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Laura Mercier

A Polished Daytime Makeup Look With Gunmetal Gray Liner, Lightly Defined Taupe-Brown Lids and a Whole Lotta Laura Mercier ❤️

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laura mercier 2021 face of the day
Loving this vibe

Fun fact: makeup artist Laura Mercier spent her formative years in France. (Maybe that’s why it’s so easy to picture myself wearing her makeup while getting coffee and croissants?!)

laura mercier 2021 face of the day

If we were going to meet at a cafe today for a socially distanced lady date (I WANT!), I’d wear this Laura Mercier makeup look, and I’d get an iced latte and a plain croissant. What would you order?

marin coffee roasters
Incidentally, my favorite coffee drink as of late is an iced latte with a single shot from Marin Coffee Roasters.

Laura Mercier is one those lines I keep coming back to, over and over and over again. My love affair with all things LM began before I started MBB (so, we’re talking prehistoric time).

In teen romance terms, we’ve been going steady…for a good 14 years now (here’s Baby Karen mixing and wearing Laura Mercier foundation). I know I can count on the makeup, and whenever I wear it, I truly feel like myself.

I recently restocked on a few oldies but goodies (and a few new-to-me things as well)…

  • Caviar Volume Mascara: Epic curl, lift and volume. SO GOOD for wimpy lashes that need lots of help.
  • Eye Basics in Wheat: A beautiful satiny matte cream shadow that you can wear alone as a lid base or as a primer. Fun fact — this used to be called “Basic Color.”
  • Caviar Stick Eye Colour in Cobblestone and Moonlight: Cocoa is my favorite in this line of cream shadows, and these two are new to me. Cobblestone, I LOVE. It’s a mid-toned matte brown and adds just the right touch of light definition to lids. And Moonlight is a shimmery taupe… I like it, but don’t love it because it’s a little too frosty for my taste.
  • Inner Eye Definer in Stormy Grey: I hope LM never discontinues this gunmetal gray liner, which I’ve been wearing and loving for 10 years, at least.
  • Cheek Color in Ginger: The shade Rose is my jam, but I like this sheer matte peachy nude too.
  • Tinted Moisturizer: OLD SCHOOL, BABY! Lightweight feel with just a hint of tint to even everything out. I mixed Wheat with Tan and set it with Laura’s iconic loose setting powder in this look.
  • Vanille Gourmande Eau Gourmande: Did you know Laura Mercier makes some beautifully wearable scents too? This one has notes of vanilla, vanilla orchid, vanilla liqueur, bourbon vanilla and vanilla musk, mixed with heliotrope, lily, sandalwood and amber.
laura mercier 2021 flat lay
Current faves!

Do you have any Laura Mercier loves? I wish we could chat about them over croissants in real life!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

One Bronzy Mauve Eye Look, Two Lip Options

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wander beauty wanderess escape palette mac dance with me
One bronzy mauve eye look, two lip options

Looking for an easy eye makeup look that looks better than the bare minimum and works with a wide variety of lipstick colors? If you are, have I got an eye look for you! 😃 Check out this bronzy mauve…

Yeah, yeah, who’s wearing lipstick these days? Well, I mean, I think a lot of us are. I was chatting with a few gals on Instagram (here’s me, BTW), and it turns out there are a lot of people out there spending a lot of time at home right now (no, really!?), parenting, surviving and hopefully thriving, in, like, full-on bright red lips because they simply miss wearing lipstick. So, before you put your hands on your hips, shake your finger at me and say, “Karen, everybody’s masked up, so lipstick is total and complete nonsense now!” I politely disagree.

We’re still wearing lipstick, y’all. HEAR US ROAR! 😸

LOL!

wander beauty wanderess escape palette eye look
A closeup of the eye look

So, back to the eye makeup… Curl your lashes, fill in your brows, and grab the following:

Key eye makeup products

  1. A bronze cream shadow stick
  2. A matte mauve powder shadow
  3. A matte cool brown eyeshadow
  4. A black or blackish brown pencil liner
  5. A shimmery warm champagne shadow

Here’s what you do

  1. Apply and blend the bronze cream shadow all over the part of your lid that moves when you blink (a.k.a. your mobile lid), as well as the crease, diffusing the shadow into a soft gradient as you move up toward your brows.
  2. Layer the matte purplish mauve eyeshadow directly on top of the bronze cream shadow, first using a flat eyeshadow brush. Next, grab a clean tapered or domed blending brush, and soften out the edges. Now, if you want, run the brush along your lower lash line with however much product remains on the brush.
  3. Next, line your lash lines with the black or brownish black pencil. Then, load a pencil brush with the dark cool brown shadow, and soften the liner by running the tip of the brush along the liner’s edge.
  4. Dab a touch of the shimmery warm champagne into the inner corners…
  5. And finish with mascara, false lashes and a shot of tequila (kidding).

If you want, you can also do the following

  1. Optional step 1: Tightline your waterline. Side note — I *always* do this! Makes my lashes look thicker. 😉
  2. Optional step 2: Blend some of the cool matte brown eyeshadow in the outer corner for more depth.

Two lip options

I think this works with so many different lip colors because the balance between the warm bronzy shadow base and the cooler mauve and brown tones makes it suitable to wear with neutral, cool and warm lipsticks. I’ve paired it here with a neutral rosy brown lipstick and a warm cranberry red lipstick to give you two options; I also think this look would be great with dark brown, wine or brick shades.

wander beauty wanderess escape palette mac dance with me
The eye makeup with warm cranberry red lipstick
wander beauty wanderess escape palette laura mercier beige intime
Same eyes, but now with a rosy brown lipstick (t-shirt: Mascara & Kitties)

Product links

What I’m wearing

wander beauty wanderess escape palette laura mercier beige intime mac dance with me
Swatches!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

3 Steps to a Sheer, Fresh Base (That Looks Effortless)

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laura mercier beige ultimae pyt no bs palette
Waiting on spring!

It’s always kinda amusing to me when I watch a tutorial for “skin that looks like skin,” or “effortless foundation,” and it involves, like, 12 steps to get there!

I know, I know! It comes with the territory of doing makeup. But still. 🙄

Admittedly, I’m guilty of over-complicating makeup on occasion (*cough* sorry! *cough*), but sometimes I really do just want easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy, and this three-step process to a sheer, fresh base is exactly that.

The goal here? A low-effort base that looks natural and polished, with a few areas of strategically placed slightly dewy (but not shiny) finish peeking through. Please bear in mind that this type of base will not completely cover everything. Yes, we’re purposefully letting lots of actual skin show.

You’ll need…

Three is the magic number here, starting with how much time you’ll need.

About three minutes.

Also, you’ll need the following…

  1. An opalescent, low-shimmer highlighting lotion, ideally one without any bits of glitter in it
  2. A sheer-to-medium-coverage stick or cream foundation that works for your skin type and tone
  3. A synthetic blending brush

The step-by-step

  1. First, dab a few dots of the pearly lotion all over your face, and blend. I like to include a few dots beneath my eyes to lift and brighten that area. After blending all of your dots, wait about a minute for your pearly lotion set.
  2. Apply the foundation you selected wherever you want the highest coverage. Gently press and blend it in with clean fingers (ideally, your fingers should be warm for this, and not freezing cold like my fingers get sometimes). I typically do my cheeks, underneath my nose, around my mouth, and in the center of my forehead. This should take just about another minute.
  3. Gently diffuse the edges of your foundation with the blending brush, seamlessly blending the foundation into your natural skin. The trick is to not lift off and remove too much product here. That is, you do want some coverage, after all, so use a light touch.
  • Optional: dab some concealer under your eyes, and I’d suggest something sheer because a full-coverage concealer will look disjointed alongside such a sheer base.
  • Additional optional step: set your foundation with a sheer powder (I usually skip this step).

Here’s a closeup of the base! As you can see, there are a few freckles on my nose and a few places where a little pigmentation is peeking through above my upper lip and on my cheeks, which I’m totally cool with. Like I said, this is the type of makeup that isn’t meant to fully conceal everything.

laura mercier beige intime pyt no bs palette closeup
Well, hi there!
Fresh skin, olive lids and rosy beige cheeks and lips
See the freckles on my nose?

What to pair this base with

If you want to keep it casual and underdress this base, you could pair it with a combination of brow gel, mascara and eyeliner, but for a little extra polish, you could dress it up like I did here by pairing it with something like a cool-toned olive and taupe on the lids, a matte rosy blush on the cheeks and a light pinkish brown lipstick.

laura mercier beige intime pyt no bs palette swatches
Swatches of the key eye, cheek and lip products
laura mercier beige intime pyt no bs palette products
Featured products I’m wearing on my eyes, cheeks and lips

Product links

What I’m wearing

Additional pearly/low-shimmer highlighting lotion options

Additional stick or cream foundation options:

Synthetic blending brush options:

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Happy Tuesday! 😄

Elegant and Polished Makeup for All Occasions With Playful Pink Cheeks and Lips, and Cool-Toned Matte Grays to Contour Lids

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mac cozy grey honest beauty forever
10-minute makeup with cool toned lids and lips

I always say, “I threw this look on,” but I really did! This took about 10 minutes, not including the few minutes it took to gather my arsenal of supplies, which in this case was not very much. Those are cool-toned grayish-brown lids and rosy beige lips, and I did it right before going to get Connor from school the other day. The highlight was showing it off to a couple of my neighbors when we got home and practiced Connor’s bike riding and did some sidewalk chalk.

I’m telling you, these days, the highlight of my day is often those socially distanced chats with my neighbors. That’s where it’s at!

Anywho, I really like this look. I feel so polished in it and, dare I say, almost cute?!

I like the slight definition on the lids and lashes, the pink blush on my cheeks, the lipstick and the somewhat bushy brows, which are defined but not overly bold.

Here it is in action…

I’ll definitely wear this again, maybe even on a date night (if one of those ever happens again). Ooh! — or on a girl’s night out, or a Saturday at a museum, whenever we can do those things again. I think you could wear pretty much anything with it.

The full breakdown is below, but I think the eyeshadows are the key. I’m wearing two matte cool-toned shadows — a light taupe-gray called MAC Cozy Grey all over my lids. It’s a workhorse from the permanent collection. And a darker gray-brown called MAC Brun.

I have hooded eyes, and I chose the matte taupe-gray because I wanted to contour my lids. The cooler gray along with the matte finish creates the illusion of a shadow, which I think makes my lids look like they’re more deeply set.

mac cozy grey honest beauty forever
Somebody cut my hair please!

If you’re over 40, or if you have naturally hooded eye, definitely consider adding a matte cool-toned grayish taupe eyeshadow to your collection. I would go with a shade slightly darker than your skin tone — maybe one or two shades — because you want to be able to see the shadow and get that contoured effect, but you don’t want anything too dark; otherwise, you’ll be sitting there blending for days!

duri forever beautiful swatch
Here’s a closer look at my nails. I’m wearing Duri Forever Beautiful, an opaque creamy cool pale pink.

In my outer corners, I buffed a tiny touch of matte gray-brown MAC Brun. This shade… SO GOOD. You can also wear it in your brows to fill ’em out, or you can smoke it out over a dark chocolate brown or black base, or even use it as a simple upper or lower lash liner. It’s a staple I turn to over and over again… I’m never without a pan of Brun, it’s that serious!

One last thing I’d like to point out about the eyes, and it might seem subtle at first, but if you look closely at my lash and water lines, there’s a hint of shimmer, which I think really makes the eyes pop. I’m wearing a pencil liner called MAC Prunella, which is a shimmery warm dark purplish bronze. I happen to like how it contrasts with the cooler tones on the lids.

mac cozy grey honest beauty forever
Same look, different lighting

Makeup in this look

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. I hope you’re having a great day so far! 🙂

Romantic Rose Tones With Brilliant Bronzed Browns

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mac chatterbox lmac chatterbox laura mercier roseaura mercier rose
I like this palette of luscious golden browns and dainty, rosy pinks. 😍

OK, so, I wore this look yesterday, and doggone it — I felt good about my makeup. The pink blush and lipstick spoke to my soul… You can’t go wrong with springy, romantic rosy pinks. Methinks they’re downright therapeutic. Wearing pink in winter reminds me that we will see the sun again.

mac chatterbox laura mercier rose
Just a little makeup!

I’ve been doing the bare minimum in terms of base for months, but I put a little more polish into this look, and I really like how it turned out.

For starters, I mixed a dab of pearly lotion into a matte, medium-coverage foundation, then applied a thin layer with a skunk brush all over my face. Then, for slightly more coverage, I loaded a tiny, pointy-tipped concealer brush with the most minimal amount of concealer and strategically dabbed it where I have a little extra pigmentation (spots on my cheeks and around my mouth). And those couple extra things took my base makeup to the next level! Dare I say it? — an elegant level. 🙂

mac chatterbox k down havana
Swatches of the key products on NC42 skin

I felt like myself again for the first time in a while.

Yeah…I was wearing lipstick around the house again, LOL! MAC Chatterbox is an awfully pretty, playful reddish pink, and it can be quite bold if you apply a layer straight from the tube. I was in the mood for something more mellow, so I blotted it down, then used my finger to push in whatever lipstick remained to create a beautiful rosy pink stain… I think it’s springy and cheerful, and I love it. MAC Chatterbox, man! Don’t sleep on it.

Speaking of MAC, Powersurge eyeliner with Havana eyeshadow = magic. Layer Havana on top of Powersurge the next time you’re wearing warm browns or bronzes on your lids, and don’t forget to send me a thank you note when you’re done. 😁

mac chatterbox laura mercier rose 1
MAC Havana eyeshadow + Powersurge liner = magic!

Makeup in this look

  • Base: It Cosmetics Your Skin But Better Foundation + Skincare in Tan 41, Kevyn Aucoin Concealer in Medium 06, MAC Strobe Cream in Pinklite
  • Eyes:Urban Decay Brow Blade in Dark Drapes, MAC Saddle and Havana eyeshadows, MAC Powersurge pencil liner, Bite Beauty Upswing Mascara, MAC Clear Brow Gel
  • Cheeks and lips: Laura Mercier Soleil 1 Bronzer, Laura Mercier Rose Blush, MAC Chatterbox lipstick

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

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