Exclusive Laura Mercier Tightlining Trio

Laura Mercier, queen of tightlining and the cake liner, has an exclusive set at Nordstrom featuring 3 Cake Eye Liners (Gunmetal, Smoke, and Turquoise Ink), two of which are exclusive and a Min Flat Eye Liner brush for $39.50. This looks like a great deal for those look to try tightlining or wanting more of Laura's beloved liners!

Some New Items at Sephora

Browsing the Sephora site for a new shampoo and conditioner (I'm open to recommendations for my straight, fine, dry hair) and "natural" mascara I discovered some new, intriguing items! What do you think? Are any of these going on your wishlist?

• Josie Maran Eye Love You Too Palette ($42)
• Josie Maran Fresh Faced and Romantic Beauty ($52)
• Bobbi Brown Pretty Powerful Palette-Pretty ($60)
• Korres Natural Look Antioxidant Color Collection ($32.50)
• Laura Mercier Fresh Fig Bath and Body Collection ($40-$55)
• Shiseido Collector's Edition Makeup Palette ($50)
• Stila All Over Shimmer Duo ($22)
• Sephora Collection Perfecting Color Concealer ($16)
• Stila Coconut Crush Lip and Cheek Stain ($24)
• Tarte Provocateur Amazonian Clay Shimmer Powder ($30)
• Pacifica I Love Fragrance Five Solid Perfumes Set ($25)

New Laura Mercier Silk Road Palette

This pretty new palette just popped up on Laura Mercier's site. The photo is a bit blurry but the 4 shadows and 2 blushes look beautiful for spring! Limited edition, it features Palace Pink - soft pink with shimmering gold pearl, Regal Violet - bold, sparkling violet, Golden Sands - soft pink peach with sparkling gold pearl, Rare Taupe - soft grey taupe with satin finish, Lavender Silk - pale, blue violet with matte finish, Persian Rose - pink coral with gold hidden pearl.

My New Love

I had zero need for a new blush. Actually less than zero. Not only do I have a ton currently in rotation, but I have a bunch in my "to sell/give away" pile right now. So had logic prevailed, I never would have come home with my new Laura Mercier Second Skin Blush in Rose Petal, but I'm quite glad that I did.

The Laura Mercier site describes Rose Petal as a matte fresh pale pink, though in reality the shade has enough warmth in it to work with my coloring, though not so much that it could be called a true peachy pink or coral. I'd call it a sheer, warm light pink. It applies beautifully and looks very natural. I love the transparency that these blush have--it really makes the color look like it's coming from within and is a big improvement in my opinion over Laura Mercier's previous blush formulation.

These blushes are $24 and the Laura Mercier website currently has a gift with purchase until 5PM CST with a $75 purchase. It's not the most thrilling gift to me, but a nice treat if you were going to spend that much anyway.

Laura Mercier Lip Glace

Along with the palette, my Laura Mercier steal of a makeup kit from Gilt contained a brush and 3 mini glosses, called Lip Glace. I'm definitely more of a lipstick girl and this was my first experience with Laura's glosses. These are smooth and not too sticky with a sweet scent that almost completely masks a "makeup-y" smell. The shades are Petal, Bare Beige and Baby Doll, all of which are available in full size for $22. Petal is an iridescent golden pink, Bare Beige a browny nude and Baby Doll a sheer sparkling pink confection. All apply sheerly but with enough pigment to give perceptible color.
From left: Petal, Bare Beige, Baby Doll
Baby Doll, Petal, Bare Beige

A Brief Interlude In The Prolonged Dry Spell

Well the makeup drought seems to be ongoing. I went to NJ today for the Nordstrom Anniversary sale and didn't even peek into Sephora or Neimans, and I only quickly scanned the Beauty Exclusives. I did pick up a Chanel Paradoxal and a replacement Bobbi Brown Creamy Lip Color in Baby, which really has turned out to be my Holy Grail. I've used up but a few lip products in my life and this is one of them. I'll post more on Paradoxal later this week, but so far it's not rocking my world. It's much more gray and flat that one would think from the bottle.

My Laura Mercier Gilt order arrived on Friday! Included was a Satinee Creme Shadow in Ecru Silk and a gift set containing this palette along with three mini glosses and a brush:
The shades are: Vanilla Nuts/Coffee Ground, Gold Dust/Sherazade and Primrose/Kir Royale.

The palette is the newer refillable version so I can swap shades in and out for travel and when I get bored! I'm not a huge pink/purple person so I just may have to head to a counter soon to find a suitable alternative for the Primrose/Kir Royale spot.

I found the Ecru Silk Satinee Creme Shadow to be cakey and streaky, and effect I never experienced with Laura Mericer Metallic Creme Shadows. It promptly found a home with my mother.

The glosses are sheer but beautiful and deserve a post all their own.

The First Makeup Item To Tempt Me in Weeks

I'm not sure that this is the cure for my makeup ennui, but I went to Sephora.com for the first time in quite a while today and saw this exclusive Laura Mercier Beauty Insider palette ($48) and it's right up my alley! Called the Bonne Mine Healthy Glow for Face and Cheeks Creme Colour Palette, it features a Bronzer Veil, 2 Cheek Veils and 2 Glow Veils. According to Sephora, "[t]his ultra-sheer, blendable palette wakes up the skin and gives it an immediate, healthy glow. Customize your look with bronzer, cheek color, and glow for a natural "no makeup" radiance. Inside, there are tabs that fan out to display Laura's secrets on how to best use the formulas to create standout results."

Cream blush and bronzers? sign me up! This palette is currently for Beauty Insiders only and it's now at the top of my wishlist!

What I Bought From Gilt Today

My gosh that Gilt iPhone app is dangerous! The site had Laura Mercier on today and in under I minute I was able to scoop up a few items and check out. I don't need any of this. In fact, I wasn't craving any of it and now that I have it coming my way I'm not so sure I even want all of it, but there is something primal and powerful about the thrill of the hunt and beating everyone else to those few precious palettes that makes the acquisition irresistible. And the app makes buying lightening fast. So I now having coming my way:

Luxe Lip and Eye Collection 5 Piece Kit and Case ($37.50):
-3 shadow duos in Vanilla Nuts/Coffee Ground, Gold Dust/Sherazade and Primrose/Kir Royale
-3 mini Lip Glazes in Bare Beige, Petal and Baby Doll
-Double Ended Eye Contour/Crease Brush
-Brown magnetic travel case

Satinee Creme Eye Colour in Ecru Silk ($10):
I'm hoping that this will make a great, brightening base

Did anyone else buy anything? I hate paying their shipping fees but felt like I got good deals. They're not set to arrive until mid to late July unfortunately. The sale is on until midnight tonight.

Vapour Beauty Mesmerize Eye Color in Flash

I'm slowly making my way through the Spirit Beauty Lounge samples I ordered, starting with Vapour Beauty Mesmerize Eye Color in Flash. I finally got contacts on Friday after 28 years of wearing glasses (yes, I am that old and yes, I plan to be 29 forever) and wanted to be sure I wouldn't risk any eye irritation with a powder shadow today.

Mesmerize Eye Color ($16) is a cream shadow in stick form that stays a bit dewy. There is no powder finish to these. I didn't experience any creasing issues, but I do not have problems with cream shadows creasing and wore this over my Laura Mercier Eye Basics in Linen. Flash is a brown with slight pink tones. I thought that it would make me look tired and ill when I first noticed the pinkiness but surprisingly, it glistened and appeared fresh!

The color range on these is limited--only five shades and two of those are pink and red--but the product made for a quick, simple eye with zero irritation.

Plummy Beige Lipstick

Too plummy to be a true neutral, too neutral to be a true plum hue, not as cool as mauve and yet not quite warm...I love plummy beige lipsticks! The shades are complex and interesting yet still flattering and wearable for everyday. Here are some of my favorite plummy beige lipsticks:
From left to right: MAC Sharp Beige, MAC Midimauve, Paul and Joe 17, Lancome Beauty's Eve, L'Oreal Aishwarya Beige, Benefit Make Nice, Laura Mercier Brown Sugar Stickgloss, Tarte Champagne Brunch

Up Close:


Swatches:
From left to right: MAC Sharp Beige, MAC Midimauve, Paul and Joe 17, Lancome Beauty's Eve, L'Oreal Aishwarya Beige, Benefit Make Nice, Laura Mercier Brown Sugar Stickgloss, Tarte Champagne Brunch