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Laura Mercier

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Chanel Taupe Grisé 87 Soft Touch Eyeshadow

June 30, 2010
*Updated – see below at bottom*


Taupe + Shimmer + Chanel = must buy. If there’s a taupe Chanel makes, it’s instantly a must have for me. I am taupe-obsessed much like Elvira and Josie, and there’s no stopping us, ever. Taupe Grisé 87 is the newest taupe released by Chanel for their Fall 2010 collection. My makeup-twin Amy at Café Makeup has given a lovely review here (I call her my twin because we love the same things, although she has fairer skintone = Chanel Cameo/NC15 while I am Chanel Shell/NC30-35).


There a number of other great reviews, photos and swatches out there so the focus of this post will be on comparisons to similar shades.

There are a million other taupes out there (click on the Taupe Label below this post to see the other ones I have obsessed over) but I picked out the ones in my mind I thought, “Could this one be a dupe?” I personally could not find a dupe for this lovely color. There are similar shades, but from what I have, no dupe.

Compared to: Chanel Silvery, Chanel Safari, Chanel Vega (d/c), MAC Moth Brown (l/e), MAC Sweet Sienna (l/e), MAC Smoke & Diamonds (l/e), MAC Clue (l/e), Stila Dapple (d/c), Chanetcaille Meteorite, Laura Mercier Sable

In natural light (still cloudy weather):

Swatched over bare skin:

One more view with different lighting:



Is it a must-have? For me it was being a Chanel fan and a taupe fan. I have no willpower when it comes to Chanel. I played around with it on the eyes today, it works better when applied over a cream base, otherwise it just ended up looking bruisey on my eyes. I would describe it as having a subtle sheen. It looks shimmery in the container but when applied on the eyes, it looks more satin-matte rather than shimmery.

*Update* Upon reviewing my swatches and those on other websites, I thought Taupe Grise looked extremely brown on me compared to other girls. Much more brown than it appears in the container. I swatched it again alone, and then next to MAC Moth Brown to see if perhaps I made a mistake – but no. For some reason, it looks cool in the container, but on my skin, it’s not quite as cool. Here is another swatch comparison. Note that I have olive medium skin. This may look different on you. It’s still a cool colored taupe in my opinion, but next to Moth Brown it just looks warm perhaps because Moth Brown is overwhelmingly cool with an almost blueish sheen.

Hope this helps give you a better idea!

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Laura Mercier Candlelight Mineral Illuminating Powder

June 22, 2010
A rediscovered favorite: I featured Laura Mercier’s Mineral Illuminating Powders last October in my Color Focus: Neutral Sparkle & Glow post. I’ve pulled out my Candlelight shimmer powder again recently and have fallen back in love with it for a pretty soft nude-rose glow. More close ups and swatches. Works wonders on the eyes for an all over natural glow. Also pretty on the temples for a highlight.

Now if she would only release a tan-nude type shimmer! She has a lovely silver, pale gold and a deep bronze. I have been looking for a good caramel-nude-honey contouring shimmer powder.

Do you have a favorite loose shimmer powder? Or series of favorites? Please share!

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Color Focus: Soft Pinks I’m Loving Right Now

May 29, 2010
I decided to do a different twist on my regular monthly Ten Things I’m Loving Right Now and combine this with my color focus feature. I like soft pinks because they always look so pretty in the compact and tubes. But finding a good soft pink can be a bit tricky sometimes. I can’t tell you how many soft pinks have made me oooohh and aaaahhh only to find it looks way to light or washed out on my skin (ala MAC Hue/Angel Lipstick or Trish McEvoy Gorgeous Demure Lipstick). It still doesn’t stop me from trying to make them work though, lol. That being said, the products listed below are my no-fail and no-tweaking required soft pinks.

There are so many favorites, but these are the ones I’ve been using a lot in the past month. I am actually just starting my 3rd tube of MAC Fabby (see below)! Laura Mercier Babydoll Lip Glace is a favorite that looks good on practically all my friends whether they are fair skinned or tanned.

Blush & Highlighters:

Dior Rose Diamond
MAC Well Dressed
MAC Summer Rose Beauty Powder
(this was repromoted with the Liberty of London Collection in a different compact)

Eyeshadows:

Bobbi Brown Petal Shimmerwash
NARS Nepal Eyeshadow
Becca Angel Loose Shimmer Powder

Cheek and Eye Swatches:


Lip Glosses:

Chanel Waterlily Glossimer
Dior Pink Silk 262 Addict Lip Gloss (swatched here)
Laura Mercier Babydoll Lip Glace
Trish McEvoy Pretty Pink Beauty Booster Gloss

Lipsticks:

Chanel Rouge Coco in Rose Comete (swatched here)
MAC Frost Lipstick in Fabby
D&G Shine Lipstick in Soiree (swatched here)

Lip Swatches:


Nail Polishes:

Paul & Joe Poodle #10
Zoya Jessika
Chanel Mica Rose


I have many more favorites but if I featured all my loves, this would just be a never-ending article if I pulled every single soft pink from my stash. What are some of your favorites and what is your skintone?

FYI, in case you’re new to my blog, I’m a Chanel Shell 1.5 Teint Innocence right now. This is the equivalent to what’s right in between MAC NC30 and NC35. I’m at that point again where I’m in between shades for most foundation lines. You can see My Foundation Shades HERE. I recently tried Bobbi Brown’s newest foundation and found a perfect match in Natural Finish formula shade 4.25 Natural Tan, however the formula didn’t work so well with my skin. So far, Chanel Teint Innocence and Lift Lumieres and DPFs are my holy grails.

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Do You Have a Beauty Emergency Kit?

May 3, 2010
Last week I had one of those days where I had a million things to do during the day with no time to stop by home before a special occasion dinner. I packed my car with my laptop, papers, textbooks, backpack, purse, a change of clothes and an extra pair of shoes (to transition from day to night) but neglected to pack my makeup bag and brushes to touch up.
Luckily, I had my Edward Bess Compact Rouge in Island Rose (for lips/cheeks) and a mini Diorshow mascara tucked away in my backpack which was enough to freshen my look a bit. But it made me realize I needed to put together an emergency beauty kit to keep in my car for those times I need a last-minute touch up or days I forget to bring my makeup bag with me.

I looked to one of my favorite beauty books by Trish McEvoy “The Power of Makeup” for her tips on what to include in a beauty emergency kit. This is what I put together for my own using my trusty quilted planner:

  • Trish McEvoy Power of Makeup Simply Chic Page (Pink Innocence Lip + Cheek, Nude Innocence Lip + Cheek, Golden Peach AOC, Peony Pink Blush, Sand/Pink Shimmer/Snow/Blackberry Eyeshadows)
  • Laura Mercier Eyemakeup Remover
  • Edward Bess Love Always Deep Shine Lipgloss
  • NARS Luxor Multiple
  • Diorshow Mini Mascara
  • MAC Fix + (travel size)
  • Chanel DPF Compact
  • Chanel Spices Quadra Eyeshadow
  • MAC Cremestick Lipliners in Sublime Culture and Beurre
  • Chanel Ebene Waterproof Eyeliner
  • Laura Mercier Brown Copper Eye Kohl
  • Chantecaille Crystalline Gloss
  • Shu Uemura Tweezers
  • A bunch of mini brushes

My so-called “emergency kit” turned out to be quite a bit more than I intended. It’s probably the equivalent to a travel kit or a weekend-away kit. Yes, I am rather high maintenance, so this will probably be a work in progress. But at least I know that by having this tucked away in my car, I will always be well prepared to touch up, redo or refresh my makeup and not have to worry about finding the time to try and get back to the house before a last minute appointment or spur of the moment evening out.

Do you have a beauty emergency kit? What do you have inside yours?

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Mini Shu Uemura + Laura Mercier Haul

April 19, 2010

I had a $50 giftcard to Neimans that expired on the 18th and since Shu Uemura was going to be pulled from the store soon, I decided to look at the line to see if there was anything I could find. I found two shadows that I didn’t recognize in IR Brown 850 and P Purple 781, and to reach the $50 minimum for my gift card, I decided on one of the new Laura Mercier summer lipglosses in Glistening Sand. I also had a few cards I received in the mail for a mini Rouge Coco in Legende and a mini DiorShow. I had received the cards in the mail about a month ago – but they didn’t get their samples in until recently.



Laura Mercier has 3 featured glosses for the summer collection: Glistening Sand (a beige with gold sparkles), Bon Bon (repromote, a bright salmon coral pink), and another bright coral (forget the name). She reformulated her bronzers with a wave-like pattern, but as far as I could tell they looked the same as the older ones. There were also 3 new eyeshadows which I neglected to pay attention to, one was a teal, the others were golden. Glistening Sand seems pretty sheer unfortunately – but it will be pretty over other beigey-nude lipsticks. (I don’t test glosses at the counter for sanitary reasons.)

The Shu Uemura eyeshadows have good pigment when applied over a base or with a damp brush. IR Brown 850 is a taupe with a slight greenish tinge on my skin. P Purple 781 is a matte purple-brownish base with silver micro-sparkles.

Eyeshadows are swatched wet (with a damp brush) and dry:


Minis: DiorShow Mascara + Chanel Legende Rouge Coco

All in all, not bad for $15!
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Laura Mercier Lush Nectarine & Lotus Pink Second Skin Cheek Colour

April 15, 2010
Laura Mercier has released 4 new blushes in her Second Skin Cheek Colour formula and I couldn’t resist picking up Lush Nectarine & Lotus Pink. Medium-tan-skin girls will be excited to learn that these 4 are brighter and darker than the other shades in her normal line.

Both retail for $24 each for 3.6g/.13 oz. These have higher price points than her previous blush formula and are slightly smaller in size, but they are indeed very natural, like “second skin” as the name implies. Lush Nectarine is described as a “soft peachy coral.” Lotus Pink is described as a “universal pink with slight shimmer.” The other new shades released, Soft Clove & Violet Orchid, were equally stunning, but I decided they might be a bit too brown or purple for my taste.

A few comparisons + swatches:



Overall thoughts: Lotus Pink is a warm-neutral pink with shimmer which I find very unique. Most healthy pink blushes I find to be more cool-toned like MAC Pink Swoon and Dollymix, so it was nice to find a pretty pink that wasn’t too cool, too fuschia, or too brown. I definitely think it’s worth checking out. Lush Nectarine isn’t too original – while it has a subtle peachy lustre that isn’t too frosty, it’s just very similar to your standard peachy-shimmer blush.

Are they worth the higher price tag? I would say it depends on what you are looking for. I think Lotus Pink is definitely worth it. The other blushes in her line are very natural looking and soft, but still have pigment. I find most of them pretty unique compared to other brands, but in the store, all the LM blushes do have a tendency to all look very similar to each other.

My recommendation – don’t write these off just because most of the colors look boring in the pan. I highly recommend you get to a counter to try them on your face because swatched on the hand or arm just doesn’t do these justice. And they look better on the face than in the pan.

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Color Focus: Dove Grey Eyeshadows

March 30, 2010
I find it incredible how many different variations of grey there are. One particular color I don’t come across very often is dove-grey for eyeshadows, but perhaps this is because I don’t look for it very often. I personally define dove-grey as a blueish grey, but even the ones I pull out are probably subject to interpretation. I didn’t think I had many dove-grey shadows, but I managed to pull out a number of barely used dove-grey shadows from my stash. I need to use these more often. Even for something I would define as “dove-grey” there are quite a few variations. Some of them look more blue than grey. And I was surprised how neutral/warm Apres Ski looks on my skin compared to what I see in the container.

Armani Cream #2 (LE from Spring 2005), NARS Notorious (discontinued), Jouer Truffle, MAC Scene, Becca Chinchilla, Laura Mercier Stone Suede Satinee, Stila Shore, Laura Mercier Sable, Laura Mercier Twilight Grey, MAC Copperplate, MAC Apres Ski




Some of these you might even describe as taupe. I don’t use these a lot, but I think pairing these with a soft pearl shimmer would be pretty.