Laura Mercier

Spring Makeup Ideas: Blue Eye Makeup With a Green Top

March 25th, 2020 by Karen 8 Comments

Unsolicited life tip: When you unknowingly grow a Machiavellian mustache on your upper lip, it’s probably time to put some makeup on again.

So here we go!

OK, raise your hand 🙋‍♀️ (which I’m assuming has been vigorously washed with soap for a minimum of 20 seconds) if you tend to go matchy-matchy with your clothes when you wear colorful makeup. BECAUSE I TOTALLY DO. You know that girl wearing orange eyeshadow and orange lipstick and an orange shirt? Yup. So me!

A surprisingly springy combination

I would never think to wear this blue eye makeup with a green shirt (am I the only one?), but when I saw the blue shadow and green outfit on Meghan Markle recently, I was like, “YES. Rock those jewel tones together, Meg!”

I think the blue shadow and green clothing pairing is surprisingly springy, especially if you wear it on a rainy day, which I did. When it’s wet and cold and everything outside is stone cold gray, the blue-green combo stands out even more.

Also, yeah, I know there’s a lot of eyeshadow swatches up in the mix. While I’m usually one for keeping eye makeup streamlined, especially for the past few months with the new job at the bakery and all, this time around I went ham on mixing and blending ALL THE EYESHADOWS. Try your hand at custom mixing your own shades sometime. Mixing and matching is so, so fun.

Key makeup worn in this look

EYES: It Cosmetics Naturally Pretty Palette (a mix of cool and warm browns in the crease, and the navy shade on the lid), Kevyn Aucoin ElectroPop Palette (blue/green shades on lid), Maybelline Tattoo Studio Gel Liner in Striking Navy and MAC Coffee liner (waterline and lower waterline), Laura Mercier Caviar Volume Mascara (lashes)

Cheeks: NARS Amour (blush), Hourglass Radiant Bronze Light (bronzer)

Lips: Nudestix Cheek/Lip Pencil in Mystic, MAC Boldly Bare lip liner, MAC Beaux Lipglass

Base: Estée Lauder Double Wear Foundation in Honey Bronze mixed with MAC Strobe Cream in Pinklight, Estée Lauder 24HR Concealer in Medium Deep Warm

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Product Spotlight: Laura Mercier Rosé Cheek Color

March 23rd, 2020 by Karen 11 Comments

laura mercier rose blush swatch — Rosé all day

“No-makeup” makeup people, take note: This warm pink powder blush will release you from your “blahs” while summoning your cheeks back to life.

I barely wore any makeup last weekend (real talk: I’ve been feeling kinda blah), but I *did* manage to put on some mascara, brow gel and Laura Mercier Rosé today, AND THANK GOODNESS FOR THAT!

Rosé is a warm-toned pink matte powder blush, and I didn’t realize just how much I’ve been neglecting my usual beauty routine lately until I looked in the mirror this morning and saw a mustache worthy of a Disney villain on my upper lip.

via GIPHY

A little makeup was definitely in order.

So, yeah, if you want to feel somewhat functional/normal, if only for a moment, wear blush — ideally, one like Rosé, which has that patented “no-makeup makeup®” thing going. It’s colorful without being intense, and matte, and it doesn’t look heavy or harsh.

Are you the type of person who skips foundation? Or do you just wear a touch of tinted moisturizer? If so, this blush is at its best when it’s dusted directly on bare skin or on top of a minimal base.

Hopefully, someday soon we’ll all have places to go with actual real live people in them again, and Laura Mercier Rosé will be ready. It’s available now on the Ulta website for $30.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Product Spotlight: Laura Mercier Caviar Volume Mascara

March 19th, 2020 by Karen 14 Comments

laura mercier caviar mascara — Ready to give you a lift

FOR DECADES I believed that a lash curler was a non-negotiable when dealing with stick straight lashes (mine will flex the curl outta everything), but that’s totally not so, man! My opinion changed when Laura Mercier’s marvelous Caviar Volume Mascara, which is part of LM’s permanent collection and available at Ulta for $25, rocked my world.

It all started one day a few weeks ago… I was running late for work and couldn’t find my lash curler, so out of desperation I whacked a few coats of this stuff directly on my uncurled lashes, and it finessed a perfectly lifted curl into place.

I was shocked! In fact, I’m still in awe, and I really have no idea how it works. I almost feel like I’m messing with supernatural blood makeup magic and probably shouldn’t go there, but I can’t help myself, ya know? Not only does this mascara lift and curl lashes without the help of a lash curler, but it also separates and elongates lashes while imparting a noticeable amount of volume, but not so much that your fringe looks fake or spidery.

laura mercier caviar mascara before after — No lash curler needed, babe.

It also doesn’t smudge or flake, and even though it isn’t technically waterproof, I’ve cried wearing it a few times (yes, I’m a big cry baby), and it didn’t run.

It comes in one shade, a glossy black, and you can find it at Ulta for $25 a tube.

Your friendly neighborhood fringe addict,

Karen

Product Spotlight: Laura Mercier Cocoa Caviar Stick Eye Colour

March 18th, 2020 by Karen 4 Comments

What you need to know: Laura Mercier Cocoa Caviar Stick Eye Color is a flexible brown cream shadow stick your time-pressed self needs, so if you’re building a better makeup bag and you love a workhorse brown neutral, this absolutely HAS to be in there because it doesn’t move, and you can wear it a bunch of different ways. (It’s available at Ulta for $29.)

This cocoa is a pain in the butt.

It’s the cocoa powder we use at the bakery, and whenever I have to dig into the bin, the powder is so fine that it gets all over the place! — my apron, my leggings, my face, everywhere. As adept as it is at making stuff taste good, it’s highly annoying, especially when you accidentally leave two big ol’ cocoa powder palm prints on your backside and don’t realize it until a stranger buying tuna at Trader Joe’s points it out.

This other Cocoa by Laura Mercier is not a pain in the butt…

laura mercier cocoa swatch — A swatch of Laura Mercier Cocoa, which is like a less red cream eyeshadow version of MAC Teddy liner. I’m an NC42 in MAC, by the way!

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Easy Makeup Look Idea: Olive Eyeliner, Warm Brown Eyeshadow and Matte Fuchsia Lipstick

January 30th, 2020 by Karen 25 Comments

mac all fired up — Someone turns four this March! (No, not me.)

Some mornings are for blending six shadows on your lids, and other mornings are not.

Those are the mornings made for large quantities of coffee…and for cuddles…and for easy makeup.

Initially, when I set out to do this post, I planned to wear smokey, olive eye makeup on my lids to go with the bright fuchsia matte lipstick (All Fired Up — a MAC *must*), but Connor needed extra baby love in the morning, so that plan went out the window. *Poof!*

She’s just shy of four, and some days she’s big enough to handle ALL HER BUSINESS AND THEN SOME (“I’m a big girl, mama, and I can do it myself!”), but other days, like this one, she needs some extra hugs and songs, and I’m happy to oblige her. So, no blending of six shadows on this day for this mama, LOL!

Instead, I went with a hazy olive eyeliner (gotta love how forgiving blurred edges are), a wash o’ warm brown eyeshadow, and a matte fuchsia lipstick.

Yeah, it’s streamlined and totally unfussy, but I still like it a lot. The bold lip and the flash of shimmer in the liner give it some interesting elements.

mac all fired up swatch — My skin tone is MAC NC42.

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