Makeup Withdrawal

Showing posts with label Laura Mercier. Show all posts

Top Ten Favorite Eyeshadows (That Are Still Available)

Thursday, March 14, 2019

I recently posted a photo of my entire eye shadow stash on Instagram and it prompted a question from @anafterglow: what are my top ten favorites? I decided to pick ten that were still available, though truthfully many of my most unique powder shadows were limited edition and long gone. Nothing is worse than seeing something you really like, only to find out that there's no way of getting it - a tad cruel for me to do that to you, right?

Laura Mercier Velour Extreme Lipstick in Queen

Monday, January 22, 2018

I was recently sent two Laura Mercier Velour Extreme Lipsticks from Influencer, complimentary. I was pretty excited as matte is without a doubt my favorite finish for lipsticks, despite how dry my lips are. The two colors that I ended up with were Queen and Rampage.

A Few Laura Mercier Eye Colours

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Good evening!

I've professed my love of Laura Mercier Eye Colour shadows many times now so it shouldn't surprise anyone that I recently bought a few more shades. As it so happened, I picked one Matte, and two Luster finishes. I had been eyeing Topaz for a while as well as Black Plum and Sherazade just happened to jump in my cart.

Laura Mercier Pony Tail Brush

Saturday, June 28, 2014

I bought another brush (of course you did Mimi, you needed another brush like a dog needs ticks). The Laura Mercier Pony Tail brush was not only recommended to me by you guys, dear readers but also at the counter the last time I chatted with an artist. You know me, it didn't take much convincing.

Laura Mercier Bronzing Pressed Powder in Dune Bronze

Sunday, May 4, 2014

So as it turns out, I've been sitting on this review for about a year. I purchased Laura Mercier Bronzed Pressed Powder in Dune Bronze last April. I'm not sure why I did, not even to this day. I'm not a big bronzer person, I just prefer my untanned color to bronzed skin (this explains how I must be the only person in the state of California to have a vitamin D deficiency). I think I bought in the off chance I did tan a bit over the summer and rather than buy darker foundation, it would be easier to sweep on a bit of bronze color.

Laura Mercier Cheek Colour Brush

Sunday, April 6, 2014

Another day, another brush review! Today I'd like to discuss the softest cheek brush I own. This is the Laura Mercier Cheek Colour Brush. This was one of those 4 a.m. purchases that seemed like a great idea at the time, but when I woke up in the morning I was feeling a bit more WHAT HAVE I DONE? Luckily all I manage to do was to purchase a sublimely soft brush that is unlike other cheek brushes in my collection.

Before we continue, I have to mention that I have the long handled version, which took some finagling (I cannot express to you how much I dislike short handles). The version available at most department stores these days is with the travel handle. The two have the same head, handle length is the only difference.

The bristles of this particular brush are blue squirrel and let me tell you, they are ridiculously soft, very fine and quite pliable. If you find yourself to be quite heavy handed with blush, this is blush brush for you. The hairs don't pick up as much powder as my other blush brushes, which can be a good thing for some. The application method is also different compared to blush brushes with a more full dome shape (like for example, the MAC 129).

Left to right: Hakuhodo 210, Laura Mercier Cheek Colour, Sephora Cheek Brush (part of a set), unknown cheek brush.

This is definitely the most flat brush that I own, the closest brush in shape being the Sephora one. However, the hair lengths are quite different. The Sephora bristles are all on the longer side, causing a more poofy shape whereas the Laura Mercier brush's bristles are arranged with more of a taper (think of it like layers in a haircut).

Since the LM brush is shaped more like a paddle, I find that sweeping motions rather than any sort of circular buffing work best. Using the side of the brush, I pick up and deposit sheer washes of color. This brush works fantastically with blushes that are alarmingly pigmented, it gives you a great deal of control and allows you to increase the intensity in gradual layers. However, I can see how some might find the bristles too soft and possibly annoying to work with, especially if you're in a hurry and want that blush to apply itself.

My brush did shed a tiny bit when it first arrived but I noticed that it was only in one particular spot on the , as though something wasn't quite glued tight in a specific area. In other words, I would consider this a defect unique to this brush and it wouldn't keep me from recommending the Laura Mercier Cheek Colour Brush to others.

At $45, I certainly won't insist that this is an absolute must. However, if you're in the market for a luxury brush and having found yourself to be perhaps a bit heavy handed with the application of powder rouge, this marvelously soft brush may be perfect for you.

The Laura Mercier Cheek Colour Brush can be purchased from Nordstrom and similar stores.

What's your favorite cheek brush? Do you prefer softer brushes that glide or stiffer blush brushes that pick up pigment nicely?

(By the way, I'm on vacation until the 14th of April! I won't be able to read and respond to comments until then.)
Products featured were purchased by me. Post contains affiliate links. For additional information, please refer to my Disclosure Policy.

Perfume Diary: Laura Mercier Eau Gourmande Almond Coconut Eau de Toilette

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

You know, I'm not usually a gourmand fan, I'm quite wary when it comes to fragrances that even have a whiff of food like notes. The only gourmand I've really liked in recent memory was Jo Malone Lemon Tart from the Sugar and Spice Collection and it still pains me a bit that I was foolish enough to pass on that. Let's not speak of that. When I recently acquired Laura Mercier Eau Gourmande Almond Coconut EdT, I had high hopes because I quite like both almond and coconut quite a bit. It was a risky "blind" buy and I'm a bit ashamed of myself for not sniffing it first.

Laura Mercier Finishing Eye Brush

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

This review is long overdue, I purchased the Laura Mercier Finishing Eye Brush back in May of last year. I was curious about this brush because of its duofiber bristles. It's the same price as the MAC 286 ($32), so I opted for the Laura Mercier because I not tried any brushes from the brand yet and wanted to get a feel for what they were like.

According to the Laura Mercier website, the bristles are "natural" and the white is synthetic. I'm rubbish at trying to identify animal hairs so I won't even try to guess what exactly "natural" means. The synthetic bristles extend approximately 2.5mm further than the other hairs. The brush is soft, rather loose in terms of brush head density. The shape is slightly tapered, but more of a long bristled dome shape than a severe taper. The handle is lighter than MAC, even a tad bit lighter than Hakuhodo brushes of the same size.

I find this brush to be quite good at diffusing color. This is not really the sort of brush that is good for moving large amounts of shadow around for blending, but more for buffing color into a fade. The one thing that I've noticed is that it is a very one directional. That is, if you do any sort of windshield wiper motions back and forth, you may find the synthetic bristles to be a bit pokey. It's uncomfortable on the delicate eye area, so I advise to stick to outward and upward strokes instead of any circular movements.

Giorgio Armani #22, Stila #9, Hakuhodo G5522BkSL, Laura Mercier Finishing Eye Brush

Compared to other brushes of similar size and shape, I would say that the LM Finishing Eye is the one of the more rounded tapered blending brushes I have. Hakuhodo G5522BkSL is softer, finer, pointier and denser and it does it similar job though since more bristles contact the skin, it does what Finishing Eye does with less work.

My favorite use for this brush is to create what I call the lazy smoked eye. That is to say, a monochromatic look with just one dark shadow, like so:

This is L'oreal Infallible Smoldering Plum. On the left side, I've simply patted on the color to my movable lid. On the right side, I've diffused the color upwards and outwards. Since this does lessen the intensity, I would then pat more color on my lid closest to the lash line.

The finished look, with hastily smudged black liner and a swipe of mascara.

Other products worn:

Brows: Anastasia Brow Powder Duo in Granite, Essence Brow & Lash Mascara

Eyes: LORAC Behind The Scenes Eye Primer, CoverGirl LiquidLineBlast Liner in Black, CoverGirl Flame Out Mascara

Face: Dolce & Gabbana The One Luminous Foundation, Wet'n'Wild Take On The Day Powder, La Femme Heather Blush

Lips: Bite Beauty Musk

Have you tried any Laura Mercier brushes or any other duofiber eye brushes? I know Real Techniques had a LE set with one and Hakuhodo makes a few that aren't black/white but white on white bristles.

Products featured were purchased by me, for my own use. For additional information, please refer to my Disclosure Policy.

Laura Mercier Illuminating Eye Colour in Fire Glow

Thursday, June 13, 2013

I've been drawn to two things lately; Laura Mercier products and the color orange. All of a sudden, I want all things orange; blush, shadow even lipstick. When I had my makeover with a regional Laura Mercier artist at the Nordstrom Trend Show, the artist used Fire Glow on me and I had to bring it home.

Fire Glow is from the Summer 2013 Folklore Collection and is limited edition. It's a bright metallic orange, enough red in the color that it's definitely not copper. The finish is chunky metallic (but not glitter) with little specks of gold which really give it dimension. The pigmentation is fantastic, it looks good with or without primer but looks especially saturated when used over a wet base like Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy. In fact, I think Fire Glow tends to look more sparkly without a primer, I think the naturally uneven surface of the skin lets light hit the particles in a more scattered way.

I'm also wearing:

Brows: NARS Bali shadow
Eyes: LORAC Behind The Scenes Eye Primer, Laura Mercier Vanilla Nuts, Laura Mercier Cafe au Lait, Laura Mercier Rich Coffee, Calvin Klein Night Dust, Milani Grandissimo mascara
Face: MUFE HD + Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk, Black Radiance Complexion Perfection, NARS Light Reflecting Pressed Powder, La Femme Orange blush, La Femme Heather blush
Lips: Model Co Strip Tease*

Laura Mercier Illuminating Eye Colour in Fire Glow is $24 and can be purchased with other Folklore products at Nordstrom.

Is there a color that you're currently obsessing over?

*indicates a product that was sent for review. All others were purchased by me. For additional information, please refer to my Disclosure Policy.

Laura Mercier Artiste Palette For Eyes

Thursday, February 21, 2013

The title of this post really should have been One Palette To Rule Them All. It took me a while to review this palette (still a lot of backlog I'm working through!) but I really love it. There's been a lot of awesome neutral eye palettes released in the last year - the Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette, the Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette and palettes that are aren't strictly full of neutral shades but have a lot of work appropriate, user friendly shades such as the LORAC Pro Palette or theBalm Meet Matt(e). I think the Laura Mercier Artiste Palette falls into that second category since only half of the shades are really neutrals, but the other six shadows coordinate in a really beautiful way.

First, let's take a look at the colors. The top row contains the sparkle/shimmer shades while the bottom row of the palette consists of entirely matte shades. I swatched them all in one row because ... quite frankly I wanted to see if they would all fit. From left to right: Chocolate, African Violet, Sable, Guava, Cameo, Sunlit, Vanilla Nuts, Plum Smoke, Cafe au Lait, Coffee Ground, Deep Night and Rich Coffee.

Some of the sparkly shades (namely Chocolate and African Violet) are a little chunkier and I must advocate the use of shadow adhesive (think Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy, Too Faced Glitter Glue) to really bring out the sparkle. I did notice that the two darkest mattes (Deep Night and Rich Coffee) were a smidge drier than the other mattes but in my experience that did not cause fall out or make them harder to apply in anyway. The other shades are really wonderful; smooth, silky and finely milled.

I really like the packaging quite a bit. Why? I hate palettes with a space for a tiny brush. I really do. It's wasted space and I can't ever recall a time where I liked the accompanying brush. So my hat is off to Laura Mercier for not putting the brush in. The top of the palette contains a mirror on the inside and closes with a magnetic flap. The material on the outside is soft, faux snakeskin. At first I was worried that it was going to be delicate and that if I tossed it in with my brushes and other tools during travel, it would scuff or catch on an implement. I've brought it on many trips and I'm pleased to report that it is sturdier than it looks!

In all, this is a really nice palette. The quality is outstanding. You have your staple shades; matte ivory for brow bone highlight, sparkly brown, matte browns for crease definition, near black for lining. You also have a lot of really beautiful and might I stress uncommon shades such as African Violet, Sable and Deep Night that are really exquisite and allow for an infinite combination of looks.

So the bad news... it took me so long to review this palette (it was purchased during Sephora's F&F!) that it is no longer on the Sephora website. I have however, still seen it in store at Sephora so it doesn't hurt to call and check. It retails for $48.

Product featured was given to me as a gift. For additional information, please refer to my Disclosure Policy.

50 Words or Less Reviews, Vol. III: Samples

Monday, July 30, 2012

Time for another installment of 50 Words or Less Reviews! This time I'll feature things that I tried first as samples or minis and how they influenced me to buy the product (or in some cases, throw them away and vow to never waste my money).

1. Laura Mercier Eye Basics in Wheat. $24 for 0.18oz.
Wow. Didn't know a product could make my lids look weirdly peachy and patchy, eye shadow hard to blend, crease more easily and just generally make my eye makeup look pretty bad. But this product can. Toss!

2. First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream. $28 for 6oz.
Perfume SA gave me a sample to increase longevity of perfume. I applied it on my neck, broke me out in huge cystic acne. As a hand and body cream, doesn't do much for me. Really prefer Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Lotion, much less costly for better results.

3. Clarisonic Gentle Hydro Cleanser. $25 for 6oz.
I was pleasantly surprised to how much I liked this when a sample came with my Mia brush. Non foaming, watery cream texture. Gently cleanses my face without stripping or leaving residue. Actually bought a full sized bottle!

4. CLEAN Skin Perfume. $69 for 2.14oz.
I've waxed poetic about this perfume before. My point is, a SA gave me a sample and I absolutely fell head over heels in love at first sniff. It took me less than three days (for both me and the BF) to decide that I absolutely needed this. Full bottle? Absolutely.

5. Laura Mercier Foundation Primer. $32 for 1.75oz.
I like that this primer feels like a lotion, but that makes me feel like I could simply use a light moisturizer and it'd work just as well. Not so great at oil control, but decent for beautiful foundation application. Kinda pricey, so insert 'meh' sound here.

I feel really fortunate that here in the United States we have Sephora stores that are more than happy to provide us with samples! Not only that, but with orders we get to chose even more samples. It's a great way to test something out without the commitment of paying full price for something you might not like/breaks you out/smells like wet dog on you without the hassle of having to return it. That being said, we're also pretty lucky that a lot of stores have such generous return policies!

Have you tried any of these five products? What samples have you used lately that convinced you that you needed that product/never would buy it?

Products featured were given to me as samples as a part of being a consumer or purchased by me for my own use. For additional information, please refer to my Disclosure Policy.