While it’s true that quick escapes from the zombies — especially those fresh ones that can run — are a little easier if you aren’t toting around 24 different tubes of red lipstick, the makeup code of conduct is clear on the topic of red lipsticks. No tube gets left behind.

I’m always looking for a new excuse to grow my red lipstick collection/arsenal, and if you are too, don’t miss Laura Mercier’s new $26 Creme Smooth Lip Colour in Deco Rouge ($26) from the Art Deco Muse collection.

Before I’d even touched the tube, I had a feeling it might be special when I saw it worn down to the nub at a counter…

And then it was love at first swipe. The stuff of pin-up girl dreams, it’s a warm, blazingly bright tomato red unemcumbered by scents or flavors.

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Why settle for a shimmery golden eyeshadow that merely illuminates your lids when you could wear a shimmery golden eyeshadow that also caters to your inner lazy girl?

With a few quick pats and swipes to blend out the edges, Laura Mercier’s intensely pigmented warm golden $24 Illuminating Eye Colour in Gilded Moonlight will take you from bare lids to bold shimmer in 3.9 seconds!

Wait — let me try that again…

With a few quick pats and swipes to blend out the edges, Laura Mercier’s intensely pigmented warm golden $24 Illuminating Eye Colour in Gilded Moonlight will take you from bare lids to bold shimmer in less time than it takes to say, “The only reason I’m watching Jersey Shore is because I don’t want to look for the remote…” Not that I’ve ever said anything like that to El Hub while sprawled out on the couch with a bag of Baked Cheetos.

Nope.

Laura, if your master plan was to get me to book a reservation at Château de Lazy Girls, it worked. Like your equally easy Gilded Bronze, Gilded Moonlight takes but a minute to use. Just pat, blend and go.

NOTE: Gilded Moonlight isn’t light on pigment at all. In fact, it’s loaded with it! — which also means it can be easy to over-apply.

Even though it’s a holiday release, I can see myself wanting to wear it when the weather warms up again next year. For a bronzed beach babe look, I’d just swap the red lipstick and black liner for a sheer, coral gloss and a liner in green, purple or teal.

Racing to get out the door but you still want to look polished? Perhaps soft, silky Gilded Moonlight can help.

PRICE: $24
AVAILABILITY: Available now at Laura Mercier counters and lauramercier.com
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: A

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Catch ya later, Wednesday! See you again next week.

I hope your day went well. No complaints out here, other than the rain, which keeps trying to bring me down.

Tonight I’m just massaging my brain in front of the TV (re-watching Battlestar Galactica). I wanted to go to a Cat Behavior Clinic at the Novato Humane Society, but the timing didn’t work out. Maybe next time…

Not that Tabs really needs behavioral help. Despite his diva propensities, he’s actually a pretty awesome cat (most of the time). I just think the clinic sounds interesting.

Whatever you’re up to, enjoy the rest of your night, and sleep well. I’ll talk to you soon.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

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.

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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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 Crème 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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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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