Brand Overview: Laura Mercier

Laura Mercier is a brand that I have a love-and-hate relationship with. I love the brand because they make some of my all-time holy grail makeup products, but I also hate it because I can't seem to get on with some of their products that so many people rave about. I find that their products are either a hit or a miss for me.

I guess I'll start off by talking about my favorite products from Laura Mercier. If you've been following me for a while, then you'll know that the Laura Mercier Mineral Powder is my absolute favorite powder of all time. It gives buildable coverage and yet manages to look incredibly natural on the skin. Sometimes when my foundation is looking cakey, I put this on and everything just blends together and looks like skin. It is seriously the best powder I've ever found.

Another favorite of mine is the Secret Brightening Powder, which is a setting powder for the undereye area. I have super dry undereye area and I find that regular powder just dries it out even more and always makes it look super cakey. This powder sets my undereye area without making it look dry or cakey, and never settles into my fine lines. It has micro light-reflecting pigments in there to really help to brighten and illuminate the undereye area to make you look more radiant and awake.

Another favorite from Laura Mercier that I actually got after I took this photo is the Second Skin Cheek Color in Lush Nectarine. I have a lot of peachy coral blushes, but this one is definitely one of my favorites. The texture is velvety soft, and it blends seamlessly into the skin and just makes you look like you have a flush from within.

Laura Mercier Cavier Sticks are great to have if you like easy, fuss-free makeup. They're super easy to just sweep on your lids in the morning, and makes your eye makeup look amazing without having to put too much effort into your eye makeup routine. These are super pigmented, easy to blend, and last well on the lids.

Now time to talk about some un-favorites. The Laura Mercier Smooth Focus Pressed Setting Powder claims to control shine and keep the skin matte throughout the day, however it did not keep me matte at all. After the first two hours, my face started to look oily, and I really don't see the point of using this because it's translucent so it doesn't provide any coverage, and it does set my makeup but there are definitely better and cheaper setting powders out there that do the job just as well as this.

The Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer and Foundation Primer are probably two of their most well-know products and I know that a lot of people love them, but I was pretty disappointed in them. I can see the tinted moisturizer being great for people with dry skin and for people who already have great skin, but for me this didn't provide any coverage at all, and usually starts to slide off my face mid-day even when I use a primer and a setting spray. The primer is pretty average; it makes my makeup last longer but that's about it, it doesn't hide my pores and isn't as smoothing as some of my other primers.

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Disappointing Products #3

Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel did nothing for my skin. It felt very light on the skin but did not moisturize my skin at all, and was definitely not worth its price point. I much prefer the Clinique Moisture Surge Extended Thirst Relief over this, which does a better job at moisturizing the skin while still being oil-free and also light-weight on the skin.

I know the Laura Mericier Primer is a favorite of many people, but I found it to be just a mediocre primer. I feel like you could find primers with similar quality at the drugstore for less price. I don't hate it but I definitely won't repurchase it because I've found way better primers than this. At the moment, my favorite primer is the Hourglass Mineral Veil Primer which does everything I'm looking for in a primer; it keeps my makeup looking matte and natural throughout the day.

Makeup Forever Super Matte Powder definitely did not keep my face matte, neither did it keep my makeup fresh throughout the day. It is a translucent powder so to me it is useless because it does nothing for my face.

Dior Nude BB Cream was a letdown for me as it didn't cover anything on my face and didn't last on my face at all. It also felt a bit greasy when I put it on and actually broke me out. I've yet to find a western bb cream that works as well as my Korean ones. My favorite bb cream at the moment is the Dr Jart Water Fuse BB Cream which feels super light and moisturizing on the skin, covers all my redness while still being incredibly natural and lasts throughout the day.

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Disappointing Products #2

I tried the Clinique SuperCity Block SPF 40 because it sounded like it would be good for my oily skin since it's oil free. Unfortunately it broke me out. On top of that, I also found that the slight tint did nothing for my skin and did not cover anything; it also left my face looking super shiny. My go-to sunscreen at the moment is the Allie Mineral Moisture Gel SPF 50, which is the lightest feeling sunscreen I found so far and leaves my face looking matte.

I love me some shimmery bronzy eyeshadows, and Bobbi Brown Shimmer Wash Eyeshadow in Rosegold was rated as a must-have eyeshadow for neutral shadow lovers. Unfortunately, this shadow had too much of a red undertone in it and made me look like I had pinkeye- not a flattering look on me. This eyeshadow had a good formula though, the color just didn't work out for me.

Illamasqua Cream Pigment in Hollow is another highly-rated item and is supposed to be a super subtle and natural-looking contour/bronzing cream. I don't have any bronzers/contours in a cream formula so I thought I would give it a go. Although I like bronzers with a neutral/greyish undertone, this was just completely grey and made me look sickly instead of healthy and sun-kissed.

I tried out the Estee Lauder Shadow Paint in Pink Zinc because it's supposed to be the longest lasting cream shadow on the market. When I swatched the color on my hand it seemed like a beautiful pinky champagne color, but when I used it on my eyes it was all shimmers and no pigmentation at all. The longevity of it was mediocre as well. I'd much prefer my Maybelline Color Tattoos over this, which are much more affordable and last way longer.


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Disappointing Products #1

In my past posts, I've only talked about products that I liked; I thought it's about time that I mention some products that I didn't like so much. It's rare for me to find products that I don't like because I usually do pretty thorough research before I purchase anything, and a lot of these products that I'll mention are actually cult favorites of many but they just didn't work for me. A disclaimer that I want to make is that what works for you may not work for me and vice versa, so hopefully you guys won't be offended if I'm bashing on products that you actually enjoy using; these are just my personal opinion. I will also be mentioning some alternatives that I think work much better.

Bumble & Bumble Surf Spray is a salt spray that's meant to give you tousled beachy waves, however I found that it made my hair look dry and crunchy, and actually weighed my hair down instead of giving it volume. It was hella expensive too. A cheaper and better alternative would be the Sexy Hair Soy Renewal Beach Spray, which acts as a leave-in conditioner and a salt spray in one to help to hydrate the hair while also giving it texture and volume.

I decided to try the Bobbi Brown Long Wear Gel Liner because it's supposed to be the longest wearing gel liner on the market. Unfortunately, it did smudge on me, even with the help of a primer. Keep in mind that I have super oily eyelids, so if you have normal or dry eyelids it might work for you. I have yet to find a gel liner that lasts on me so if you have any great suggestions please leave them in the comment area below!

Benefit They're Real Mascara claims to give the false-lash effect in a tube, however I found that it did nothing for my lashes. It did not lengthen nor volumize, and it also weighed down my curled lashes. The only good thing about it was that it lasted pretty long without smudging. For a better alternative, try the Kiss Me Long & Curl Mascara, which will definitely give you the false-lash effect and I always get compliments from people when I use this.

YSL Touche Eclat is meant to act as a concealer and a highlight in one to brighten up your undereye area and erase any signs of fatigue to make you look more awake and rested. However, I find that it is far overpriced and over-hyped. It just didn't cover anything and the formula was way too dry for my undereye area; I would prefer a drugstore concealer over this. If you want a concealer that's going to cover and brighten your undereye area, try the Clinique Airbrush Concealer. It is super creamy and hydrating, and is one of few concealers that doesn't emphasize the fine lines in my undereye area. Follow my blog with Bloglovin

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