘celebrity’ brands, this product lineup – one could argue – is even more famous than the founder, Hailey Rhode Bieber, herself. The Glazing Milk started a whole new skincare category (skin milk) and the Peptide Lip Tint became worthy of its own phone case to keep on hand at all times.
After more than a decade in the beauty industry, my cynicism was high, but the hype had piqued my interest. Was it rhode? Or just Hailey’s genetics? I’d ogled that too-good-to-be-true glow, accidentally spent $100USD in postage to have it mail forwarded to me and felt disappointment that as a beauty writer, I’d never thought of glazed as a synonym for glowy.
As I lined the products up along my basin, prepared to indulge in the glazed skin routine I’d seen all over my feed, I felt smug. I thought I’d seen it all. This will leave me whelmed, surely…
I started with the Pineapple Refresh Cleanser. The texture: balmy but liquid; the shade: dopamine-inducing yellow (a nod to the exfoliating pineapple enzymes inside); the lather: so satisfying. I washed off all the dirt, grime and sleepiness but somehow washed on a hydrated, healthy glow. I don’t think I’ve ever truly loved a cleanser – it’s a practical step on the way to the rest of your skincare – but this one induced a little jaw drop as I caught my skin’s reflection in the mirror.
I moved onto the Glazing Milk. Over the last few years – and two kids – I’ve begun to streamline my routine. Only the essentials, only five minutes. Adding a step feels unnecessary. This milky toner goes on after cleanser, before serums and moisturisers – “an essential prep step in your skincare routine” according to the brand, which seems a bit superfluous to me? I smoothed the liquid over my (usually sensitive) skin and I almost heard an audible sigh of relief: cooling, soothing and radiance-inducing – thanks to a trio of barrier-loving ceramides inside. Immediately the step I never knew I needed was one I could never live without.
After the Peptide Glazing Fluid (a brightening, hydrating and plumping gel serum) made my skin look like glass and the rich and nourishing Barrier Butter (with hyaluronic acid and murmur butter) seemed to seal everything in, my skin was as close to Hailey’s as it was ever going to get. It was so radiant, healthy, hydrated – it almost felt wrong to put makeup on. And somehow, I didn’t really need to. Or a lot less anyway (refer back to two kids).
What I did put on was the Pocket Blush in shade ‘Freckle’ (cuuuute!). I’m not a big blush wearer (I know, gasp!) but this one was so easy to use, pigmented but blendable with fingers or a brush – impossible to mess up. It’s long-wearing, hydrating and the packaging… just so chic! I was told that I “look very alive” today and I attribute that to this blush.
Consider me a Hailey ‘Belieber’. rhode really does live up to the hype. Beyond being incredibly instantly gratifying, it’s packed with powerhouse ingredients like plumping peptides, ceramides and hyaluronic acid that build your barrier over time – so your skin actually gets better the more you use it. I received two compliments on my skin that day; I wanted to say three because, well, that sounds better, but it was two and it was ‘really good’.