Brand Spotlight: Laura Mercier

Baybeeees!

How are you? Groovy? Cool? Awesome? All of the above? Fabulous! Me too!

So with my complete, total disappointment last Friday over Bare Escentuals allowing themselves to be purchased by the horrid, animal-testing Shiseido, I wrapped up my blog by saying that I'd be heading over to the Estee Lauder counter that evening to find a new CF makeup to call my very own.

Well - no offense to Estee Lauder, because they're CF, they own many CF brands, and they just all-around rock my socks, but I didn't quite get that far. My first and only pit stop wound up being at the Laura Mercier counter (http://www.lauramercier.com/store/home.jsp), and I never got any further! They're a wonderful, sophisticated and classy CF brand, and I wound up picking up a few items that I'm truly just loving. Here's what I brought home with me:

1. I never thought, after six years with Bare Escentuals, that you could turn me back onto liquid foundation. Well, I was wrong! LM's Oil Free Foundation is just magical! It gives this great natural looking finish, but still covers flaws and lasts all day. I could never wear many liquid foundations before, because they just slid off my face by lunchtime. This stuff hangs on, but is still easy to get off at night. The shades are a pretty good match - there's about ten of them, and it was really easy for me to get the perfect shade really fast.
2. Secret Concealer - Only three shades to pick from, but wow! Those three shades still manage to have quite a range. Even the lightest shade, #1, looked really kind of dark in the little pot for "Old Paper Face" me! But it wasn't - once you get it on, it really blends in with your skin tone, and covers everything bad! Bonus - you can use it on your lids as a primer, and it just hangs on to your eyeshadow! You may wonder how much mileage you're going to get out of this little pot, but one thing I found out is that the tiniest, most ridiculously little bit goes the longest way.
3. However, my problem with all concealers, be they cream or mineral, is that once I get them on under my eyes, I need to set them with powder. Setting them with powder, however, makes them crack and crease, and I look even older and more tired. Weeelll, not anymore! LM makes this positively unbelievable stuff called Secret Brightening Powder. OMG, you guys - I have truly found a product I can't do without! You can use it anywhere, I suppose, but where this little gem truly works its mojo is setting your concealer, and leaving it with a satiny, crease-free, won't crack finish. In the six days I've been using this, I've not had to touch up my under-eye concealer at all, and I always need to touch up. And it stays smooth, and unwrinkled! This stuff, with the Secret Concealer, has been amazing!
4. Last but certainly not least, to top off the gorgeousness, is LM's Mineral Finishing Powder. You know I love me some mineral makeup. This stuff is so lovely and translucent and airy! It's really, really fine and sheer, they must just mill it to death to get it that air spun. And you know - minerals! Good for your skin!

The brand's not cheap, but it's not outrageously expensive, either - it's in the ballpark of Estee Lauder, Bobbi Brown, around there, price-wise. But it's WORTH IT! I mean, for example, take the Secret Brightening Powder. At $22 for a little tub, it may seem pricey. But if you're only using the tiniest bit of that on a little brush to set your concealer, that's gonna last you forever. Heeey, you won't have to shell out again for it till you have some serious lines to conceal! Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk! (I keep getting funnier with each blog. This I know.)

This is a wonderful CF brand, and though there's plenty out there to love, you should definitely steer yourselves towards their nearest counter or Sephora!

Much love, buttons!

Lisa
XO