Bright Pink Lips - Laura Mercier French Kiss Lipstick

A little random fact about me - I am a magazine hoarder. I have tons of them; some saved for over a decade. I read them to remember things I used to like, or to get inspiration. I was looking through an old magazine the other day and saw this great feature about Debbie Harry. In several of the photos, she was wearing bright pink lips. I bought a sampler set from Sephora months ago that contained a very bright pink lipstick and it sat in my drawer collecting dust, until I saw this article and tried it out.

The sampler set I bought is no longer available (the Sephora Favorites Paint it Pink  set, in case you bought it), but the lipstick is sold separately and it is the Laura Mercier Velour Lovers Lip Colour in French Kiss, which is described as a bubblegum pink. The description of the product states that it is a matte lipstick that stays all day without drying or making lips feel chapped. I have to say that I am not in agreement with that. I do tend to have drier lips as a result of living in a dry climate, but this is definitely more drying than say the Charlotte Tilbury Matte Revolution formula.  The staying power is pretty good though it does not last all day. I tested the formula on its own and got a 4 hour wear time. I have been putting a Make Up Forever Artist Plexi-Gloss in shade 202, which was also in the set, on top to achieve the shinier look in the photo. It also helps with some of the lip hydration issues I have with the formula, but obviously adding gloss makes wear time go down a bit.

Both colors swatched on the lips (Plexi-Gloss layered over the French Kiss lipstick):

This is definitely not an everyday look for me, but I did use this combo recently on a girls' night out and it was a nice change from my usual, more conservative lip looks. I kept the rest of my face more neutral so that the lips were the highlight of  the look. It is fun to sometimes switch things up and deviate from the norm. Have you tried any bold lip looks lately?

Laura Mercier Flawless Icons Eye and Cheek Palette

The Laura Mercier Flawless Icons Eye and Cheek Palette is a Nordstrom Anniversary Sale Beauty Exclusive. It contains eight eyeshadows and two face powders. You get a nice mix of colors and neutrals for the eyeshadows. The face powders include a bronzer and highlighter. All of the pans are a nice size and I like that the shape and placement of the face powder pans made it easy to dip a brush into them and not get any other powder on the brush.

Front of palette:

Reverse of palette:

The eyeshadows are nice quality and pigmentation is buildable, but they are not super high pigment. The shadows did not have any fallout, fading, or creasing when I tested.  I was especially impressed by the lack of creasing, as I was in the heat for several hours on one of the days I tested the palette. Note - I have oily eyelids and always use eye primer, so your mileage may vary. It did take a bit of work to make some of the shadows have the amount of pigmentation that I wanted. I like that there are some neutrals and a few purples added in for fun, making the palette very versatile. It is also nice to see a mix of mattes and shimmers. If you are someone who prefers a more sheer wash of color, you will definitely like these.

Swatches of eyeshadows in direct sunlight:



Swatches outdoors in shade:




Swatches indoors:

The two face powders are very soft and easily blended.  The highlighter is very beautiful - it has some shimmer flecks, but I did not find it to be overly frosty. The highlighter blends very nicely over other products and layers well. The bronzer is a bit harder for me. It took a lot to get it to show up on me for the arm swatches and for testing on my face. The color of the bronzer is nice and I suspect that this will be a great bronzer for people with fairer skin tones, as it is lighter in color and very sheer. I prefer the bronzer in the Charlotte Tilbury palette, as it works much better on my skintone. Swatches of face powders below.

Outdoors in direct sunlight:



Indoors:

I am happy with the purchase as a whole, even though the bronzer does not work well for me. I think that the palette is a pretty good value, as you get 8 eyeshadows and 2 face powders for $65. If you are looking for an introduction into Laura Mercier products, I think this is a nice place to start. If you have a fairer skintone, the color scheme will work very well for you. If you are choosing between this and the Charlotte Tilbury palette and you are light-medium skintone or darker,  I would recommend the CT palette. The Laura Mercier palette is available at Nordstrom as part of their Anniversary Sale. Have you tried any of the Beauty Exclusives from the Nordstrom sale?

Laura Mercier Flawless Icons Eye and Cheek Palette - Sneak Peek

I ordered the Laura Mercier Flawless Icons Eye and Cheek Palette as part of my haul from the Nordstrom  Anniversary Sale. I thought I should give a peak at the palette with some swatches for people that may be wanting to order now.  I am still compiling my final thoughts and will have another post in a few days with a full review and additional swatches.

Eyeshadow swatches in direct sun:



Face swatches in direct sun:



The palette retails for $65 and is available at Nordstrom. What have you ordered from the sale?

Rose Gold Loves

Today I thought I would share some of my rose gold favorites. Rose gold is such a nice color that, to me, goes with everything. I find that it is flattering on most skin tones and I tend to wear a lot more rose gold in the summer, as I love how it looks when I have a bit of a tan. I picked an eyeshadow palette, single powder eyeshadow, highlighter, lip gloss, single cream eyeshadow, and a nail polish to give some variety.

Below (clockwise from top): Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed in Rose Gold, Nars Lip Gloss in Orgasm, and L'Oreal Infallible Eyeshadow in Amber Rush.



Tons of people seem to be in love with Becca's highlighting products. I got the Rose Gold shade in a sampler set and I was so excited to try it out. I do like it, but I find that it is not something I can wear to work. I feel like it gives a more extreme highlight and has a lot of shimmer. While the effect is very beautiful, I tend to be more conservative at work and stick to my Hourglass Ambient Lighting powders for highlighters during the day. That said, this is a beautiful color and the finish is very nice. The powder is easy to blend and it layers nicely with other products.

What can I say that hasn't been said about Nars and the Orgasm color in general? Just buy it, if you haven't already. The gloss is a great quality, not sticky, has decent staying power (around 3 hours), and the color is so flattering. If you have the blush and love it, get the gloss. Trust me, you will love it too.

The L'Oreal Infallible eye shadow was a total impulse buy one day in Target. It is such a pretty color and staying power is impressive. It lasts all day on me without creasing. The powder is a little chunky, but it blends well and I find that if I apply it by itself with my fingers there is less fallout.

Below is the Laura Mercier Caviar Stick Eye Color in Rose Gold:



I have the Laura Mercier Caviar Stick Eye Colour in 4 or 5 colors, but the Rose Gold is the one I reach for most often. I find that it is a great base color, makes powders layered over it last forever, and it also is very pretty on its own with just liner and mascara. This is definitely one of my top used products overall and I truly love it.

Swatches of the above products in direct sunlight:



The Urban Decay Naked 3 palette:



The Urban Decay Naked 3 palette is another high use item for me. I always travel with it and love that the shades look so great on their own or blended. Limit is great base colors. I love Nooner as a crease color if using lighter shades on the lid and it is also great on its own with a bit of liner
. Dust and Burnout I use as highlight colors. Trick is such a unique shade to me. It is a color chameleon and changes greatly in different lighting. It can look more rose, gold or orange/peach depending on the light. Swatches below are the shades Dust through Nooner of the Urban Decay 3 palette:



I hope you have enjoyed my picks. What are some of your rose gold favorites?