laura mercier

I was surprised and more than a little impressed that for her latest collection, foundation phenom Laura Mercier went WAY back — almost 3,000 years back — to the ancient Han Dynasty and the trade routes ancient merchants from China, India, Tibet, Persia and the Mediterranean used to sell their silk, satin, perfumes, spices, medicines and jewels.

Available now on Laura Mercier counters and online, the 13-piece Silk Road collection was inspired by the precious gemstones and raw silks that moved along those ancient routes, but when I stopped by the counter yesterday to take a look, I found myself asking something I imagine some of those ancient merchants must asked: “Haven’t we been this way before?”

Two of the items, Persian Rose Blush and Gold Thread Liquid Liner, look familiar to me. Luckily, I like them both. 🙂 Persian Rose Blush reminds me of NARS Orgasm, and doesn’t Gold Thread Liquid Liner bear a striking resemblance to MAC Superslick Liquid Liner in Pure Show?

Renowned for their award-winning face makeup, the relatively small Laura Mercier line, named after the famous French makeup artist, is one of my favorites. Their foundations, tinted moisturizers, primers and concealers are fixtures atop Best of Beauty lists. I wear Laura’s Oil-Free Foundation in many of my pictures because I love the complete coverage it provides. I also really like some of the fun things the line does with their seasonal color collections, often accenting neutrals with dashes of brights (reminds me of Chanel).

Even though I feel like I’ve seen a couple of these colors before, I still think they’re great and fit nicely into Laura’s latest crop of gorgeously wearable makeup for spring.

Here, we see shimmery purple, taupe and pink eyeshadows ringed by gold, gray and indigo liners (for a nice contrast); and lips and cheeks sparkling in shimmery shades of warm pink, coral and gold.

Products in the Laura Mercier Silk Road Collection

Eye & Cheek Palette, $48 (new; limited edition) — It contains six shimmery powder products — two blushes and four eyeshadows. Persian Rose, the blush that I think looks a lot like NARS Orgasm, appears just as universally flattering as well (YES!). And the second blush, shimmery golden Palace Pink, should work well as a blush for lighter lashes, or as a highlighter for bronzy babes.

The eyeshadows, Golden Sands (a pinkish beige with silver and golden glitter) and Regal Violet (a blackend purple with pink glitter) apply sheer with lots of glitter; Rare Taupe (a shimmery purplish taupe) and Lavender Silk (a opalescent purple) increase the collection’s WOW factor with rich pigments and a high-shine finish.
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