RCMA Makeup, a professional makeup brand founded in 1963, launched on Ulta.com and the Ulta app through Ulta Beauty Marketplace, the company said in a Nov. 6 release. The RCMA Makeup Ulta launch is the brand’s first beauty retail partnership. The brand has sold to working makeup artists for 63 years, a calculation from its founding date. Mass retail is a change of audience, and the release makes its case for the move with one product feature: shade range.
What RCMA Is Selling on Ulta
The launch includes RCMA’s No-Color Powder, its 5-Part Palettes and its Summer Lights Illuminating Balms. The new product is Red Carpet Ready Multimedia Liquid Foundation, which RCMA says it developed with Academy Award-winning makeup artist Justin Raleigh. RCMA describes the line as vegan, cruelty-free and dermatologist tested. Those are the company’s claims. The release does not list prices.
Foundation Shades and the Range Claim
The foundation comes in 48 shades across three undertone families, according to the release. That works out to 16 shades in each family, a calculation from the two figures. Shade range is the measure shoppers use to judge a foundation launch, and 48 shades is a specific number a customer can check against her own match. The claim holds up only if the shades are spread evenly across light, medium and deep tones, and a count by itself does not say how they are distributed.
Who Owns the Brand
Vincent JR Kehoe founded RCMA in 1963. The company is family-owned and run by his grandsons and co-owners, JR and Christian Kehoe, the third generation. It is based in Camarillo, California. RCMA is not a Black-owned brand.
“Partnering with Ulta is a natural next chapter,” said JR and Christian Kehoe, the company’s co-owners, in the release. The fair case for the deal is that a brand with a professional following now sits where a first-time buyer can find it. Shoppers can order the line on Ulta.com and in the Ulta app now.
