40 Days and 40 Nights of Beauty Brands Reviews

22 day, Laura Mercier

Cavewoman: Most of the popular cosmetic items at the Laura Mercier counter have not proven to work well for me. Mercier focuses on the flawless face, but nothing I had tried from this line gave me flawless. So, stopping at the Mercier counter to check out what's new there is not high on my list of priorities. The only Mercier item I had ever purchased was an eyeshadow which I soon gave away.

But if I practice what I preach, that there is something great to be found at every counter, I still have to stop by and check out what's new at Mercier. And yes, there is something great at Mercier, in the form of a tiny jar of loose white powder called Secret Brightening Powder. Annie and I were allowing the Mercier SA to show us the product, but the stark white scared us a bit. But we love anything that promises brightening, so I allowed the SA to apply the Secret Brightening Powder on my under-eye area, over my concealer. I turned to Annie to ask what she thought of the results.
She gasped.
We bought!
Do not be afraid of the white. You won't even see it. What you will see is what's promised by the name, a brightening effect. This superfine powder disappears on the skin once it's applied, it does not settle into lines, it does not look like powder, it doesn't even feel like powder. It sets the concealer but it's weightless on the skin, and it prevents slippage or fading of concealer during the day. It gives the eye area a well-rested look, without changing the color of the concealer or making the under-eye area look strange or garish. It is a truly amazing little magical product, this Secret Brightening Powder.
I want to let the secret out!
Run to the Mercier counter and see for yourself.
Take a friend who can gasp and buy along with you.

Annieytown: Laura Mercier's Mineral Eye Powders were introduced to me by the beauty sage Shawn. He knew my extreme fondness for eye products that twinkle and sparkle.
These powders are chock full of shimmery goodness. Constellation is a plum shade with multi-colored glitter.
Asteroid is a smoky blue with an opal shimmer.
The colors have rich pigment with glitter and shimmer that does not fade.

What are your favorite Laura Mercier products?
All Photos from Cavewoman and Blogdorf Goodman

Disclosure: The products were purchased by the reviewers.

Laura Mercier Starstruck Mineral Eyeshadows

I caved on Constellation (black violet with gold) and Asteroid (black with blue and silver pearl).
The shimmer is impressive. It could give MAC pigments a run for their money.

http://www.lauramercier.com/
pictures: annieytown



Disclosure: These products were purchased by the blog owner.

40 Days and 40 Nights of Primer Reviews

Primer #34.

Here it is, the primer review for one of the most-requested-to-be-reviewed products in this cosmetic category, Laura Mercier Foundation Primer. I have to admit that due to the raves about this product that I've read online, I had high hopes. The clever Annie scored a large sample tube of this primer at Nordstrom, and handed it over to me to test.

And test I did. I had a long morning at my parish on Sunday, and I wanted to see how this Laura Mercier Foundation Primer would hold up, and how my foundation would look after I got home. I applied the product to my clean skin. It definitely had a lemony scent to it, not offensive to me, but that might bother some users. It is a very refreshing, cooling, translucent gel, that spreads quickly and evenly. It felt wonderful on the skin, dried very fast, and left almost no visible evidence of its presence on my face. I checked as closely as my far-sighted eyes would allow, and did not see the silicone-type filling-in of lines and pores like my Smashbox, but still I liked the way it looked and felt. On with the La Prairie Concealer Foundation, and it seemed a bit odd to me that I felt as if I needed a little more of my foundation than usual to cover my face. Nevertheless, it was easy to achieve a nice, smooth, even coverage with my La Prairie, there was no 'grabbing' with this primer, and I did not see any streaks or fingerprints, no sinking of my foundation into pores or lines, and it did not change the satiny-dewy look of the La Prairie.
After I returned home, I was still pleased with the way my foundation looked, although I did notice that my T-zone area looked a bit oily. At this point if I were out somewhere, I'd have either used a blotting sheet or a dab of blot powder, but I was just home for the rest of the day so I didn't use any oil-absorbing product. My cheek areas still looked very good, there was no uneven wear here or there, and my crepey areas looked fine to me. There was no sinking at this point either, and other than the slightly oily T-zone, I was still happy with what I saw.

A few hours later (I'm so diligent in my research, am I not?) I checked again. What I saw surprised me. The foundation in my T-zone area seemed to have totally disappeared! I was bare-nosed! And even the areas around my nose appeared to have no foundation remaining there, either. There was still a nice coverage of foundation on my cheek areas and down toward the jawline, and also on my chin, but just about everywhere in the middle of my face, there was no foundation. I took a tissue and wiped those areas to check the tissue, and see if there was anything to be wiped off, and sure enough, there was almost no foundation on the tissue.

I have mixed feelings about this Laura Mercier. I had expected it to be as good for my skin type as the Smashbox. Laura Mercier products are no-nonsense, performance products that aren't packaged in clever, fancy containers, and are not gimmicky or "cute" or silly. Her line is meant to deliver the best, most even, flawless complexion possible. Her foundations get rave reviews in the press. I would say that if you have normal-to-dry skin, it would work beautifully for you. If you're oily, it won't.
Are you as surprised as I am? I would love to hear your experience if you've tried Laura Mercier Foundation Primer.

Product Rating, 6
Review by Cavewoman
Disclosure: This product was purchased by the reviewer, Cavewoman.