Laura Mercier Riviera Eye Shadow Quad Summer 2011 Portofino Collection

This is a perfect day to dream about Portofino. The Italian Riviera is one of my favorite places in the world. It's among the very few destination that given the chance I'd drop everything and just go there. Laura Mercier took my fantasy and shaped it into this limited edition eye shadow quad for summer 2011. As I mentioned yesterday, the rest of the Portofino collection is underwhelming at best. Honestly, it looks like the creative team at Laura Mercier ran out of ideas and pigments but still insisted on releasing a "collection" instead of going with one stellar item, this Riviera eye shadow quad.

The texture of all four shadows is silky smooth, really top quality. The shades have  a satiny texture- neither matte nor shimmery, including the darkest blue (a deep sea shade) that looks a lot more shiny in the compact than it is on the lid (or arm). The other shades are an almost snowy white, a sunny golden beige and a silvery not quite sky blue. The beige is not light enough to serve as a highlighter on its own, so I use it as more of a base color or mix it with the lighter blue for the lid.

Speaking of this grayish blue, it's an excellent shade for olive skin and deep-set eyes. The color looks very flattering and brings out dark eyes while adding just enough brightness to my lids. I add a wash of the white where needed and love the result. It looks a lot more understated than you'd expect from a blue-centered eye shadow palette. The dark blue is of course an excellent liner/smoky eye color. I've been skipping an actual liquid/pencil liner when wearing it, which if you know me, it's almost inconceivable. I use the smallest pencil/smudge brushes or a smoky eye brush to apply this color with just a hint (it's very pigmented, so I use what left on the brush) under the lower lashes. A minimalistic mascara completes the look. I also add a little of Edward Bess cream highlighter where needed, because it brings all the colors together.

One gripe: the stripes for each color are quite narrow, so I need to use brushes with smaller heads even when a wide one would be a better choice (for an all over wash). Even then it's hard not to get a little of the wrong color on the brush.

All four shades in Laura Mercier's Riviera quad are very pigmented and stay put beautifully. I always use a primer, but even after the swatches on my arm rubbed against my shirt and various cats, they still remained very visible. As for the finger swatches, those required some serious hand scrubbing before they were gone.

Bottom Line: Excellent.

Laura Mercier Riviera Eye Shadow Quad Summer 2011 Portofino Collection ($40) is at Nordstrom, Neiman and other department stores as well as on lauramercier.com

All photos are mine. And, yes, that's my front door in the swatches a few seconds after I managed to lock myself out in the rain this morning.

Laura Mercier Riviera Eye Shadow Quad Summer 2011 Portofino Collection Sneak Peek

Here's the quickest sneak peek of Laura Mercier Riviera Eye Shadow Quad from her  Summer 2011 Portofino Collection. I played with everything in this collection and didn't find another single item that worked for me (the Sheer Crème Glow especially didn't make any sense- neither a blush nor a highlighter and horribly sticky). But the Riviera palette was love at first sight, first swatch and first application. I still need to test it more for a full review, but since the quad is already at most Laura Mercier counters ($40) and online, I figured you might want to have a good look.

All photos are mine.

Laura Mercier Black Carat Baked Eye Colour Wet/Dry

It looks like almost everyone is launching shiny and new eye shadow formulas. And I mean literally shiny- some makeup counters look like little disco bombs lately (hello, Armani). Laura Mercier, until not long ago Queen of Understated Makeup has her own interpretation of the subject with the new  Baked Eye Colour Wet/Dry (wasn't she the one who said in an interview that she's trying to get American women to tone down the color? Ha!).

Don't believe the photos and swatches you see on Laura Mercier's site. Seriously. These colors are hard to photograph and I spent quite a bit of time and effort on the sub-par pictures you see here, so I'm not surprised the official swatches are crap, but still. I bought mine at the counter where I played with several other colors. I was originally interested in Lagoon and Violet Sky but upon seeing them in person I realized they were far too much for me. I can wear bold colors and know how to blend them into a not-crazy look, but these were little glitter monsters. Pretty monsters, but not something I need. Except for Black Karat, that I knew I could easily make it work.

Black Karat is a metallic golden brown with black marbling that mixes with the main color and takes it towards the taupe side of things. It's not just wearable but also beautiful- both wet and dry, and as long as you don't do a full wash of color, the glitter shouldn't get out of hand. It would make a great evening look, but I also used it on the lash line, top and bottom, for a subtle smoky eye  during the day on the weekend. I used Edward Bess Nude as a base, Dusk on the lid and Black Karat as a liner (using Laura Mercier Smoky Liner brush). I also applied a Bobbi Brown  something or other (a matte taupish one, I just don't remember which one) to bring everything together and tone down the effect.  This might not have been something I would wear in an office environment (or were I still teaching fifth grade), but I really really like this eye shadow in small amounts.

The swatches show how Black Karat looks both dry and applied with a damp brush. You can see how it changes with the amount of light and the direction it comes from. I'd suggest not to order it sight unseen- one should really like the color and shine to be willing to commit, as it's not the easiest formula to wear. Still, the quality is very good. As long as you clean up the initial fallout (see shiny particles all over my hand in the pictures), the eye shadow actually stays put nicely. It hasn't creased, crumpled or changed on my lids (over a primer) for at least 14 hours.

Bottom Line: Like.

Laura Mercier Baked Eye Colour Wet/Dry ($22) is available at the counters and from lauramercier.com.

All photos are mine.

Laura Mercier Sweet Cherry Gel Lip Colour

Sweet Cherry was one of the two Laura Mercier Gel Lip Colour lipsticks I picked last week. The other one is Rosette, the more pink but not any less pretty and pigmented. Sweet Cherry is obviously red, but thanks to the gel texture and sheerness it's very easy to wear, and since my lips are naturally dark (much darker than my arm), the contrast isn't too big for daytime. Actually, I think Sweet Cherry is about to become my daytime red for summer.

These Laura Mercier lipsticks feel and wear like a gloss but the pigment and color payoff are quite intense, making the Gel Lip Colours a great choice for an easy makeup look that's simple to maintain and touch up as needed. The one and only drawback is the heavy fragrance I mentioned in the sneak peek. Seriously, I actually like scented makeup, but I expect the smell to a) not be very strong, and b) to fade within 30 seconds. The almondy-heliotrope perfume of Laura Mercier's gels is annoying me a little too much. Not enough to ditch these excellent lipsticks, but I still grumble about it.

Laura Mercier Gel Lip Colour is available from lauramercier.com and soon going to be at the counters everywhere.

All photos are mine.

Laura Mercier Rosette Gel Lip Colour

Now that I've had a week to play with the new Laura Mercier gel lipsticks and wear them extensively I can share my thoughts and impression. Rosette is a lovely red pink (or pink red) that has somewhat of a vintage feel, though the texture and light coverage are very modern. Rosette is exactly what I have in mind as a spring shade- a non-pastel pink that awakens the face and instantly puts me in a good mood.

Laura Mercier gel lipsticks offer some serious color payoff while maintaining some sheerness, so lips look real, just drenched in color with a light glossy finish. The texture is, indeed, of a gel, hence easy to apply and maintain. They're very hydrating  and make the lips plump up with moisture and look happy and healthy. The longevity of such a product is that of a top quality lip gloss. It needs to be refreshed and fixed after a snack or about three hours, but the gel makes it very easy and low maintenance to do so.

Bottom Line: easy love.

Laura Mercier Gel Lip Colour ($22) available from lauramercier.com and a reader has reported already spotting them at one counter, so soon they'll be everywhere.

All photos are mine.

Laura Mercier Tightline Cake Eye Liner Charcoal Grey

If you read KarlaSugar's post about the new and reformulated version of Laura Mercier'scake eyeliner, now called " Tightline Cake Eye Liner", you know this classic product no longer works by mixing it with water and now requires an activator that contains a unique polymer and is supposed to make the liner very long lasting. Karla and my swatches show exactly what happens when you try to used it the old way. This of course annoyed Laura Mercier fans to no end. All of a sudden a $22 eyeliner becomes a $42 one, and that's a serious price increase.

Last week I got the Charcoal Grey Tightline Cake Eye Liner as a GWP when I ordered the new gel lipsticks. Of course, the GWP didn't include the activator. But I actually own two similar products- one from Illamasqua and one, my favorite, from Paula Dorf. Paula Dorf's Transformer has been a staple for years: a single drop makes every eyeshadow into a waterproof eyeliner. I gave the Transformer a try- put a drop on the back of my hand, dipped an eyeliner brush to dampen it, swiped the brush along the edge of the cake liner to collect the pigment and applied. It worked- both for the swatch and on my eyelid. I'm wearing it today and the line is perfect. I also love this rich gray color- it's very flattering against brown eyes.

The best thing about using Laura Mercier's Tightline Cake Eye Liner with Paula Dorf's Transformer (other than that I already have a bottle) is the amount of product you get for the same prize: Laura's Activator is $20 for a 1/4 oz (7.5ml) while Paula's is the same prize for a 0.5oz.

Bottom Line: Great color but Laura still owes us an apology.

Laura Mercier Tightline Cake Eye Liner in Charcoal Grey and other colors ($22) is available from Laura Mercier counters, Sephora and the company's website. As mentioned above, the mini I used was a GWP.

All photos are mine. The shaggy white rug is Buffy.

Laura Mercier Gel Lip Colour- Sneak Peek

This sneak peek of Laura Mercier's new Gel Lip Colour lipsticks in Rosette (left) and Sweet Cherry is here straight from the UPS truck. I just got them and rushed outside to take photos using the last rays of today's sun (thank you, Daylight Saving Time). Obviously, I'll have detailed reviews and swatches of both colors once I actually get to wear them (on my lips, it is. Right now I'm just impressed with how the gel swatches on my wrist and arm haven't transferred to either my laptop or to the orange tabby who placed himself comfortably next to me).

First impression is that the texture is great and I'm going to wear both colors all summer. One thing before everyone runs off to the Laura Mercier website to place an order, the lipsticks have the strongest scent I've come across in a makeup product- yes, stronger than Guerlain's violets. As soon as I took off the caps from Rosette and Sweet Cherry I got a blast of an almondy heliotrope that intensified as I swatched the lipsticks and is still here 30 minutes and one cat later. Seriously, my left arm with the swatches is resting against Kosh and I can still smell it very clearly, so those of you who dislike heliotrope or are sensitive to scented lipsticks, please take it into account.

The new Gel Colour lipsticks ($22 each) are currently only available online from lauramercier.com. I'm not sure when they'll be at the counters.

Bonus: Here's the last photo I took once I was done with the lipsticks. Giselle was happy to pose:

Laura Mercier Bonne Mine Face Palette

Laura Mercier Bonne Mine - Healthy Glow For Face & Cheeks Crème Colour Palette is a limited edition Sephora exclusive item that was released for Fall 2010 and is still available. Focusing on glow and cheek color, Bonne Mine is not a typical fall item, but a healthy skin is timeless, after all, and who doesn't want to radiate?

The Bonne Mine palette is all about creams textures, so be prepared to deep your fingers in the pans. I always prefer to work with brushes, but Laura Mercier insists that this product is best applied without them. Once I got over myself and my germaphobia I had to agree with her. These creams respond best at skin temperature and are very easy to manipulate, apply and blend with my middle and ring fingers.

Here's what Laura Mercier has packed here:
1 and 2 (Glow Veil) are  basically highlighters, though 1 is quite pigmented and is more like an extra bronzer. I've played with it and used it as a cream eye shadow and on top of the regular bronzer.They have a shimmery almost metallic finish without any actual glitter sparkles.

3 and 4 (Cheek Veil) are cream blushes, with 3 being peachy and 4 a brick red. They can be worn separately, of course, but I find that mixing them together in various proportions works better for me and allows me to customize my blush for different looks. the colors are matte with medium+ pigment intensity that can be built up or sheered. Both are very pretty and are probably my favorite part of this palette.

5 (Bronze Veil) is a non-shimmery bronzer. It looks muddy in the swatch but lightly applied on the cheeks it's actually sheer and perfect for my coloring (NC 30-35ish) in the sense that it really gives me a tanned look. I've been avoiding the sun religiously in recent years, but I actually like the "just back from the Caribbeans" look, and I was happy to see how natural this bronzer looks. I haven't tried it as such, but the bronze veil might also be suitable for contouring on some skin tones.

Last but very important, the palette also holds three cards with step-by-step directions and illustrations on how to use the colors. It really is a fool-proof method and I've found the cards very helpful in getting me started.

My one complaint about the Bonne Mine palette is the staying power. You absolutely must anchor it in place with base and setting products, otherwise you'll find yourself with an almost naked face halfway through the day (and my skin is dry, so it's not an issue of oiliness).  It's a breeze to reapply, but if the whole point here is the "no makeup" look than I'd expect something more stable and weather-proof.

Who would enjoy this palette and who should avoid it? It's great for fans of cream products, especially those who are not too fair and enjoy at least a hint of a tan. Avoid if you're too oily, absolutely hate to use your fingers and can't do brown bronzers.

Laura Mercier Bonne Mine Healthy Glow For Face & Cheeks Crème Colour Palette ($48) is exclusive to Sephora and available online and in stores.

All photos are mine.