Laura Mercier SAND GLOW, ROSE GOLD Caviar Stick Eye Colour Swatches & Review

Posted on May 18, 2013 by Brooke

Laura Mercier Caviar Stick Eye Colour has been long bragged about from my Makeup Wars buddies, so I figured I needed to see this magic for myself! This product is available in 12 shades, so I purchased two of my favorites from the bunch to swatch, test and share with you! Please enjoy the Summery shades of Sand Glow and Rose Gold!

What Sephora says about Laura Mercier Caviar Stick Eye Colour:

What it is:
An eye pencil that offers a new technique to enhance the smoky eye look.

What it does:
Inspired by Laura Mercier’s cult classic Caviar Eye Liner, Caviar Stick Eye Colour is offered in a range of beautiful shades and in a creamy formula to provide endless options for a flawless smoky eye. Each convenient stick is long-wearing, transfer-proof, and crease-resistant. The color glides onto lids and blends easily with a rich pigment-payoff.

What else you need to know:
This product was dermatologist-tested.

Sand Glow is described as a soft bronze shimmer. I was thinking more antiqued bronze.

Rose Gold is described as a rosy gold shimmer. It’s that perfect flash of a brand new rose gold bracelet from Cartier. *sigh* =)

The Laura Mercier Caviar Sticks are wonderfully pigmented and rich. I loved how creamy these felt while they glided on, giving ample time to work with (blend and smudge) before setting. I tested these all day on their own as well as with a powder shadow on top and they didn’t budge… no migrating, no creasing.

I posted an eye look previously to my Instagram. Rose Gold is smudged all the way up to the brow and I dabbed Sand Glow at the outer v and into the crease and blended with my finger.

Laura Mercier Caviar Stick Eye Colour retails for $24.00 and is available at Sephora, Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus.

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Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage Swatches & Review

Posted on February 27, 2013 by Brooke

It seems I’ve been on a concealer kick lately. I just reviewed a lovely and moisturizing liquid concealer from NARS, but my interest was recently piqued when I saw a fellow blogger rave about Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage.

The shade swatched and featured in this post is SC-2, which is for fair to light skin tones, though 8 other shades are available.

What the Sephora website says about Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage:

What it is:
A dual-tone concealer that completely camouflages dark circles, minor imperfections, and discolorations.

What it does:
This versatile concealer contains a unique two-shade system: one to match the skin’s depth of color and one to match the skin’s undertone, making it possible for every woman to custom-blend her own perfect shade. The high level of pigment requires very little product to achieve perfect coverage.

What else you need to know:
Dermatologist tested.

Secret Camouflage is a nice concealer with a fabulous amount of coverage. Just pat a bit on those evil parts that need hidden and it all blends together. I’ve found for me personally, that using the left side covers under my eyes well, while the shade on the right works best for blemishes. This product is creamy and, thankfully, portable. WIN!

You must know…. I bought this product because Kristie Burnett of Blushing Basics told me that this is step one of how flawless people become flawless (you can see in her photos that she hit pan on hers), and she was absolutely correct!

Happily, it’s not hard work being flawless, and I’m super excited to join the club

Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage retails for $30.00 and is available at Sephora, Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Macy’s and lauramercier.com.

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Laura Mercier Artist’s Palette for Eyes Swatches, Review & EOTD

Posted on January 6, 2013 by Brooke

I feel bad. I totally didn’t realize that this item was Limited Edition! I thought it was just a palette in the core line. Ugh. I’m sorry, I would have posted this sooner. Anyway, it’s still on Amazon, so the swatches aren’t for nothing, I guess.

The Laura Mercier Artist’s Palette for Eyes holds 12 shadows – (top row, L-R: Chocolate, African Violet, Sable, Guava, Cameo, Sunlit, (bottom row, L-R: Vanilla Nuts, Plum Smoke, Cafe au Lait, Coffee Ground, Deep Night and Rich Coffee.

This palette is going to be great for the shadows, but also using some as liners (the darker matte shades) and is good for multiple looks. A must have for your kit or your home stash.

I really liked that the shades of this palette weren’t completely on the neutral side, but were all very wearable. Nothing too crazy but you could still do a day look or a night look… or easily take your day look into night by popping a darker, matte shade into the outer V.

Of the 12 shades I liked the matte ones on the bottom the most. Plum Smoke was probably my favorite, but they were all so pigmented, soft and wearable.

There was quite a bit of fall-out with the shimmery shades, especially African Violet. The matte shades require some care as well, so make sure you’re applying your eye look before your face makeup.

For the EOTD looks below I started with UDPP and used MAC Plushlash Mascara.

The first look was done using Plum Smoke all over the lid, African Violet in the crease, Chocolate in the outer V and Vanilla Nuts to highlight. The liner is Illamasqua Honour Pencil.

This second look was done using Cafe au Lait on the lid, Coffee Ground in the crease, Rich Coffee in the outer V, and Cameo at the inner corners of the eye and to blend out the crease. The liner is Make Up For Ever Aqua Eyes 3L.

The Laura Mercier Artist’s Palette for Eyes retails for $48.00 and was available at stores like Sephora, Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus. You can probably call and check with a local store to see if any are in stock. I’m pretty sure my Sephora still had them as of this week.

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Makeup Wars ~ My Holiday Beauty Wish List

Posted on December 10, 2012 by Brooke

The Makeup Wars Bloggers decided it would be a smart move to do up our Holiday wish lists. Basically, if any family or friends are reading this and want to tell Santa so I have a little surprise under the tree… you won’t hear me complain. I might even have a smooch waiting under the mistletoe for anyone thinking of me!

I thought it would be a good idea to pick some “wants” at several price points… just in case my hubby or someone else who loves me equally as much is checking this out! Keeping it tame, this is just beauty items. If I would have dove into handbag, shoes, jewelry… well, we’d have been here all day.

Tarte Carried Away Collector’s Set ($54.00). This set from Tarte has is ALL. It’s so beautiful and clearly necessary for all of your beauty needs and wants! Photo courtesy of Sephora.com.
OCC Pro’s Picks Lip Tar Set ($49.00). I own nothing from Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics and I’m DYING to. This set is the perfect opportunity! Photo courtesy of Sephora.com.
Make Up For Ever Be Your Own Make Up Artist Station ($950.00). Let’s just be honest, who DOESN’T want this? At that price point it’ll very likely never happen for me, but I can dream! Photo courtesy of Sephora.com.
Burberry Complete Eye Palette ($59.00). I’ll take any of them, but the one pictured, Dark Spice, is my top choice. Photo courtesy of Nordstrom.com.
Laura Mercier Illuminating Eye Shadow in Rose Gold ($24.00). I love the style of the shadow pan and the shade just looks stunning! Photo courtesy of NeimanMarcus.com.
Estee Lauder Michael Kors Set ($38.50). This one is tricky, you can only purchase it with an Estee Lauder Fragrance purchase. I cannot stand EL fragrance and I don’t know anyone to give it to if I bought it. So go buy yourself some perfume and then get me this Michael Kors set! Different sets are available at Nordstrom, Bloomingdales, Dillards, Macys and EsteeLauder.com. I’ll take any of them. Photo courtesy of Nordstrom.com.
MAC Hang Up the Glamour Hanging Travel Bag ($40.00). It’s leopard on the outside, lacy looking on the inside and securely holds all of our travel junkies with style. Hook me up. Photo courtesy of maccosmetics.com.
Bare Escentuals The Star Treatment Set ($40.00). I love the pressed shadows from this brand, and the shades in this palette are right up my alley! Photo courtesy of Sephora.com.
MAC Making Pretty Brush Set for Face & Eye ($100.00). I obviously don’t NEED this, but its so pretty and chic… I just want it to look at it. I’d never buy it for myself, but would loveeee to have it as a gift! Photo courtesy of maccosmetics.com.
Le Metier de Beaute CHEM60 Pro-Peel and GLOW10ai Mask Set ($265.00) I am so totally addicted to this. It’s easy to do, safe and it works! You can check out my experience with this product by clicking here. Photo courtesy of NeimanMarcus.com.

Oh, drugstore beauty, I haven’t forgotten about you!

Cover Girl Clump Crusher LashBlast Mascara. I’ve heard great things from fellow bloggers. Photo courtesy of Ulta.com where this product is currently buy one get one half off.
Wet N Wild ColorIcon Eight Pan Eyeshadow Palette Collection. I’d love the two palettes I don’t have that released with Holiday 2012 (I think the matte one, Drinking a Glass of Shine, was released before as I <3 Matte) in Sparkle ‘Til Morning & Shimmer the Night Away (see pics at Nouveau Cheap).
L’Oreal Project Runway Electric Fantasie Collection. Any and all of it. We’ve been ripe with sickness here so I haven’t really been out and about to get any pieces =( See photos at Musings of a Muse.
Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips. I always see these and always want to try them out. The colors just look so pretty sitting by each other. The set shown above is in Nude. Photo courtesy of PhysiciansFormula.com.

What is on your holiday beauty wish list?

See what the other participants in this installment of Makeup Wars came up with! What WILL we think of next?!

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Laura Mercier Mini Kohl Update… Sad News

Posted on December 22, 2010 by Brooke

On Dec 14th I posted a review of a set of Laura Mercier Mini Eye Kohls. I’m back with an update. Some bad news. These things RUN like no other. I’ve never in my life had raccoon eyes like this. I normally wear Kohl liner from MAC and have never had anywhere near this issue. This blogger wore her glasses today too, so there wasn’t eye watering going on or anything like that… didn’t do anything so no sweat….
I’m sad to report these are going back. It’s a shame, because the colors of them, especially the black turquoise on the eyes, are extremely beautiful =(

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Laura Mercier Mini Kohl Eye Pencil Set Review & Swatches

Posted on December 14, 2010 by Brooke

(please click pics to enlarge)

GREAT DEAL ALERT!!!

Recently Sephora sent out $20 gift cards to their VIB’s and $15 Gift Cards to their Beauty Insiders. What to get with my $20 GC? You had to spend $40 to use it and $50 gives you the free shipping… so I had $50 to think about. I didn’t really NEED anything (whoa, right?) but who could let $20 off go to waste?!

I have been on a MAJOR hunt for a grey eye liner. I am not happy with the shades that I’ve tried from MAC so I had to check other brands. I didn’t see any I was into from Chanel or Dior (tho some will be launched with the Spring lines) so I started to look through liners on Sephora’s site, starting from the top rated. Of course Urban Decay was up there, but I didn’t like theirs either (tho there IS one I’m interested in, UZI, from their Spring line as well.. grrr).

Then I saw the Laura Mercier Mini Kohl set. A year or so ago I saw swatches of LM liners and thought they looked gorgeous. I had been wanting to try a few but could never decide which one. I eventually forgot about them until just then. Here’s a SET with all of the ones I wanted to try! For only $32!

ONE Laura Mercier liner is 0.04oz and is $19. This set has FIVE liners at 0.03oz each and is $32. GREAT deal.

The colors you get in this set are (in order from left to right and top to bottom in the photos) Black Gold, Black Turquoise, Brown Copper, Black Violet, and Stormy Grey.

I tested the Stormy Grey on my eyes today and it’s a great not quite black color. Perfect for what I was looking for! I didn’t use primer or shadows or ANYthing underneath it today and so far it’s stayed put. No reaction either! WOOT! I REALLY had to scrub to get this off of my arm after swatches too. So, while my arm looks like I have a rare rash disease, I’m impressed with the staying power. The liner went on smoothly and did not drag or skip on my lid.

This set IS Limited Edition, so I think it would be wise to jump on it while you can. Retail price is $32, you can check out the GLOWING reviews and purchase at Sephora.com.