“Friendly Bombshell”

Are Romantic Dramatic Naturals “the sexiest stars in the universe?”

TV Guide says yes!

Romantic Dramatic Natural (RDN) Katherine Heigl. TV Guide anointed her their “sexiest star.”

Whether or not you trust TV Guide’s ruling on this critical matter, it’s hard to deny that RDNs have distinct, non-subtle, smoldering beauty:

What makes RDNs so attractive? We explore below!

Romantic Dramatic Natural Celebrities

See more celebrities I’ve typed as Romantic Dramatic Natural on Pinterest and listed below:

Caitlin FitzGerald
Carly Pope
Cher
Ebony Morgan
Ellie Goulding
Grace Park
Idina Menzel
Jaslene Gonzalez
Jason Momoa
Jessica Simpson
Katherine Heigl
Kat Von D
Marisa Miller
Padma Lakshmi
Raquel Welch
Rita Hayworth
Rosario Dawson
Shakira
Sistine Rose Stallone
Sophia Stallone
Tara Conner
Viola Davis

Romantic Dramatic Natural Fashion

As an RDN, your aesthetic combines:

Luxurious Romantic Dramatic

And down-to-earth Natural (here featuring an angular Dramatic vest!)

The result? RDN’s “Casual Bombshell” style:

RDNs can live in wide-leg Natural jeans.

For best results, pair with something sexy and edgy, like a sleek bodysuit (doesn’t have to be nearly this high-cut, though that does add Dramatic edge!)

The simplest RDN outfit formula:

Very dressy pieces + very casual ones.
Like a going-out top and roomy jeans.

Or a dress that blends a formal and casual feel:

A plunge-neck bodycon screams Romantic Dramatic. The wide straps and T-shirt style fabric suit Natural.

Increase the casualness by tying a denim top or flannel at the waist.

For colder weather, embrace layers:

Sleek Dramatic jacket, silky Romantic high slit skirt, roomy Natural sweater.

Add even more Dramatic with an extra-long wide belt and alligator purse.

I don’t know if there’s an entire fashion genre based around animal print. But if there is, RDNs can probably rock it like no one else:

Leopard feels sensuous and Romantic. In the context of RDN beauty, it also feels intensely Dramatic and naturally Natural.

These colors seem deeper than Katherine’s skin tone, but even so she’s pulling off what could easily be a pretty out-there look—ultra-tight leopard top with unique, belt-like Dramatic Natural straps, plus a leather-looking skirt that, with the bunched-up effect, kind of has “trashbag chic” vibes.
Again—not my definition of super wearable, but Katherine sells it.

Natural is Casual, Right?

Like all seven style essences, Natural embodies a variety of vibes.

One of those vibes is confidence. Natural faces often have chiseled bone structure that feels assertive, even powerful.

A commonality of Natural bone structure and Natural fashion? Width.

This dress could have been purely Romantic Dramatic if it was body-con with a moderate-size floral. The width paired with unconstructed fabric paired with oversized nature print adds a lot of Natural.

Confident people aren’t afraid to assert themselves and figuratively take up space. Natural fashion isn’t afraid to literally take up space.
So since the Natural essence can appear extremely confident and assertive, you can actually use Natural to emphasize rather than downplay the intensity of Romantic Dramatic.
You can do this by incorporating confident Natural elements such as wide silhouettes and oversized prints.

Depending on how you incorporate Natural into Romantic Dramatic fashion, the RDN aesthetic can be a casual version of Romantic Dramatic or an even more attention-grabbing, show-stopping version.

Romantic Dramatic Natural Faces

What’s true of RDN fashion seems true of RDN faces:

Some RDNs look like friendlier, chiller Romantic Dramatics—“friendly bombshells.”

RDN Grace Park has such intense bone structure. Yet she’s so harmonious with a warm smile.

And sometimes, Natural’s confidence can make RDN beauty appear even more powerful.

Romantic and Dramatic are known for their intensity, while Natural tends to be stereotyped as “casual” or “laidback.” But an intriguing thing about style essences is that **sometimes** **a person’s overall essence blend brings out new sides of their individual essences**.

In the case of RDNs, Natural often seems to lend the face a “strong” or “confident” feel, moreso than a laidback one.
The result? To me, RDNs have some of the most intense, striking beauty of all the types—not in spite of having Natural but because of it.

What’s true of every style type is also true of RDN—in both fashion and faces, the types have so much range. No type embodies just one vibe.

Some RDNs can be walking paradoxes—simultaneously exuding some of the most powerful, commanding, and friendly beauty.

This long hair is fab on RDN Padma Lakshmi—it mirrors her sleek Dramatic.

Factors like makeup, hair, and facial expression have tremendous impact. Some RDNs might find that with smiles and lighter makeup, their vibe is “friendly,” while with heavier makeup, they might look more “confident” or even “intimidating.”

Romantic Dramatic Natural Makeup and Hair

The easiest way to do RDN makeup?

Wear very little or none at all.

Light makeup emphasizes your staggering natural (and Natural) beauty:

RDN Rosario Dawson stuns in sleek Dramatic hair and what could easily pass for zero makeup. These brows might be controversially thin, but RDNs don’t always need big brows to “frame the face”—the face is its own frame.

So RDNs can mesmerize in minimal makeup—and be equally stunning in glam:

Rosario Dawson is also amazing in tightlined eyes, glossy lips, full Romantic waves, and a sexy neckline.

Ultra-minimal, ultra-glam—what can’t RDNs pull off?

RDN Makeup and Hair Missteps

1. Wearing essences outside their blend

RDN Ellie Goulding looks cute here, but the very thick eyeliner and super short wings are iconically Gamine.

Plus, the long platinum hair, frosted light eyeshadow, and delicate brows together feel Ethereal—a great look for an Ethereal Gamine mermaid. Not as good for an RDN friendly bombshell.

Ellie in a more successful look:

This styling feels more authentic—swapping the Ethereal Gamine makeup for chunky lashes and smoky creases better suits Romantic Dramatic. (Though the Gamine top with playful cutouts doesn’t mesh.)

This makeup also feels more fresh-faced and Natural. So does the warmer hair tone.
Critically, any hair color can be harmonious with any style type (besides maybe unnaturally colored hair, like blue, purple). But the platinum hair color Ellie had in the previous photo didn’t look like it matched her skin tone, so it stood out as being an artificial Ethereal addition (platinum is an iconically Ethereal shade). This warmer hue feels more natural (and thus more Natural) for Ellie’s color season *and* style type.
But if platinum hair suits your color season, you can probably rock it as an RDN—it might emphasize your Dramatic (if it feels very light relative to your coloring) or your Natural (if it feels more similar in depth to your overall coloring).

Another common RDN styling mistake:

2. Doing makeup that feels too heavy for Natural (and Romantic)

Depending on your essence ratio, it can be tricky to do a look that feels intense enough for Dramatic without overwhelming laidback Natural.

Rosario is beautiful here but looked more harmonious above—the smoky shadow all over her lids feels a little harsh, especially paired with dense dark brows.
Plus, these puff sleeves and small floral detail bring in a lot of unnecessary Ingenue!

A final RDN makeup mistake:

3. “Playing it safe” with Classic:

What works here—the hair. Romantic volume, Dramatic all off-the-face, and Natural sun-kissed highlights.

And if you cover the necklace (which comes from a different color universe than Katherine’s skin tone), the makeup isn’t bad—the eyes are smoky (Romantic) but just toward the outer halves, so they don’t overpower Natural. The blush also avoids being overwhelming.
The red lip is tricky. Ultimately, a creamy red is too Classic to be ideal—but the color does contrast with Katherine’s fair coloring, and light-dark contrast is great for Romantic and Dramatic. So overall, not bad.

Studying RDN celebs makes me think about the difference between visual harmony and beauty.

People can—and often do—still look beautiful even if they aren’t styled based on their essences.

Their face is still their face, even in an unharmonious context.

But if you’re sensitive to visual dissonance, then sometimes the inherent beauty of any face becomes harder to see when a person wears unflattering makeup (or hair or outfit).

This is partly because seeing a person in incongruent styling can create an uncomfortable feeling of tension in the body. This feeling sometimes makes us want to look away—it distracts rather than attracts.

That’s why, especially if you’re sensitive to visual harmony, style analysis is so key to looking authentic and, some may say, beautiful.

Style analysis really honors and accentuates natural beauty, rather than masking a face behind a context that can (sometimes) create an uncomfortable feeling of dissonance.

Your Best Colors?

As an RDN, you might find your best colors are the ones that have the clearest associations with all your essences.

Specifically, reds and deep or vibrant oranges can feel passionate and Romantic, intense and Dramatic, and also evoke nature and changing leaves for Natural.

So you might find that your color season’s version of red and orange are some of your most flattering.

Your best colors also have a lot to do with your specific skin tone and season, which brings us to:

Color Season Connection?

No matter your color season, you can make it work with your style type.

The seasons most stereotypically associated with RDN are probably:

Autumn (laidback, down-to-earth Natural; Romantic with many warm red tones)
Winter (intense Dramatic; formal, luxurious Romantic)
Spring (the passionate warmth of Romantic)

Plus, Natural can be a very natural fit with Summer, too, with the peaceful and warm-weather vibes of both the essence and the season.

So… really any color season can be an easy fit for RDN!

This may eventually be the topic of a longer post, but I probably sometimes overemphasize the idea that “certain style essences have more in common with certain color seasons.”

I do think that every color season has an essence or essences that it’s most stereotypically associated with.

But there are also colors and color combinations within every single color season that will flatter every single style essence.

If your color season isn’t a stereotypical fit for your style essences, that’s not a negative—it just makes you even more unique and fascinating!

Romantic Dramatic Natural