Source: makeupandbeautyblog.com

Get Yer Spend on at the Neiman Marcus Beauty Event in San Francisco: September 6-17 from 10-5 p.m.

Bring your product lust and your wallet to Neiman Marcus for their fall beauty event! Spend $100 on cosmetics/beauty and you’ll get a tote full of beauty goodies (past bags included products from La Prairie and Jo Malone). In addition to the goody bag some beauty brands will also include a gift with purchase. I’m looking forward to hitting the BECCA counter – they’ll be giving away a free full size Glossy Lip Tint in Mamilla and a full size Crème Eye Colour in Antique Gold (valued at $49).

I Love Laura and So Can You at the Laura Mercier Beauty Bootcamp at Neiman Marcus: September 12-15

I’ve gushed on and on about Laura Mercier foundation on this blog, so if you’re curious about the line and want to go to the Neiman Marcus beauty event in San Francisco you might want to plan your visit around one of these four “beauty bootcamps” with with Katy Messer, a Laura Mercier National Artist. Register for a one-on-one lesson for any of these workshops:

·Wed, September 12- Fresh Fall Trends: Perfect Everyday Eye, Luscious Lips

·Thur, September 13- Achieving your own Flawless Face, 5 minutes to Flawless Skin

·Fri, September 14- Architecture of a Flawless Brow

·Sat, September 15- Your Best Evening Eye: Transitioning from Work to Wow!

Not only will you get a beauty lesson, you can also bring home some serious beauty loot.

Bringing home some serious beauty loot 101:
1. Spend enough bucks at the Laura Mercier counter and to snag get the Neiman Marcus goody bag.
2. In addition Laura Mercier will also be giving away a 6 piece gift-with-purchase available (but only for a limited time).
3. Call the counter at (415) 362-3900 or email kari dot mcmullin at lauramercier dot com to make your reservation. Mention that you saw the ad on Craigslist (which is where I found this info) to also receive a free Crème Brulee body soufflé and honey bath duo ($65.00 value)!

And girrrrlll…don’t leave the premises without snagging some Secret Brightening Powder! Seriously, it will change your life.

Juice Beauty Launch at the San Francisco Sephora on September 6th

Juice Beauty is doing a special launch for their new body products on Thursday, September 6th from 8:30-10:00 am at the San Francisco Sephora Store on Powell Street!

Get a sneak peek of their new Organic Green Apple Body Brilliance Collection, which includes Green Apple Mousse Body Cleanser, Green Apple Body Peel and Green Apple SPF 20 Antioxidant Body Moisturizer.

CEO/”Head Juicer” Karen Behnke will be there to give an organic beauty update. Oh, and the’ll have plenty of organic antioxidant-rich juices, snacks and hand treatments. YUM!

You can rsvp via email: Alyssa at juicebeauty dot com or by phone, (415) 457-4600 X 232.

Q&A with Juice Beauty CEO Karen Behnke

If you haven’t heard of Juice Beauty yet, I’m sure it’s only a matter of time. This up-and-coming beauty company focuses on organic skin and body products, which are good for your skin and good for the planet, yay. The brand is quickly gaining a cult following among the Hollywood elite; Kate Hudson is a fan and gushed over Juice Beauty products recently in Harper’s magazine.

Makeupandbeautyblog.com recently sat down with Juice Beauty’s CEO and “head juicer” Karen Behnke to get the lowdown on her favorite Juice Beauty products and the company’s plans for the future.

Makepandbeautyblog.com: Juice Beauty is on its way to becoming a well-recognized brand in the beauty world. What do you think is the key to your continuing success?

Karen Behnke: I think the key to our continuing success is our products. We’ve just developed unbelievable formulations and I think people are really interested in products that work and are organic…Our goal is to provide the healthiest, most highest efficacy products for women and men. And at the same time we’re helping the planet because we’re support all of our organic farmers and we use recycled packaging.

We use 100% organic juice base, which is very expensive, and it’s jammed with antioxidants, polyphenols, vitamins, minerals and all of the things that will really feed your face. To that we add over 60 organic ingredients and also high age-defying types of ingredients.

MBB: What’s your favorite product from the line?

KB: Oh! That’s hard for me to say, but I can give you a couple ties!

[One of my favorites] is the cleansing milk. It’s just so luxurious and rich. It takes off all of your makeup and I just love it.

And my favorite treatment product is our Green Apple Peel. It’s what we’re really known for. Our Green Apple Peel has powerful alpha and beta hydroxy acids and it’s an immediate result type of benefit. Immediate!

MBB: What’s so special about it?

KB: It’s a powerful exfoliator, and a peel that you do once a week.

MBB: Any other favorites from the line?

KB: My favorite moisturizer is our Green Apple Antioxidant Moisturizer. It’s rich, rich, and has all of the age defying ingredients. And I have to add my favorite [sunscreen] is the SPF 30 Mineral Light Moisturizer, and that’s what I put all over in the morning. Face, neck, hands, you name it. It’s a chemical-free, organic, full UVA-UVB sun protection, and it’s anti-oxidant rich pomegranate, and we tint it with minerals so it gives light coverage. You just put one moisturizer on in the morning and it provides full coverage, and offers a little bit of light foundation. I’ve never worn foundation in my life, but this makes you really glow.

MBB: Sounds pretty! Do you have one color for all skin tones or multiple shades?

KB: We have three different shades.

MBB: What products do you think are good intro products for people new to the line?

KB: Our best intro products are our kits. We have our Organics To Go kits, which a great sampling of a lot of our products, and for $29.00 you can sample 5 products. Our other great kit is our Organics To Clear Skin, and that’s our blemish regimen. It’s a step-by-step kit [which includes] our Cleansing Gel and Blemish Clearing Serum, one of our best sellers.

MBB: What’s the active ingredient?

KB: It’s gentle salicylic acid/willow bark …It really keeps your skin clear. [And our kit also includes] our Oil-Free Moisturizer and our Sensitive Green Apple Peel. That’s about a three month’s supply and that’s $39.00 for a sampler.

MBB: You guys are growing fast. Where would you like to see Juice Beauty in five years?

KB: Well, we are the organic prestige leader right now in the United States. And we want to certainly maintain that position, but we’re growing quickly internationally, so our goal is to become the worldwide organic prestige leader in skincare. And we’ve just branched into body care.

MBB: Do you have any plans to expand into makeup?

KB: We have some tints in our moisturizers, and we have some lip cover, but other than that we probably won’t go into makeup. We’ll probably just keep going into body and then probably next would be hair.

MBB: What on piece of advice would you give women entrepreneurs who are starting out in the beauty industry?

KB: I would say the most important thing is to follow your passion. And within the beauty aspect of that is to find out where your passion is within beauty and just really follow it. Our passion here is organic and in efficacy, and so we really work hard at trying to find pure organic ingredients that really work.

Interested in checking the products out? Head to your nearest Sephora store or visit their Web site, juicebeauty.com.

Can you believe our weekend is over? I didn’t really do much except work on some writing and watch a few movies, which is just how I wanted it. =) I could probably use at least two more days of relaxation though! Keep up the good fight and remember to look on the bright side – at least it’s a short week, right?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. MUCH LOVE to all the beauty bloggers heading to NY for the shows! I wish I could be there with you. =)

Source: makeupandbeautyblog.com

Oh, Laura Mercier Secret Brightening Powder. How much do I love thee? If I could I would probably make out with you and then hold you tight as you slept next to me … I would even let you steal the covers. Okay, not really. But seriously, where would I be without this stuff? Most of the waking world would wonder if I was questionably undead if I didn’t have this wonder powder to keep my dark circles hidden.

Secret Brightening Powder takes setting your undereye concealer to the next level. It’s not exactly a highlighter, but it’s not exactly a face powder, either. Its transparent white color helps to brighten your undereye area, and it contains very fine micronized pigments, which keep it from settling into fine lines.

It looks oh so innocent in its cute little 0.14 oz jar but then brush some on top of your favorite concealer and BAM! It’s like spooky Harry Potter magic happened all up in your face!

Case in point: here are two pics I took during a tutorial I did a week ago. If undereye circles could speak, these purple devils would tell you that I was up till the wee hours watching mind-rotting reality television.

And here I am after applying Secret Brightening Powder with the MAC 217 Brush over a layer of MAC Select Moisturecover. Presto-chango, evil purple circles are gone!

What I liked about it

Full Disclosure: I tried this product a few months ago at a Laura Mercier event and initially I wasn’t wowed by it. I liked it, but I didn’t love it enough to buy it on the spot. After recently purchasing this on a whim at Sephora and seeing it in pics I have really come to depend on Secret Brightening Powder. It’s now a main staple in my daily makeup routine.

The best part of this powder is the texture. It’s so finely milled that it’s barely noticeable, yet it has great staying power throughout the day and keeps my concealer from budging. The second best thing is that it really brightens up my undereye area and makes me look more awake and refreshed without looking too obvious. The third is that I only have to use just a little bit to get great coverage, so I know this small jar will go a long, long way.

What I didn’t like about it

There were no negatives for me, but some might find spending $22 on a such a small jar a rip off. However, if you think about it in terms of daily use, then the price tag is easily justifiable. A little really goes a long way.

The final word

I have nothing but love for Secret Brightening Powder, and if it were ever discontinued I’d first probably have some form of bodily convulsion. Then I’d buy the remaining jars in a three state radius and store them in my closet until the second coming. Seriously, I ain’t lying. Try this stuff … a super-duper Makeup and Beauty Blog Winner!

Source: makeupandbeautyblog.com

My current fascination with MAC’s Mulch shadow continues, and today I rocked the Mulch once more with a super-easy look that’s great for makeup newbies.

When girls/boys do these makeup tutorials it seems customary to have a mortifying shot of your face without any makeup on it. I don’t even go across the street without any concealer on, ya’ll!

First I prepped my skin by washing it with a gentle cleanser, Clean & Clear. I have acne-prone skin so I put on a thin layer of DDF’s Benzoyl Peroxide with Tea Tree Oil, followed by Olay Complete. After all of this stuff sinks in I put on a thin layer of Laura Mercier Oil-Free foundation all over my face, including my lids.

I’m kind of clumsy, so I like to do eyes first. That way if I totally screw up I don’t have to bother with re-doing foundation, powder, blush, etc. I also do this because inevitably there will always be niblets of shadow all over the place, and I like to swipe the under eye area clean before applying concealer.

Here’s what I used, from the left to the right going counterclockwise:
- MAC Paint in Magrittes
- MAC Concrete shadow (I use this in my brows)
- MAC Ricepaper shadow
- MAC Mulch shadow
- MAC 266 (stiff angled brush)
- Studio Basics lash and brow comb
- MAC 217SE (blending brush)
- MAC 217 (blending brush)
- MAC 209SE (eyeliner brush)
- MAC 212SE (push brush)
- MAC 252 (laydown brush)
- MAC 275SE (angled fluff brush)
- LORAC 103 (concealer brush)
- Laura Mercier Secret Brightening Powder in #2
- L’Oreal Voluminous Mascara in Carbon Black
- MAC Select Moisturecover in NW 25
- MAC lash curler
- MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack

I used MAC Paint in Magrittes as a lid primer. Magrittes is a really pretty gold, with shimmer. Don’t fear this shimmer – it’s not too disco, I promise.

MAC Paints are creamy and give shadow something to grab onto. I like ‘em because I find it easy to blend shadows with Paints as a base. One caveat: if your lids are oily you may have some product migration if you use Magrittes by itself. One trick to try is to use Urban Decay’s Potion Primer first and then layer Magrittes on afterwards.

Next I used a 252 brush to apply Ricepaper shadow all over the lid.

Now it’s time to rock the Mulch. I first used the 217 to put a light wash of Mulch all over the lid (from the lash and then upward to just the start of the crease), and then concentrated the color on the outer ends using the 252. Then I blended with the 217 to remove any harsh lines.

Using MAC’s Lash Curler, I the curled my lashes: I placed the curler closed to the base of the lashes and then pulsed the lash curler (not pinched!) as I moved it upwards to the end of the lashes to create a smooth curl.

If you find the lash curler intimidating or scary you are not alone! So if you have long, thick, pretty lashes then you can probably get away with skipping this step and maybe even skipping mascara. It’s really up to you and how comfortable you are.

Next I added two layers of L’Oreal Voluminous mascara in Carbon Black. Love. This. Stuff. Side note: see those purple-ish undereye circles? Last night I was sucked into a vaccum of bad late night television, and I stayed up way past my bedtime to watch both “Lindsey Lohan: Hollywood Trainwreck” and “Mission: Man Band,” on VH1, LOLOLOL. Oh, and if you happen to know who “Color Me Badd” is then don’t miss “Man Band.”

I initially was going to skip liner totally but on a whim decided to use MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack to line the outer-upper-lash line. I used a 212 push brush, but the 209 liner brush is a good option, too. I only lined the outer two-thirds because I didn’t want it to look too obvious. This trick is awesome – it totally makes your upper lashes look thicker.

After I finished with shadow and before I applied concealer did a quick cleaned up of my underye area with Boot’s No. 7 Quick Thinking cleansing wipes.

Remember those purple-lish undereye circles? Well, some MAC Select Moisturecover applied with a Lorac concealer brush helps to remedy the situation by leaps and bounds. I set it by applying Laura Mercier Secret Brightening Powder in #2 with the 217SE. THANK YE GODS FOR CONCEALER!

Now the eyes are done, yay!

Now onto foundation and powder.

I mixed together Laura Mercier Oil-Free Tinted Moisturizer in Almond with Laura Mercier Oil-Free Foundation in Suntan Beige and applied the mix with a MAC 190 foundation brush. I don’t like to feel like I’m spackling on the foundation, so I apply just a light layer on to even out the red spots around my nose and to even out the my skin tone. I then set it all over with Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder using a Sonia Kashuk powder brush.

Whew … almost there!

Lastly I do cheeks and lips. Here’s what I used from left to right:
- MAC 129 blush brush
- MAC Blushbaby blush
- Rimmel Pink Rose blush
- Rimmel 1000 Kisses Lipliner in Tiramisu
- MAC 316 Lip Brush
- Bobbi Brown Beige Lipstick, from the Best Of lip palette
- Paul & Joe Lipgloss in #10

For lips I lined with Rimmel’s 1000 Kisses Lipliner in Tiramisu and then used my finger to blend the color in.

I then added a layer of Bobbi Brown Beige lipstick and topped it off with Paul & Joe Lipgloss, using a MAC 316 lip brush.

I used a MAC 129 to apply Blushbaby on the cheeks and to blend the color upwards toward my ears. I then put a pop of pink shimmer with Rimmel’s Pink Rose blush on the apples only.

Voila! Here’s the final look, without and with the flash.

Crap, now I have to clean up …

I usually don’t like to write with music on but because this post was so pic-heavy I spent most of my time working with the pics and listening to this song by Robin Thicke and Pharrell. It’s called “Wanna Love You Girl” and it totally makes me want to dance. Give it a listen – it’ll be like we’re hanging out together and talking shop about makeup, LOL.

You better be working it today because it’s FRIDAY!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Source: makeupandbeautyblog.com

Foundation Quest – 17 years and counting
After 17 years of makeup wearing, I’m still trying to find a foundation that works for me. I’ve spent a good chunk o’ change on my quest to find the perfect foundation (aka Foundation Quest) and unfortunately much of it was spent on foundations that were too dark, too yellow or too pimple-causing. Is it too much to hope for a miracle foundation that evens out my skin tone, doesn’t feel cakey after a few hours and keeps me zit-free?

Why I keep trying to find the perfect foundation
Despite all of the disappointing attempts, I’m determined to find something that works because the perfect foundation does so much in achieving the look of a “finished” face. These days, I’m especially eager because I’ve noticed that as I’m getting older my skin is changing – it’s less oily, uneven in color, and I have fine lines and freckles. The minimal amount of makeup I can get away with on a day-to-day basis is changing, so I’m a woman on a mission!

Why I don’t wear MAC Foundations
You might be wondering why this self-professed MAC junkie isn’t using foundation from her favorite makeup line. I’ve used MAC foundations in the past – Select SPF 15 and Select Tint 15 – and they just don’t work for me. They’re too yellow and they break me out. Select SPF 15 gave me cystic acne along my jawline, which took almost a year to get rid of, and Select Tint felt heavy and oily on my skin. You can see why I don’t like to go there any more.

What happened during my last failed Foundation Quest attempt
The last time I bought foundation was during a trip to Disneyland in August, when I went makeup crazy at the Sephora in Downtown Disney because they carried the Paul & Joe line. The Sephora closest to me in SF doesn’t carry Paul & Joe, and I was totally suckered in by the cute packaging. The Sephora makeup artist matched me with Protective Fluid Foundation in the 05 Fonce color, which I happily purchased along with the Protective Foundation Primer SPF 30. When I made it back home after the trip and tried out the products, I was really disappointed because the primer cast an ashy tint on my skin and the foundation was too yellow in natural light. I don’t know what happened – I think my need to believe that this foundation was THE ONE sent me into a Paul & Joe makeup induced trance! I threw the products into the Makeup-I’ll-Never-Use-Pile and decided to do more research when the itch to go on Foundation Quest hit again.

Makeup artist tips I found digging around the web
This time around I did a bit more preliminary research. I found that many makeup artists suggest that you should try to get away with as sheer coverage as possible, and the formula you choose should vary with your skin type and age. I knew I wanted to find a sheer-to-medium formula that I could build up for more coverage if I had to take pictures. After some more digging, I zeroed in on two lines: Georgio Armani and Laura Mercier. Since there isn’t a Georgio Armani counter nearby, I decided to head up to the Nordstrom’s in Corte Madera to hit the Laura Mercier counter.

I was really interested in trying Laura Mercier’s Oil-Free Foundation because a few years ago it was rated as one of InStyle’s beauty favorites. And after checking out the website, I became really excited about the type of makeup looks that were shown. The makeup pictures showed pretty, sophisticated and modern makeup – great looking skin, with tasteful use of color on the eyes, lips and cheeks. It wasn’t as basic as Bobbi Brown (which bores me) yet not as “out there” as MAC can be sometimes.

A Look From Laura Mercier Eyes Wide Collection

A Look From Laura Mercier Starstruck Collection

What’s the big deal with Laura Mercier foundation

Laura Mercier pioneered the look of the “Flawless Face,” which uses multiple products to create the look of beautiful skin. So what is the Laura Mercier flawless face? The website says:

Laura Mercier believes that a beautiful look begins with great looking skin, and has developed key products for the face that allows every woman to achieve an incredibly even, smooth – yet natural-looking complexion.

“Before applying any colour, I always create a fresh canvas – a flawless finish. Making your skin look perfect is the first and most important thing you can do to achieve a truly great look. The key is to enhance your natural beauty – whether you use all products together one day, or just a little Secret Camouflage and Setting Powder when you are on the go.”
- Laura Mercier

These are the products that her line uses to get this look:

Step 1: Foundation Primer
Step 2: Foundation
Step 3: Secret Brightener
Step 4: Concealers
Step 5: Secret brightening Powder
Step 6: Setting Powder
Step 7: Secret Finish

Well, I know myself pretty well and I there’s no way for me to have enough time in the day to do all of these steps, so I decided to go try the foundation primer, foundation and the powder.

What my counter visit was like and my plan of attack
I got to the counter early on a Thursday, wearing minimal eye makeup (filled in brows and concealer) and nothing else. My plan this time around was to tell the salesperson up front what my foundation problems were: nothing too yellow, too heavy or too dark.

What happens when the makeup artist hasn’t had coffee or sleep
I should’ve been alarmed when I realized that I might’ve caught the makeup artist at a bad time. She was very helpful, but was acting forgetful (and slightly crazy), like her coffee hadn’t kicked in or she didn’t have enough sleep. I know how it feels to be ambushed by clients first thing in the morning before your caffeine starts working its magic, so honestly, so I didn’t think it was a big deal – I thought she nice, but a little out of it.

I told her I wanted to try the Oil Free formulation, and immediately she tried to talk me out of it and said that the Silk Crème formula was the best foundation that they had. The Silk Crème formula comes in a tube. The consistency of the foundation is like a mousse (looks almost like you could eat it!) than a cream. It’s easy to blend, contains no SPF (which is good for picture taking) and offers sheer-to-heavy coverage, depending on how you apply it. She put the color Hazelnut Beige on my chin and had me go to the entrance doors to check out the color in the natural light. I felt like the formula was really great but the color was just slightly off. Because Hazelnut Beige was the darkest Silk Crème formula available, she then pulled out some of the Oil-Free colors, which has a wider selection of colors.

Silk Creme Foundation

Oil Free Foundation

Oil Free Foundation Primer

She cleaned off my face again and added foundation primer, which smelled good and felt cooling on my skin. Laura Mercier makes three versions of the Foundation Primer, Regular, Oil-Free and Hydrating. Foundation primer helps to smooth out your skin so that the foundation adheres to a smooth surface to give your foundation a more finished, even look.

The MA put on the Regular version of the primer on my face, and I didn’t realize that it wasn’t the formula I wanted to buy until I looked closely at the tube, so I made a point to tell her that I wanted to purchase the Oil-Free version. “Oh sure, okay,” she replied.

She then pulled out three Oil-Free colors and proceeded to put the wrong color foundation on my face. I probably wouldn’t have noticed, but she was halfway done when she stopped and stepped back and said, “Opps, that’s my fault. I put the wrong color on you.” She wiped it all off and we started all over again. She then put on what I think might have been Suntan Beige (it was all a blur of beige foundation stimulus), using a wet sponge to work the foundation into the skin.

(Side note: I hope it doesn’t sound like I’m complaining about experience but honestly I think the MA was really nice but just really spaced out.)

Translucent Setting Powder

She then finished with Translucent Setting Powder and applied all over my face it with a large, soft puff in a slight rolling motion. The powder is made out of “Fine French Cashmere Talc,” she explained and is colorless because Laura Mercier believes that the color should come from the foundation, not from powder. I love powders, but I’m not usually a fan of translucent powders, because on me they rarely are translucent, and deposit a white/grey cast on my skin.

But when she had me check out the results in the natural light my previous ideas about translucent powders changed because my skin looked great. This powder gives a soft-focus quality to my skin and I didn’t notice a grey cast at all. Plus, the color of the foundation looked just right. I happily handed over my credit card and then went skipping off with what I thought was the Oil-Free Foundation Primer, the Oil-Free Foundation, the Translucent Setting Powder and a sample of the Silk Crème Foundation in Hazelnut Beige (I liked the formulation so much wanted to try the color again in other light situations.) When I got in the car I checked out the results in the rearview mirror was really happy.

What happened when I got home

Immediately when I got home I took a picture:

Me wearing the Foundation Primer, Oil-Free Foundation and Translucent Loose Setting Powder

After I took this pic I opened up my Nordstrom bag to open up my goodies and realized that she had totally given me the wrong products. I ended up with the Regular version of the Foundation Primer and an Oil-Free Foundation that was at least 2 shades to light for me. I thought, hmmm… well, maybe this is the color that she intended to give me. I had to rush off to work, so I didn’t really think about it again until I checked my makeup at the end of the day. The color she put on me changed – it looked like it was darker than it was in the morning, and there was a significant difference between the color of my face and the color of my neck. I wasn’t as sold on it as I was earlier in the day.

Later on that night I tried the lighter color to see if it was indeed the color she intended to give me. The texture made it hard to blend and work with. It has a gel-like consistency, and you really have to work it in with a damp sponge to get it to blend. Just for fun I built it up see if it still looked good with heavier coverage. When I saw the results in the mirror I knew that she had definitely given me the wrong color – my skin looked ashy and grey. Sigh. Well, it’s a good thing I like to go to the mall, because I didn’t really mind going back to return the stuff.

What happened upon my return
When I returned the next morning there was another makeup artist there, and she took one look at the color of the foundation and said, “Uh, this is the wrong color. The makeup artist you worked with yesterday is really good – I can’t imagine her giving you this color on purpose. Did she mix it with another color? Or add a bronzer? There’s no way that this is your color.”

She kept asking me what color I may have originally been matched with and for the life of me I couldn’t remember. After trying two more Oil-Free shades – Golden Beige (too yellow and light) and Sunset Beige (too dark) she convinced me to try the Oil-Free Tinted Moisturizer. She matched me with Almond shade. When I looked at the color in the natural light it looked pretty good, and she said that if I wanted lighter coverage I could apply it with a dry sponge and if I wanted to build up the coverage I could use my fingers. At least it will be easier to work than the Oil Free, and on days when I’m in a hurry I can just slap a quick layer on. I ended up getting the Almond Shade and a tube of the Oil-Free Foundation Primer, and I took this picture when I got home:

Me wearing Oil-Free Foundation Primer, Oil-Free Tinted Moisturizer and Translucent Loose Setting Powder

Week-long test
This week I tried both the Oil-Free Tinted Moisturizer in Almond and the Silk Crème sample in Hazelnut Beige on alternating days. The Tinted Moisturizer is really easy to get to apply – I used both the MAC 190 Foundation brush and Rite Aid makeup wedges. After, I used my MAC 180 Buffer Brush to apply the Translucent setting powder.

Pros and cons of the Tinted Moisturizer
I’ve noticed that if I put too much TM on my skin, the products start to feel too heavy on my skin after a few hours. I also still feel like Almond shade is a touch too dark and too pink when I build it up. It’s probably not currently noticeable to anyone else but me (in fact, I got a few complements this weekend from friends), but I’m still not 100% sold on it. I’m going to keep trying it for the next few days, to see if it breaks me out and if I can master the application so that it doesn’t feel heavy on my skin. If my skin stays clear may just keep the Almond for summer, when I tend to get more tan because when I’m running around outside.

Pros and cons of the Silk Crème Foundation
I was really surprised to find that I liked the Silk Crème Foundaiton. I initially thought the coverage would be too heavy, but it goes on surprisingly sheer with a wet sponge, and looks really natural. It doesn’t contain any sunscreen, which is actually a plus for me – I currently don’t own a foundation that is appropriate for picture taking, and foundations without sunscreen (Titanium Dioxide) are supposed to be better for photos because they don’t leave a white cast on your skin. Turns out the Silk Crème is closer to my skin tone than I initially thought and I liked how it seemed to cover just enough to even out my color – it also doesn’t feel heavy after a few hours. I’m going to keep trying the sample out for the next few days and if I like still like it when I finish I might also buy a tube!

What I think about the products so far
All in all, despite all of the confusion with the mixed-up products I like this line so far. I like the colors and the textures of the products and they seem to be high quality. And I haven’t broken out (knock on wood), which is a plus. I have realized that I probably won’t ever find a color that will match my skin absolutely perfectly, but I can get pretty close.

Laura Mercier makeup event on Friday!

Laura Mercier Peaches and Creme Collection

This Friday, I’ll get to try more Laura Mercier products because I signed up for a free makeup lesson with a “Laura Mercier Specially Trained Premier Artist.” Laura Mercier is releasing new products under the “Peaches and Crème” line, which includes two new Stickgloss shades, one Crème Cheek Colour and a new Peach Mosaic Shimmer Block. I’ve never tried any of these, but I’m especially looking forward to the Stickgloss and the Crème Cheek Color. I’ll probably pick up the tube of Silk Crème foundation then, and probably with a few more goodies. I can’t wait!