Face

A Laura Mercier Moment…

September 10th, 2019 by Karen 18 Comments

laura mercier september 2019 — Dearest Laura…you’re rockin’ my world at the moment.

I’m going to assume that you are, or have been, a makeup junkie, and so therefore you have probably had one (or more) moments like I did the other night at back-to-school night, when your makeup universe collides in such a way that you’re, like, “WHOA!”

I can’t be the only one. I just can’t.

I was just sitting there in Connor’s preschool classroom wearing some Laura Mercier products when my nose honed in on someone’s perfume (I have a bloodhound’s sense of smell). It was familiar, but I couldn’t place it, and the source of that scent — swear to gosh — knocked around in my head for days, like a song stuck in my head.

Then, half asleep one night in bed, it hit me! It was Laura Mercier Eau de Lune, which I wore every day for three years straight in the early aughts.

Dang, dawg, I’ve been wearing Laura Mercier makeup off and on for almost 20 years! In fact, I can recall when it was a relatively new line. I remember going to a counter for the first time (must have been about 1997) and being intrigued by the makeup primer, which was very forward-thinking at the time. And their Tinted Moisturizer, Secret Brightening Powder, Eye Basics in Wheat and Stormy Grey eyeliner have all been in my everyday makeup bag rotation at different times for years.

Like I was saying…I just happened to be wearing a few pieces of LM makeup the other night, and it reminded me why I like wearing Laura Mercier makeup so much. Her style is colorful, but not too crazy, and has elegantly subtle touches of pizzazz, like a little glitter here, a demi-matte finish there… It’s also easy to amplify or dial down.

A few quick thoughts on what I’ve been wearing lately…

Foundation Primer ($38)

There are a few different versions of this (Oil-Free, Dry SKin, etc.), and this one is the basic Foundation Primer. It’s a colorless, lightweight primer in a moisturizing gel that instantly sinks into skin (rather than sitting on top). If you like primers that add radiance with barely-there pearl finish (like MAC’s Natural Radiance), you’ll like this, too. It’s an oldie but goodie.

Translucent Loose Setting Powder ($39)

Light as air and completely undetectable, this has a soft matte finish that looks natural to the Nth degree!

laura mercier september 2019 swatches — Lovies by Laura M.!

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MAC Studio Fix Soft Matte Foundation Sticks: The Latest Way to Get Your Fix

September 3rd, 2019 by Karen 6 Comments

Update for all MAC foundation fan-atics: Thanks to the new MAC Studio Fix Soft Matte Foundation Sticks, this fall we’ll have yet another reason to stick around the MAC counter.

One of my tried-and-true all-time MAC faves is their Studio Fix Foundation (it’s wicked dermatological wizardry when mixed with a few drops of Strobe Cream and set with Mineralize Skinfinish Natural), so I’m excited about this cream stick foundation, which comes in 33 colors and hits shelves beginning September 5.

Like the O.G. Studio Fix Foundation, these sticks promise a flawless finish and a formula that’s theoretically supposed to last 86,400 seconds…which is 24 hours, in case you were wondering.

However, unlike the original Studio Fix Foundation and its ultra-perfected, complete coverage, Studio Fix Soft Matte Foundation is medium coverage and made to appeal to makeup minimalists, a la the low-maintenance girl (or guy) looking to even out their skin tone and ever-so-slightly blur some pores.

From the official MAC PR:

“There’s a definite skin moment happening right now,” says Terry Barber, MAC Director of Makeup Artistry in London.” We’re not talking rawness here, or the whole no makeup, makeup thing. “It’s premium skin; enhanced, plumped, smooth and packed with moisture. Matte in the past was associated with dryness and dullness, whereas the new matte is about soft focus and blur with no blanket coverage and light hitting in all the right places.”

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New From bareMinerals: The Dusk Eyeshadow Palette and the Bounce & Blur Blushes

August 1st, 2019 by Karen 6 Comments

bareminerals bounce blur — Bounce & Blur, by bareMinerals

Everything in my condo is bumping. The walls are rattling, floors are clanging… Oh, and these four new bareMinerals blushes and eyeshadow palette are bouncing.

We started doing the household repairs I mentioned the other day, which means LOTS of noise and workmen doing stuff right now, but I should be living like royalty (“I’m the queen of the world!”) with a new furnace, new water heater AND a working air conditioner by the end of the week. YAY!

With the tools banging and the classic rock blasting from the very nice workmen, concentrating has been…a challenge, so if I seem a little disheveled, that’s why.

Hella random side note regarding classic rock and misheard lyrics, but Bad Moon Rising just played a few minutes ago, and when the chorus started, instead of thinking, “There’s a bad moon on the rise,” I thought, “There’s a bathroom on the right.” THANKS, SUZANNE!

OK, bareMinerals has a few fun new powder products for fall that bare fingers will be bouncing over, literally. The items in their new Bounce & Blur Collection (two eye palettes and four blushes) have a squishy, soft texture that boomerangs right back at ya when you press on the pans. They’re purposefully made to lay down diffused, hazy color, so they’re better for washes of color than precise placement.

I’ve seen this bouncy formula before from Chanel, MAC, Maybelline and Kaja Beauty, and the bareMinerals formula is comparably slick and smooth (it’s not wet, though, like cream blush). The powder skates across the skin.

Bounce & Blush Eyeshadow Palette in Dusk ($29)

I like using these eyeshadows as single washes of color on the lid, because fading the edges doesn’t require any work. Of course, you could use ’em with a brush, but for me, fingers work best both for application and blending.

It’s like working with a crayon cream shadow, but in a pot, and it’s easy and, most of all, fun. If you like simple, diffused glowing lids, I think you’ll have a blast with these.
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New From Wander Beauty: Trip For Two Blush and Bronzer Duo, Hidden Glow Brightening Cream, and the Trip for Two Blush and Bronzer Brush

July 30th, 2019 by Karen 7 Comments

Filed under “Weird Things I Could Do in Less Than 5 Minutes if I Absolutely Had To”? 25 Spartan Race-style burpees, immediately followed by putting on minimal makeup.

Fore sure, I’d use mascara, a gloss and these new products from Wander Beauty.

(Side note: This occurred to me in HIIT class as I sprinted around a parking lot carrying a 15-pound medicine ball. Amazing the things you think about when you’re out of breath and about to toss your cookies.)

Trip For Two Blush and Bronzer Duo ($36 and available in two shades)

Some bronzer/blush duos are so saturated that you can easily end up looking like you’ve got Duran Duran stripes on your cheeks, but these matte duos have purposefully pared down pigment for the quickest blending you’ll ever experience. I like to start by buffing the blush on the apples of my cheeks, then blending it out with the bronzer for a fast, natural-looking cheek flush.

wander beauty trip for two swatches — Bellini/Costa Rei is the lighter option, and Daiquiri/Tulum is the darker one.

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New From Urban Decay: Stay Naked Foundation and Concealer, and Vice Lip Chemistry

July 26th, 2019 by Karen 5 Comments

urban decay stay naked foundation concealer top — At Urban Decay, nudity rules.

Keep your underwear on, please. Even though Urban Decay wants you to Stay Naked, I would strongly urge you against going completely commando, because hello! — air conditioning is no joke!

Stay Naked, a new collection available meow from UD, includes a liquid foundation, concealer and sheer lip tints.

STAY NAKED WEIGHTLESS LIQUID FOUNDATION, $39

What is this — blood magic? Because one layer of Urban Decay’s new medium-coverage, pore-blurring Stay Naked Foundation hides uneven pigmentation on my cheeks without masking my freckles. It’s exactly the kind of sheer, barely-there coverage I love, and even though the matte finish is juuuuust starts out being a tad too matte for my taste (I’m a dewy kinda gal), it mellows out over the course of about an hour into something more satiny and natural looking — like an ever-so-slightly perfected version of natural skin. It’s one of those base products that looks better and better as the day goes on.

urban decay stay naked foundation swatches — I tested the following shades of the concealer and foundation, and the closest foundation match to my skin is 51WY, although right now it’s a little light for me because I’m tanner than usual at the moment. The concealers I tried are *waaaay* lighter than I’d normally wear, but I tried them anyway to see if I liked the texture and finish. By the way, I’m an NC42 in MAC.

If you’ve ever tried and liked Estée Lauder Double Wear Light, you’ll probably love Stay Naked, too. It very much looks and feels like that underrated foundation hero, but UD’s comes in a BILLION different undertones for cool, warm and olive tones, as well as 50 different colors.

Site note: The Fenty effect is still alive and well!

STAY NAKED WEIGHTLESS LIQUID FOUNDATION

Doesn’t oxidize
Lightweight and breathable
Touchy pump! (Mine squirts stuff halfway across my desk if I’m not careful.)
I’m a MAC NC42 and wear 51WY.
I like to apply it with a synthetic buffing brush for the most natural coverage.
Looks like real skin in all types of lighting.
Long-wearing and sticks to skin like glue, even if you rub at it aggressively.

You’ll probably also like this if you like the sheerness of a BB cream, tinted moisturizer, or even something like MAC Face and Body, but you just want a little more coverage (but not full-on opacity). I think it’s more like an intense tinted moisturizer — like, if you took Laura Mercier’s classic TM and added a few drops of a full-coverage concealer to it.

STAY NAKED CORRECTING CONCEALER, $29

Along with the foundation, UD also recently launched a new line of complementary liquid Stay Naked Concealers. Like the new base, Stay Naked Concealer is lightweight and long-wearing with a matte finish, but the coverage is completely opaque, with high pigment on par with full-coverage baddies like Tarte Shape Tape. Just for fun (and for old time’s sake), I packed it on beneath my eyes and was wowed by the fact that it refused to settle into my fine lines and did not look heavy at all.

urban decay stay naked foundation concealer — I’m wearing the foundation in 51WY, concealer in 50WY, and Love Child Vice Chemistry

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