Laura Mercier

Like We Did This Morning, Laura Mercier’s Easy-to-Use Illuminating Eye Colour in Gilded Bronze Rises and Shines

November 27th, 2012 by Karen 25 Comments

Wearing the new Laura Mercier Illuminating Eye Colour in Gilded Bronze ($24)

What if my eyelids naturally shimmered, and all I had to do was be awake? I’d probably stumble out of bed as usual, with my crazy-@ss hair and (sometimes) crusty drool around the corners of my mouth, and shamble to the bathroom.

But then! — then I’d gaze upon my reflection in the mirror and be almost blinded by my shimmery eyes. Wham, glam, thank you, ma’am!

Of course, that’s just a fantasy… Real people don’t have eyelids that naturally shimmer (le sigh), but I think I may have found the next best thing, Laura Mercier’s $24 Illuminating Eye Colour in Gilded Bronze, one of four shades in the new Art Deco Muse collection.

Illuminating Eye Colour in Gilded Bronze ($24)

These eyeshadows have a luminous, pearlescent finish and a soft, almost bouncy texture similar to the MAC Extra Dimensions (which I love!), and they shower eyelids with shimmer and pigment.

Gilded Bronze, an easy-to-use neutral bronze with taupe tendencies, is my favorite of the bunch. I have a feeling it’ll get along swimmingly with skin tones on both ends of the color temperature spectrum.

For the kind of shine I can comfortably wear to daytime events, I just pat a miniscule amount directly on my lids (I think you can get away with using less on darker skin) with a firm, flat eyeshadow brush like Laura’s All Over Eye Colour Brush, and buff out the edges with a tapered blending brush like Laura’s Pony Tail.

Then, I curl my lashes, treat them to Chanel Le Volume Mascara, swipe a smidgen of Laura’s stunning Lip Lacquer in Laque Rouge gloss on my lips, and “Why, yes, I am ready for my closeup, Mr. Deville.” 🙂

Alternately, for a bolder, high-shine metallic shimmer, I’ll simply add a second layer.

More to adore about Glided Bronze…

When the medium-sized flecks of shimmer catch the light, they demand attention! This is definitely not a shadow for shimmer shy wallflowers.
The buttery smooth formula blends easily into other shadows.
I don’t detect any fallout at all.
When I layer it on top of my NARS primer, it resists fading and settling into those annoying little lines on my lids…

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Unsung Heroes: Laura Mercier Metallic Creme Eye Colour in Gold

November 23rd, 2012 by Karen 26 Comments

On super busy days (ahem, like the first time you host Thanksgiving dinner at your house), getting an extra five minutes to put on some makeup in the morning can mean the difference between success and a nervous breakdown.

Those 300 critical seconds could end up saving someone from being shanked with a butter knife, and preventing me from spontaneously transforming into a brains-craving zombie.

To take absolute advantage of those vital minutes of life-saving meow time, there’s Laura Mercier’s $22 Metallic Creme Eye Colour in Gold, a shimmery cream shadow capable of overcoming a number of makeup and beauty challenges like…

Problem: Totally tired eyes.
Solution: Let’s not even go there about my insomnia issues and the 50 shades of purple I’ve been waking up with under my eyes. This cream shadow’s softly golden finish glows like a tropical vacation in a tube. Wearing it I feel like I look relaxed and well rested, almost like I just woke up from a three-day power nap (I WISH).

Problem: No time for brushes.
Solution: Gold’s as quick and easy to use as pecan pie is to love (my favorite, BTW — much more than pumpkin). I pat and blend a small amount on my lids with a finger. Takes all but 60 seconds.

Problem: Getting the look of effortless eyes.
Solution: Easy like Sunday morning, Gold highlights eyes with a whisper, versus a SHOUT. But you still look like you’re wearing something, making it a great choice for busy mornings, brunches and first dates (among other events).

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Rich, Red and Opaque, Laura Mercier Lip Lacquer in Laque Rouge Is Red-dy for Action

November 22nd, 2012 by Karen 23 Comments

laura mercier laque rouge lip lacquer — Wearing the new Laura Mercier Lip Lacquer in Laque Rouge ($22)

Red hot mama or not, Laura Mercier’s new $22 Lip Lacquer in Laque Rouge, from the new Art Deco Muse Collection, is not a lipgloss I’d want to wear on the dance floor while Bizarre Love Triangle pulses over loudspeakers.

No, it is not ideal for such situations — like when you’re shaking your groove thang and that cute boy across the room makes goo-goo eyes at you…

(You know what I’m talking about.)

There are better lip products for times like that, like perhaps sheerer products, like good ol’ MAC Big Baby and Ample Pink.

Limited edition Laque Rouge is so rich, red and opaque that a lip liner and a steady hand are practically required.

Normally, my lazy side would say, “pish-tosh!” to something like that. “I’ll pass.” But Laque Rouge forces me to reconsider. It’s one of the shiniest, most intense fire-engine reds I’ve even seen, and wearing it makes me feel like a (short, Filipino) ’40s screen siren.

What is it?

A full-coverage, intensely pigmented lipgloss with a lacquer-like finish.

What’s the texture like?

The medium-weight formula feels a little sticky, but comfortable, and it applies evenly without streaking.

Is it moisturizing?

Very! My parched pout had a few flakes before I put it on the other day, and after a few hours, my lips felt about a million times better, softer and satiated. I also like that the formula doesn’t emphasize every little crack or flake.

What’s the taste/scent situation?

Non existent, because it has neither.

And how about wear time?

I get anywhere from 4-6 hours per application (less if I’m sipping or snacking).

Is it similar to any other products?

Are you familiar with Hourglass Extreme Sheen High Shine Lip Gloss in Icon or MAC Extreme Sheen in Drive By Love? — because it reminds me of both of those, and other pigmented, high-shine glosses.

Anything else I should know?

Yay for the easy-to-use doe-foot applicator! For a super precise look, though, you might also want a lip brush for getting into corners, and for your cupid’s bow.

One more thing — Laque Rouge seems to lean a little warm on me and has yellow undertones, so it might not be a great fit if you prefer your reds with a blue base. If that’s the case, MAC Russian Red Lipglass might be a better choice.

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The Laura Mercier Art Deco Muse Collection Artfully Channels 1920s Paris in Its Intense Reds and Gilded Eye Colours

November 19th, 2012 by Karen 31 Comments

I dunno what was going on at the dentist’s office today — maybe the staff felt like starting the Thanksgiving holiday early — but they were playing some crazy-@ss samba music over the speakers! If someone hadn’t been rutting around inside my mouth at the time with a very sharp hook, I totally would’ve been down to shake my maracas.

But since the tunes didn’t have any lyrics that I could mentally sing along to (they usually play oldies), I kept hearing things in the other rooms… Scary things, like the whine of a very loud drill, and snippets of a convo with the words, “probe” and “bleeding,” being thrown around repeatedly.

Oh, gawd!

Somehow, I managed not to lose my sh*z. No tears or passing out, so yay for small victories!

After my visit, though, I felt like I needed a treat, so I sought solace at the closest peaceful refuge — the makeup counter at Nordie’s. 🙂

I’m almost ashamed to admit that I nearly pushed through a gang of older ladies clad in Burberry from head to toe to get to the new Art Deco Muse display at the Laura Mercier counter.

It caught my eye from across the store… So much shimmer, so much red and gold and OM NOM NOM!

I’d seen the collection online a few weeks ago and, truth be told, didn’t think much of it at the time. Hrmph! Looks like pretty standard holiday fare with red lips and gold eyes.

But, GURL! I must say it’s much more compelling in person.

Inspired by mid-1920s Parisian Art Deco, the limited edition holiday launch features metallic shades like gold and bronze, and rich reds, burgundy and black.

The quilted Illuminating Eye Colours ($24 each) spoke to me. I love shiny metallics, and I almost swooned right there in the store after swatching the four shades on the back of my hand.

Laura did not hold back on the pigment with these powder shadows, and they’re so downy soft that they practically melt into my skin…

I hope I dream tonight, and in my dream I’m wearing Gilded Bronze. 🙂 On my NC 42 skin, it’s a beautifully warm (at least I think so) grayish taupe.

Illuminating Eye Colour in Gilded Moonlight ($24)

laura mercier laque rouge — Lip Laquer in Lip Rouge ($24)

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The Cute Laura Mercier Colour-to-Go Portable Palette for Eyes, Cheeks & Lips in Warm Neutrals Is Such a Fun Size

November 2nd, 2012 by Karen 10 Comments

laura mercier colour to go warm neutrals — Wearing the new Laura Mercier Colour-to-Go Portable Palette for Eyes, Cheeks & Lips in Warm Neutrals, $48

A couple of unimportant fun facts for your Friday night…

1. Laura Mercier’s new Colour-to-Go Portable Palette for Eyes, Cheeks & Lips in Warm Neutrals ($48) is roughly the size of three Fun Size Snickers candybars lying side by side.

2. Having eaten the last of the leftover Fun Size Snickers from Halloween, I am now unable to post a picture of the palette with the candies for scale.

LOL! I had that bowl on my lap last night while watching Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter and sipping a glass of Riesling…

Klassy. 🙂

I thought the movie was a’ight (neat concept and effects), but those little Snickers bars were great! In fact, I think I had about four of them.

They’re maybe just a morsel more tempting than this two-tiered, limited edition holiday palette from Laura…

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You’ll Be Thrilled to Find Kohl in Your Christmas Stocking if It’s the New Laura Mercier Smoky Effects Mini Kohl Eye Pencil Collection

October 22nd, 2012 by Karen 24 Comments

Normally, waking up on Christmas morning to find coal in my stocking would be a big holiday bummer. Did Santa have me on the naughty list? I’d wonder, turning to Tabs for support.

But if that coal was spelled with a “K” and had a label that said, “From: Laura,” I’d be dancing like Snoopy from A Charlie Brown Christmas.

Kohl, as in Laura Mercier’s Smoky Effects Mini Kohl Pencil Collection ($48). One of these in my stocking, and there’d be no doubt on which of Santa’s lists my name appears, because this set of eight creamy, soft and smudgy holiday cookie-sized (read: big) pencils is nice, nice, nice. 🙂

All but one of the colors, Jet Black, have been around the block a few times. A couple of them qualify as basics in my book, like Brown Copper (like a slightly more golden MAC Teddy) and the brand new, limited edition Jet Black, but that’s not to take anything away from them at all. They’re wearable workhouse shades, the kind that are always good to have, but it’s the other colors — Black Violet, Stormy Grey, Black Gold, Black Turquoise, Black Navy and Antique Jade — that I think most makeup nerds will covet (lots of duo-chrome action going on).

Shimmery, complex and unexpected, these pigmented liners could easily have been from MAC, NARS or Illamasqua.

Almost like real storm clouds, Stormy Grey, a longtime LM favorite of mine, shifts in the light from a deep gunmetal to a peacock blue, while my other favorite, the blackened, burnished Black Gold (LOVE!) makes this Forty Niner fan’s heart flutter.

The set is helping me discover some new Laura faves, like Black Violet, a shimmery black tinged with royal purple, and Black Turquoise, which reminds me of MAC’s teal grayish green Club Eye Shadow, if it were an eyeliner instead.

Laura Mercier Smoky Effects Mini Kohl Eye Pencil Collection Swatches — From the left: Antique Jade, Black Navy, Black Gold, Black Turquoise, Black Violet, Brown Copper, Jet Black and Stormy Grey

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Two Things I’m Doing Right This Second

October 22nd, 2012 by Karen 9 Comments

First thing: listening to The Cure’s Close to Me (hands down my fave Cure song of all time) on repeat.

Second thing: admiring the new Laura Mercier Colour-to-Go Portable Palette for Eyes, Cheeks & Lips in Warm Neutrals ($48). 🙂

Unsung Heroes: Laura Mercier Metallic Creme Eye Colour in Copper

October 8th, 2012 by Karen 38 Comments

I’m not saying I’m ready to raise my hands up to the heavens and yell at the top of my lungs, “J.K. Rowling was right! Magic is real!!” but I’m not ruling it out anymore.

It sure looks like there was wizardry at work over at Laura Mercier headquarters, also known as the Hogwarts of the makeup world, when they concocted Metallic Creme Eye Colour in Burnished Copper ($22).

If you’ve ever dreamt of a creamy version of MAC Sable or, perhaps less likely, imagined yourself smearing a magic potion made of melted copper pennies all over your lids, this warm reddish bronze, with its whisper of plummy gold, could be your dreams coming to life.

For years I’ve searched for something I could use as a base to intensify the copper, bronze, plum, gold and brown colors I love to wear in the fall. With Burnished Copper, I think I’ve finally found it.

Smooth and fluffy, it spreads across my combo oily/dry lids without tugging, and the long-lasting formula has incredible fortitude once it sets. It should last all day long on most skin types, with the possible exception of gals/guys with extremely oily lids, who may need the extra help of a primer.

laura mercier burnished copper swatch — Unblended (left) and blended (right)

Remarkably, considering how shiny they are, Laura’s Metallic Cream Eye Colours have always treated my fine lines with dignity and respect. How she manages to make them so shiny without going overboard on the frost is a mystery to me.

I like knowing that I can wear Burnished Copper all by itself, with just a swish of black liner on my upper and lower water and lash lines, without stressing out about it settling into the crinkles that show up when I smile.

Seriously, if that’s not magic, I don’t know what is. 🙂

Where cat ladies like to shop…

Yesterday afternoon, El Hub and I drove down to the mall to grab a burger (his was meat-ful, mine was veg), and after eating, we just sort of tooled around, first to REI to look at camping/zombie apocalypse supplies, like water purification tablets, hatchets and bags of freeze dried food (the Eggs Benedict stays fresh through 2018).

After REI, we walked into Urban Outfitters, where I haven’t been for a while (I feel like I’m too old for most of their clothes, truth be told), but I was really surprised by their big selection of gadgets and gizmos.

They also had a bunch of old-fashioned film cameras and other random tchotchkes and baubles…
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