What is Russian beauty?

What is the first thing that comes to your mind when I say Russian beauty? Is it beautiful models strutting down the catwalk of fashion weeks around the world or is it its ancient traditions and rituals of self-care? In this blogpost we will discuss the latter, the other side of Russian beauty that is more rarely talked about. To make it clear, both have their place in what makes up the Russian beauty scene and its history. But a country like this, with its vast terrain filled with natural resources, has many beauty secrets the world has yet to hear about. Outside the well-known and more cosmopolitan cities like Moscow and St Petersburg, Russia is a huge country with different climates from east to west, north to south. With forests and fields planted in fertile soil that produce an endless number of berries, herbs and fruits in the summertime, the women of Russia have for generations turned to nature for their beauty remedies. Here to shed some light on the natural beauty of Russia is Maria Karr, founder of Rumore beauty, the first Russian beauty store in the US with handpicked skincare products from her native land. Rumore’s mission is to introduce the US market to the natural and potent skincare of Russia. With a mix of traditional ingredients and modern technology we get the absolute best of what the country has to offer in terms of beauty.

In the podcast interview Maria Karr tells us that historically, natural ingredients in homemade remedies have been used up until a few decades ago, especially in smaller towns, where prices of manufactured beauty products were high and in limited quantities. Natural remedies for health and beauty concerns were common practice. These ingredients were found in their gardens or through picking berries and herbs in the forest during the summertime. Being from Siberia, where the seasons include long winters, generally, the women in her family used to dry the herbs and keep it until wintertime for beauty purposes when fresh fruit were low in stock.

Living in the US since 2007 and working as a beauty executive with daily exposure to beauty products from around the world, her curiosity for the beauty products of her own land began to develop. At the end of 2019, Maria took a trip back to her native Russia. Finally, back in her homeland she started going to the stores that carried skincare products made in Russia and discovered several sustainable brands she eagerly tried on herself. She was fascinated, how come these amazing brands exist but almost no one in the largest beauty market in the world, the US, have heard about them? Back in the States, she started pondering about how to bring all her experiences with her background, her work life as a beauty executive and her new home in the United States into something. Out of those brainstorm sessions Rumore Beauty was born. The first step was to investigate which brands were interested in working with them and that also would be interesting to the US consumer. Rumore Beauty were first and foremost interested in sustainable brands that felt like beauty products of today but still contained the ancient wisdom of their ancestors. Another important part besides the products being superb was the companies’ philosophies and approach to beauty.  

Rumore Beauty, which stands for “more Russian beauty”, soft launched in February of 2021 and has already gained buzz. The store has been featured in magazines such as Allure and Vogue Russia amongst others and Maria’s goal as the founder is to continue to spread the word about Russian beauty to the world.

When asked about a special beauty ingredient she loves Maria answers: Hydrolates. Which is close to floral water. It is pure extractions from potent herbs that have been distilled in water.

Having a hard time to narrow down to three favorite products, she reveals that she loves the Honey and Raspberry Face Scrub from mi&ko which is 100% natural. The face masks from Laboratorium which are dry masks you can add water, milk or sour cream to, depending on the consistency you want. There are three types of masks: one with spirulina, another with oats, and lastly a clay mask. Another favorite of hers is the Botavicos Anti stress serum which is PETA cruelty-free and vegan.

Most people think about successful Russian models when they think about Russian beauty. Back when I was younger, I also thought beauty had to be glamorous. My view of beauty back then was shaped around media and societal portrayals of beauty: as perfect faces and bodies on television and on billboards. Today, I know that beauty goes far beyond a perfectly shaped nose, a certain eye color, or a slender physique. Regardless of facial or body features, whether a person has access to the latest fashion or the most luxurious beauty products, everyone already has beauty within them. Every person has beautiful traits, and every person is beautiful. – Maria founder of Rumore Beauty

Find out more on her site: www.rumorebeauty.com

To watch our Youtube Video: https://youtu.be/Qz1f_JEvTF8

Follow them on Social: https://www.instagram.com/rumorebeauty/

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