I’ve Held You in *Suspense* For Far Too Long – Laura Mercier’s Eye Color Duet

Hardy har har.  I know, lame pun for the title.  But honestly, I had to just go with it.  It’s been a long week, OK?  Forgive me 🙂

Really though, I have been keeping this gem all to myself for way too long.  But not even intentionally, I promise!  The problem was, I just wasn’t that interested once I received Laura Mercier’s Eye Colour Duet in Suspense – even though I’d seen how smokin’ it looked on Karen from MBB (which is why I bought it), and the texture is gorgeous, all soft like a baby’s bottom (seriously – it’s mega-soft) – it just looked blah to me, and the first time I tried it out, it did not do me any favours.  Also,ever since I had the major reaction to LM’s Secret Concealer, I’ve been sort of leery of the brand.

But then I actually wore Suspense as part of my look one day, and BAM!  I got over myself.  And I was totally hooked!!

The duo consists of a ‘neutral beige’ – which I find leans a bit cool and pinky – and a ‘plum brown’.  I really liked the idea of the duo, and conjured up some serious fall-ish looks when I went to buy.  And after I figured out how to wear it – which was mainly, just to wear it already (the reddish tones in the brown can make you look a bit ill if you don’t have other makeup on), it looked just as good if not better than I’d hoped.

The smokiness and the warmth of the brown is really something else.  It made my eyes just smoulder without needing to do much of anything at all!  And the lasting power was out of this world – I got about 10 hours of wear from this product, sans primer, and I went for a run somewhere in between (I know it’s weird I run in makeup – but I only have so much time at lunch!), with absolutely no fading whatsoever.  I think the reason this impresses me so much in particular is just how soft the shadows are – I feel like they should just fade away to nothing with how light and buttery they are!

I thought that perhaps I had a similar shade to the brown in MUFE’s #17 Espresso shadow, but it’s quite a bit more grey when you see the two compared.  I also compared MAC’s ‘Next to Nothing’ from the Cult of Cherry shadow quad to the beige shade – they’re close but the LM color is far superior in wear and it just looks better on me – softer and more romantic.

First shade – MUFE #17 Espresso; middle two shades – LM’s Suspense Duo; last shade – MAC Next to Nothing

Another comparison I wanted to make was size-wise – the compact is a bit teeny when you put it up against other typical duos:

The NARS duo is 0.14oz, while the Laura Mercier one is 0.09oz.  The prices reflect the difference somewhat though, with NARS charging $39CAD per duo and LM ringing in at $27CAD.  I personally don’t mind the smaller size at all; goodness knows I’ll never finish a shadow, so the smaller the better!

Ingredients

I am kicking myself now for waiting for so long to give this duo a shot!  They’re a perfect match and with just these two you can make a few looks without needing much else for the eyes but mascara.  I also like that this is seasonless – I’ll be able to wear it year-round (though it really does work perfectly for fall!).  Even though I’m slow on the uptake showing you this product, it’s still available on Laura Mercier’s website and Neiman Marcus (remember – free shipping!), so – go get ’em! 😀

What’s your favorite eyeshadow pairing?  Do you opt for browns, plums, or greys for your fall shadows (or something else entirely!)?

My Beauty Vision for Fall 2012

I have been thinking about fall A LOT lately, probably more than I should since it’s still summer!  I held out for a long time, even despite all the visuals and temptations of the new collections that came out far earlier than they should have – but I’m a change-seeker, and I’m just about ready to switch it up!

Chanel Fall 2012

Burberry Fall 2012

So far, I haven’t picked up too many items from the fall launches specifically – but I’ve been slowly building my arsenal of fall shades, new or old, and I think I’m nearly ready 🙂  Some things I already owned, and some are new purchases, and between the two I think I’m going to have one heck of a beautiful fall!

NARS Fall 2012

Laura Mercier Fall 2012

Giorgio Armani Fall 2012

While I don’t follow ‘trends’ per se, I am very influenced by the weather with regard to my makeup, and with crisp, blustery days and vivid autumn leaves in my future, the imagery is bound to translate.  Warm metallics, smokey greys, jewel tones, and dark, vampy lips have been dancing in my head in a big way.  The pictures below perfectly exemplify what I mean – here I’ve paired them with some corresponding shade selections from my stash (all swatch photos taken outside):

Selita Ebanks

(below, left to right)
– Dior Rouge Dior in Daisy Plum (golden berry plum)
– Ellis Faas Creamy Lips in L102 (deep plum wine)
– MAC Mattene in Bing (blackened eggplant) (LE from Fall 2008 Cult of Cherry collection)

No flashFlash

Wearing a deep, bold lip has never been so enticing to me.  I plan on rocking out the above shades all season long!

Diane Kruger

(below, left to right)
– MUFE Eyeshadow in Espresso 17 (chocolate brown)
– LM Eye Color Duet in Suspense (plum-brown side of duo) (new and LE for Fall 2012 Cinema Noir collection)
– MAC Eyeshadow in Shale (taupe-mauve)
– theBalm Eyeshadow in Insane Jane (gunmetal)

No flashFlash

I’m also really eager to work a smokey eye on the regular; in the past I’ve always only worn this look in a big way for a night out, but this fall I’m hoping to wear the soft, more subtle version (as best evidenced by the Burberry fall collection) in shades of grey, taupe, and brown. I realized I’m sorely lacking a matte grey shadow – any suggestions??

Aishwarya Rai

(below, left to right)
– MAC Blush in Raizin (reddish-brown)
– Burberry Light Glow Blush in Russet (glowing rust)
– NARS Velvet Lip Gloss Pencil in More (terracotta) (new for Fall 2012 collection)
– Clinique Color Surge Eyeshadow in Rum Spice (deep bronze)
– Giorgio Armani Eyes To Kill Intense Eyeshadow in #6 (warm khaki)
– Giorgio Armani Eyes To Kill Intense Waterproof Eyeshadow in#24 (smoky khaki-gold) (new and LE from Fall 2012 collection)

No flashFlash

Of course, it wouldn’t be fall with out the earthy shades of the season, such as khaki, terracotta, and bronze – which are some of my favorite types of colors and look best on my skintone (bring it!).

Rose Byrne

(below, left to right)
– Bobbi Brown Pot Rouge in Velvet Plum (cool plum) (discontinued shade)
– Rouge Bunny Rouge Original Skin Blush in Florita (glowing berry)
– CoverFX BronzedFX in Garnet (reddened bronze)
– NARS Cream Blush in Turkish Red (cool deep red) (discontinued shade)

No flash

Flash

Lastly, a good flushed cheek can’t be beat in the cooler months!  I could use a few more of these mysterious shades in my repetoire, I just love them for their wearability on just about every skin tone.

Gah!  Ok, now I’m REALLY ready for fall!  Its been a fantastic summer, don’t get me wrong…but it’s time for a change 🙂  Even though I had a major love affair with some fabulous brights all season, I’m getting a bit tired of them – and who doesn’t love the moody shades of autumn!?  Note that the above shades I’ve listed that are new for fall 2012 will all be reviewed individually (any requests for which should be first??).

What shades are you looking forward to wearing this fall?  Have you been lured into purchasing anything from the new collections?

Previously Untitled: A FOTD With Some of My Favorite Products!

It is RIDICULOUS how many awesome things I have to show you, I can’t even deal with it.  Unfortunately, the past two weeks I’ve been working multiple nights at Clinique for the Sears GWP, so it makes chances of writing a post after working a 13hour day pretty much nil.  However, it’s my day off Monday, which I usually tend to spend doing blog related things ALL day – so expect to see all of this fun stuff after that 🙂  In the meantime, here’s a FOTD of the look I wore today to meet Make Up For Ever Canada’s PR rep (an awesome event that I plan on detailing in full very soon!).  It was fairly simple, but I used some of my favorite products and therefore I loved it 🙂  Check it!

It was sunny today for the first time all week, and it was so lovely!!  These shots were taken around 8am and it was warm enough to stand outside with just my little thin dress on – c’mon warm weather!

I’m wearing NARS Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturizer in Seychelles, which I find I only need a touch of to make my skin look fab.

I have a swipe of NARS South Beach Multiple (pinky-champagne) on my cheekbones, and then my new Illamasqua Powder Blusher in Lover, a pale peach.  It’s quite subtle on my now-tanned skin, but I actually loved the look – it’s exactly what I want my blush to look like when I’m doing a low-key look.  Though I think it’ll be particularly striking when my tans faded next Fall/Winter.

On my eyes I wore Smashbox Cream Liner in On Trend, a blackened khaki green, smudged at the lash line (top & bottom).  Then I applied Make Up For Ever’s Star Powder in #940, a white-orange/gold, all over the lid just past the crease, concentrating extra color in the inner corners to capture that color-changing highlight.

I added a touch of Giorgio Armani’s Eyes to Kill Intense Eyeshadow in #6 Khaki Pulse (golden deep khaki) to the outer corners and a touch in the crease to add a bit of depth.  I doubled-up on my mascaras, and first applied Clinique’s High Lengths to stretch out my lashes, and then added Laura Mercier’s Full-Blown Volume to amp it up a bit.

I hadn’t done my lips when I took this photo, but I was wearing Make Up For Ever’s Rouge Artist Natural in N36 (pinky-coral), which is soft and complimented the blush very well.

This was an easy look, but allowed me to incorporate shades that I don’t always use – partly because they’re some of my favorites and it’s one of those ‘save for a special day’ kind of things, which is admittedly ridiculous.  But, today was kind of a special day, and these products did NOT let me down – I felt polished, and current, without going overboard.  And they were still going strong by the time I got home tonight, well over 12 hours. That’s what I’m talkin’ ’bout!!  (Forgive me, it’s been a long day :P)

What do you think of this look?  What products do you save for a ‘special day’? 

Review: Laura Mercier Full-Blown Volume Mascara

I can remember a time not too long ago, that I wasn’t too fussed with mascaras – I wanted to find one that gave me what I need, which is volume and length, but I really wasn’t too concerned about ‘the hunt.’ Well, like a lot of other things that have changed since starting this blog (like the number of nail polish I have…or the new-found obsession with blush), my approach to mascara has altered over time, and I feel like I’m going through a new one on a regular basis, and still not feeling satisfied. The only mascaras that I ever use that I like are Clinique’s (I’ve mentioned this before), but I think part of that is due to the fact that I have low expectations for a brand which prides itself on natural beauty. While I’m all for looking like a version of your best self, when it comes to mascara, I want big and bold – but not flaky or clumpy. As many can attest, this is often a tall order, and the search for ‘the one’ can go on for pretty much a lifetime!Today I bring you another one of my mascara experiments: Laura Mercier’s Full-Blown Volume Mascara in Black ($30CAD).  I had read some good reviews about the product, and since volume is what I’m gunning for, I thought this just might be the ticket. The brush is on the small side, with the typical spiral-type bristles which are sort of short for a mascara that’s supposed to be volumizing.  The color is not an inky black but leans a bit charcoal – though you can’t really tell on my very dark lashes.  The formula is not so wet that it goes on too thinly, but not so dry that it’s hard to use – application is fairly good with minimal clumping.The problem with Full-Blown Volume is that, while it might make the lashes fluffy, and therefore look volumized, it takes multiple coats to build up any kind of length.  Because the formula is wet enough that it doesn’t dry too quickly, and the brush bristles are short, adding multiple coats actually is quite painless, but more of an irritation to have to do at all (I do about three coats per eye).  Even then, my lashes are a fraction of the length than when I use other mascaras (eg. Clinique’s High Lengths).  To me, this mascara offers some volume but overall is more of a day mascara, with very little drama to speak of.If you’re a timid wearer of mascara and are looking to bump up for va-va-voom, this is probably an excellent option – it brush is easy to wield and you’ll get an extra oomph without going over the top (or even coming near it).  If you’re looking for notice-me-lashes, I suggest you keep looking, as Laura Mercier’s Full-Blown Volume really won’t have what you’re looking for.

Have you tried Laura Mercier’s Full-Blown Volume Mascara?  What are you looking for when  you’re in the market for a new mascara??

Typical Gemini – I Can’t Even Focus on Holiday Beauty, I’m Already Distracted with Thoughts of Spring!

The Holidays haven’t even passed, and Winter here in Halifax is just getting into full swing – and already I’m itching to get my hands on some of the new Spring offerings that are cropping up around the blogosphere and at your local beauty counters!!  What can I say, I love me some beauty 😀While I haven’t seen any of these products firsthand, here are some great posts that are sure to inspire lemmings in you the same way they did me:

Best Things in Beauty, Sabrina at The Beauty Look Book, and Makeup Magpie are all raving about the new Blush Horizon de Chanel, a gorgeous pink-based striped blush.  I will not miss out on this!!!

Though I’ve been in a slight polish slump the past couple months, I think OPI’s Holland collection will help bring me back to the light – Fashion Polish has made sure of that!

I don’t own a lot of Laura Mercier makeup, but it might be time to change that – the upcoming Lingerie collection I saw on Temptalia is too pretty to resist!

I skipped out on the first Urban Decay Naked palette, and stand by my decision.  Will I be able to retain my willpower against the Naked 2 palette?  xSparkage aids in my decision with a great comparison post.

Though this product has apprently been available in Canada since October, I just saw an ad for it for the first time last week – the Olay Smooth Finish Facial Hair Removal Duo!  Cinnamon Kitten has details on it’s effectiveness, and it sounds great!

Another product that’s not new to the beauty scene, but new on my radar – due to the initial reaction of Liz at Beauty Reductionista, I just might have to take a good long look at the Clarisonic Mia and determine whether or not I should add it to my beauty repetoire!

I hope everyone is having a great Holiday!!  What kind of loot did Santa bring you??

An Inside Look: My Eyeliner Collection

Since I’m on somewhat of a purchasing slow-down during the holidays, and due to the fact that I’ve shown you all my skincare products, most of my nail polishes, my top faves, and my NARS collection…I’m sort of running out of new material here! LOL  No, not really, but without any new products, I have to go ‘back to the beginning’ so to speak – this time around, I’m going to show you all the eyeliners I have in my stash.

I think that as far as liners go, I have quite a few.  They’re all different colors for the most part, but it just seems like I have a larger collection than is probably necessary, especially since I don’t even wear eyeliner every day!  Still, eyeliner is a quick way to look polished without much effort, so I like to have options on hand.  I didn’t purchase many of these –  most I amassed through swaps, or they came with other products in a value set.  Let’s take a gander, shall we?

First, we have all my Urban Decay 24/7 liners – from left to right: Zero, Oil Slick, Crash, Bourbon, Lucky, and Covet.  I purchased Covet, but the rest were through swaps or came with the BoS III palette I got last year (so, yeah, I guess I purchased that too :P).  These liners are some of my faves, though I have to be very careful with them around my lower lash line, because aside from Zero they’re all sparkly and can cause some irritation.  Excellent wear though, with a creamy, easy gliding formulation and awesome colors.  These retail for $22CAD.

My three liquid liners – MUFE Aqua Liner #5, #14, and Illamasqua Havoc (left to right).  Odd that I don’t even have a plain black eh?  I’ll have to remedy that.  I really like wearing a crisp liner with a flick at the end – not just because that’s the trend now, it’s always been a ‘thing’ of mine.  I’ve reviewed all three of these previously (here, here and here).  All around stellar liners that I would repurchase in a heartbeat.

My two MAC liners – Pearlglide in Petrol Blue, and Chromagraphic in NC25/NW30.  I rarely wear the blue, but it’s really very pretty – especially on the lower lash liner.  On my upper lashes, it kind of just looks like it’s trying to be black but isn’t.  It looks better smoked out.  The Chromographic pencil I picked up to use under my lash liner or on my waterline.  It’s less stark than white and really brightens the eye area.  Both are creamy and do not tug at the lashes, but not the greatest staying power.  Pearlglides are LE – I think around $17CAD – and the Chromographics are $15CAD.

My Clinique pencils.  Obviously didn’t pay for these 🙂  First on the left is a Cream Shaper in Egyptian – such a pretty. shimmering dark khaki shade that works on all skintones.  Very creamy and easy to blend, but is water resistant and will stay put until you wash it off.  The one on the right is a Kohl Shaper, and its a bit harder to draw with, but smokes out beautifully.  This shade is Blackened Coffee – a medium brown.  The Kohl’s come with a sharpener in the cap, which is a great feature.  Generally these pencils run $17 and $17.50CAD, respectively.

The only cream liners I own.  I want to change this big time as I love the application and formula of cream liners.  The first on the left is Smashbox Cream Eyeliner in ……  ($27CAD). Very similar to Clinique’s Egyptian above.  I will likely put this up for swap soon, I really don’t need both.  The second is a Stila Smudge Pot in Black ($26CAD), a charcoal black.  I got this in a Christmas gift about two or three years ago.  It’s drying out a bit now and doesn’t work as well.  When I first got it, it was amazing for creating a defined cat eye.  I don’t use it much now because it’s really only good for smudging out.  Still, a very nice product at one time.

I’ve reviewed these both here and here – MUFE’s Aqua Eyes #0L (a mat black – though it looks kinda brown here, doesn’t it??), and Khol #4K (a forest green).  They don’t look like anything special, but the wear on these is excellent, and the Khol is great for the waterline.  $20 and $19CAD.

Sorry for the majorly wobbly swatches here, these pencils were itty bitty and I could hardly get a grip on them!  They’re all Revlon – one is a Luxurious Color liner in Blackened Sapphire, the other two are from the same pencil – a Streetwear one!!!!!!!  If you remember Streetwear, then you’ll remember they had these neat double-ended pencils – I bought this white one (one end matte, one end shimmery) for the same reason I bought the MAC Chromographic – to line the water line.  However, I realized when I started this post that these have gotta go.  The Luxurious Color was a few years old and down to the nub, and Streetwear was a 90’s collection – I shouldn’t be using anything that old around my eyes!!  Yikes!!  Off to the empties pile they go!

I received Laura Mercier’s Kohl Eye Pencil in Black Violet in a swap earlier in the year.  While I love the deep black-plum shade, it tends to migrate during the day, so I haven’t worn it much for this reason.  Strange, as this is designed to be worn “inside the eyelid, at the base of the lashes.”  A shame really, because otherwise this is a nice pencil.  $25CAD.

My Chanel baby 🙂  As previously noted, Khaki Platine is relatively innocuous – it doesn’t look like much, but I really find myself reaching for this pencil at least half the time.  It brightens my eye area so easily with such little effort – and it never, ever irritates my eyes, which is becoming a really important feature of any eye product I use now.  At $27CAD it’s expensive as all Chanel products are, but I don’t care: me like-y!

I bought this Lise Watier Eye Shine in Gold ages ago, and rarely wear it.  I was experimenting with it last week though, and my interest was renewed – it looked pretty great alone on my top and bottom lashes with a good coating of black mascara!  Normally I just use it to emphasize the inner corners of the eye.  Lise Watier pencils are similar to UD’s pencils, without the glitter.  I think these are around $17CAD.

My one glitter eyeliner, also from Lise Watier, that I may have worn once ever.  Just not my thing, but they look so pretty in the containers and in swatches!  I never realized that this particular liner has gold and silver glitter amongst the prevalent aqua blue.  Quite pretty, and hasn’t evaporated terribly like some glitter liners (UD’s especially).  Kind of going to waste in my stash, though.  I’m not sure how much these retail for.

Well, that’s another collection down!!  I hope these posts aren’t terribly dull –  I always find it interesting to see what’s in other people’s makeup stash, but my collections are not as large and diverse as some.  In any case, I like to have the swatches on hand because it helps remind me what shades to revisit – or if I give some away, and then pine for them later, I can take a look at these photos and remember exactly why I let them go.  Documentation, you see 🙂

I’m headed to T.O. in a few days for a work forum, as I’m co-chair of our Atlantic youth network.  I’m going to get to visit Liz from Beauty Reductionista again – yay!!  I can’t wait 🙂  Again, no shopping trips in our future, but I know one day we’ll get our chance.  And at this time of year, it’s probably a good thing eh?

Happy Hump Day everyone!