Review: Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage

When I look for a concealer, I primarily want something for under the eyes, I'd like it to be moisturizing, not seep into fine lines and apply easily. Laura Mercier's Secret Camouflage is not the traditional concealer that I normally think of. The texture of this product is quite hard and waxy and if not applied correctly, it can be a nightmare and you will hate it. Lots of people have given this negative reviews because they didn't know how to use it correctly. If applied right, it can provide great coverage and be a wonderful concealer. The Sephora website describes this product as "A dual-tone concealer that completely camouflages dark circles, minor imperfections, and discolorations. This versatile concealer contains a unique two-shade system: one to match the skin's depth of color and one to match the skin's undertone, making it possible for every woman to custom-blend her own perfect shade. The high level of pigment requires very little product to achieve perfect coverage."

Review: Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer

Not everyone likes the feel of foundation on their skin, and Laura Mercier's tinted moisturizer is a nice substitute for days when you want more of a minimal makeup face look. This product is described on Sephora's website as "a sheer, lightweight formula with a hint of color you can use in place of foundation for a natural finish and a healthy glowing complexion. It contains a SPF 20 for the ultimate in anti-aging prevention." I had heard about this product for so long, everyone raves about it, it's earned several awards and so on. But I will say straight up, I am not sure if the $42US/$55 CAD (WHY is it so much more expensive in Canada, does our version have gold in it???) price tag is really a fair price to pay for this product.

You can turn any foundation into a tinted moisturizer, just add a pump of your moisturizer to it, and you've got an affordable product that you made yourself. That way it will make it lighter and have less coverage. That's why I am not sold on the price of this at all. I purchased my tube on StrawberryNet.com for a discounted rate because it goes "bad" in a couple of months, I wanted to try it and this was my way to spend less money. it's nice that it has SPF 20, but it still shouldn't substitute your regular moisturizer (and it says that right on the bottle). I always use a moisturizer under this product anyway, my skin is so dry though that it's an absolute must.

Monthly Faves: March 2011

I'd say I am excited for April to finally be here, because it means spring is almost here, but in Canada that is far from the case, February-May is basically all rain and miserable weather where I live. On a positive turn, I found several new products that I loved in the month of March. I find that monthly faves generally tend to be "new" products for me, I don't know if that's the case with most people, but most reached favourite type products do not change too much, but since I buy new products all the time, it means these are all new pickups.

StrawberryNet.com Haul

I have a treasure of a website to share with you today, it's StrawberryNet.com. This is a website that I recently learned of, first time ordering from them too. I placed my order on March 15 and received it on March 25. Their packages are shipped from Hong Kong, if I am not mistaken. There is a note on their website that if you get charged customs, send them your invoice and they will reimburse you, however I was charged nothing more. I was very impressed with the shipping time, it's always nice to get your packages before the weekend so you have time to play around with the stuff. What I like most about this company is their wide assortment of high-end products and free shipping worldwide. I am often bothered that companies do not ship to Canada (and other places of the world) and even their sales and discounts are US only, it's really irritating and turns me right off. StrawberryNet.com takes Paypal too, which I like a lot, it saves me racking up my credit card bills. They also offer a loyalty bonus, the more orders you place with them the larger % off you receive.

I ordered two things, the Laura Mercier tinted moisturizer and Estee Lauder Double Wear Light, I am super excited about both products. I saved a bit of money on the Laura Mercier, I actually bought a discounted package, it's expiring in July. I did some research and apparently, product expirations are just guidelines and in this case it's probably just the SPF in the product that is expiring, and since I always wear SPF under my makeup anyway, I wasn't too phased. This product is normally $42US, not sure how much in Canada, but I know around $60 and that's just BONKERS for a tinted moisturizer in my opinion. And... Laura Mercier at Sephora online is restricted to Canada so I can't even look up how much it is for you all.  Anyway, I got it in the colour "Porcelain" the lightest shade.

Next, the most exciting part of my package was the Estee Lauder Double Wear Light in Intensity 0.5. Now you're probably wondering, Intensity 0.5? there is no such shade.. but there is! Check it out here. When I saw that, it was like the heavens opened up, my prayers have been answered! I've been meaning to try this foundation for a long time, but Intensity 1.0 seemed too dark to me, and I have read many people complaining that their colour range sucks, so I didn't even bother. But 0.5 is like MY SKIN colour, totally, it's perfect. I am not sure if this is a Hong Kong exclusive or what, maybe an Estee Lauder employee can contact me and let me know because I need more of this shade and I think many other pastey girls do too!

Here is a comparison pic, Laura Mercier TM in Porcelain on the left, and Estee Lauder Double Wear 0.5 Intensity on the right, they look very close, so if you wear that colour in the Laura Mercier, 0.5 is your shade.

And blended in a bit here, you can tell the Estee Lauder, I want to say has more of a neutral undertone perhaps (my lighting is way too orange here). Also note the coverage difference, the Estee Lauder is definitely more opaque and covers much more, the TM settles into my skin more. I will do full reviews on both products soon. But I am thrilled at the colour selection on the Estee Lauder, it's like my discovery of the month!

The Stila eyeshadow in the first picture is a free gift that came with my order, it's in the shade "Ray". With every order, there is an option for a free gift, this gifts varies depending on stock, but you get a choice of several items. I just looked now and they've got GOSH lipsticks and eyeshadows. Please tell me your experiences with StrawberryNet.com below.

Have you tried StrawberryNet.com?

Review: Laura Mercier Moisturizing Foundation

I am always on the hunt for foundations that will work for my dry skin. I came across Laura Mercier's Moisturizing foundation recently. The word "moisturizing" in the name had me sold, a moisturizing foundation? Yes, please! This foundation is formulated for drier and mature skin, hydrates the skin with added moisture and has Vitamins A, C and E that act as antioxidants to protect the skin from harmful effects in the environment. This retails for about $42US at Sephora or the Laura Mercier website, I bought it for $30 on Allcosmeticswhole.com. Laura Mercier's products are quite pricey so I am easing into them slowly.

Review: Laura Mercier Silk Creme Foundation

I got Laura Mercier's Silk Creme foundation over Christmas, had some time to use it and today I will review it for you here. I like Laura Mercier's products but find them quite expensive, this foundation retails for $55CAD/$42US and can be bought at Sephora or wherever Laura Mercier products are sold. I was debating between this and the Creme Smooth (the one in the pot) but that one is even more expensive and I am not crazy about the packaging, I have tried a sample of it and it's beautiful, I am tempted to say better than this one.

Monthly Faves: January 2011

I bring you my January faves on a plate, I am always looking for pretty backgrounds to make my pictures look nice, today I was lazy and just put it all on a plate. These are my most grabbed for, favorite products of the first month of 2011.

1) Smashbox Photo Finish Adjust - This has changed the way my foundation applies! I am so happy with the results. I have read people say this makes them break out/makes them oily, that's actually why I like it (minus the breakouts, I don't get those), but it adds moisture and slip to my skin, helping my foundation glide on and not look patchy. Love this stuff. As for the redness aspect, I like to think it does something, but I really don't think it does. If you know of a redness solutions (tried the clinique foundation) product that you like, please let me know.

2) Garnier Moisture Rescue Freshing Gel - I know you can't see the product much in the picture, but this is the gel version of the cream product. Love this stuff so much, actually I prefer gels in my skincare hands down. Will be buying more of this once it runs out for sure.

3) MAC Painterly Paint Pot - This product has replaced my Urban Decay Primer Potion and any other eye primers I was using. The colour is perfect for my skintone, it evens out the eyelid area and is a nice prep for eyeshadow.

4) Bobbi Brown Corrector (Light Bisque) - This was in my year-end favourites (along with some of these other faves) and continues to be my go-to when I want a really good under-eye concealer, this stuff is thick, but very creamy. I will do a separate full review of it soon.

5) Laura Mercier Moisturizing Foundation - My favourite foundation this month, nice colour match and very good coverage. It may sound weird but my face doesn't feel as cold in the winter when I go outside if I am wearing a thicker, more coverage foundation.

6) MAC Mineralized Skinfinish Natural (Light) - I went back to this product after a long break, I thought it broke me out, but now I think it doesn't (or it never did to begin with). I don't use it over the Laura Mercier foundation I just mentioned because that one does not need setting, but more over thinner, more liquidy foundations it's great.

7) Wet N Wild eyeshadow palette (Vanity) - The best drugstore neutral eyeshadow palette of the month, I just got this within the last two weeks or so but been using it lots. Click here for full review.

8) Omega 3 Vitamins (not pictured) - I am not sure if this has helped my skin this month, but when I started taking these my skin cleared up a lot. Maybe it's the skincare I've been using too.

What were your favorties for January?

All Cosmetics Wholesale Haul

My order came in from Allcosmeticswholesale today. If you haven't ordered from them they are a great place to get discounted makeup and discontinued items too. I have no affiliation with them, I've just ordered from them myself and love their products. But I will say, shipping is expensive in my opinion, but at least they ship to Canada, which is great. I will show you what I got, reviews on everything are coming up if there is interest. Edit: Recently I had a negative experience with All Cosmetics Wholesale and will not be purchasing with them again, their customer service (or lack of) is terrible and I suggest you avoid them. (November 12/2011)

Smashbox's Photo Finish foundation primer in the Color Correcting version Adjust. This is a green-toned corrector meant to cancel out redness in the face. I love the packaging on this, it has a pump, nice light bottle. Even if the green doesn't do anything, the primer itself is awesome and I've always wanted to try a full bottle of the stuff. Have you tried it? Does it work?

MAC Phloof! eyeshadow, this is a frosted off-white colour. In person to me it looks a little pinky with a kind of blue sheen. I love building up my MAC eyeshadow collection. I ordered Nocturnelle and Signed and Sealed eyeshadow off Amazon.com recently too.

And lastly, Laura Mercier Moisturizing Foundation the colour, Blush Ivory. Very nice frosted glass bottle, great pump, love it. I was hesitant to get this, but ACW only had this shade available and it was only $29 vs paying $42 at Sephora for it, so I grabbed it. I thought it would have pink undertones, but it is surprisingly neutral toned I think and it will hopefully work for me. Is it moisturizing? I would have to say no on first impression, I swatched it and it doesn't seem all that to me (I have dry skin so anything with the word "moisturizing" in the name is a winner for me).

I caught the sunset in Toronto in my picture that is what you are seeing there, I thought it was kind of cool. Have a good weekend everyone!

Christmas Beauty Haul

I hope everyone had a great Christmas holiday! I've been pretty busy lately, we spent Christmas Eve with my family (Europeans celebrate on the 24th) and Christmas Day at my boyfriend's family. I also had relatives up from Illinois so we spent a couple of days with them as well. And we still have Christmas dinner with my boyfriend's family tomorrow. Didn't do much Boxing Day shopping this year, decided to sleep in and relax instead. I am the beauty person in the family, everyone knows each year that I'd love to get makeup most of all and they came through. The above pic shows the goodies that I got this year.

Laura Mercier Silk Creme Foundation: My first Laura Mercier product ever, I heard this is great for dry skin and it was definitely on my wishlist. It's full coverage and hydrates nicely.

Make Up For Ever Mat Velvet +: I picked this up before Christmas technically but it was with a gift card for Sephora so I've included it here. Despite hearing this wasn't for dry skin, I think I prefer this to the HD since the coverage is better.

Bobbi Brown Corrector Light Bisque: Got this with a Holt Renfrew gift card. I asked the sales person if they give samples to try it out first and she looked at me like I was insane, since it's so small no they do not. So whatever, since I don't normally shop at Holts I picked it up anyway and it's great, may be the best undereye concealer ever since it corrects instead of just covering, very creamy too.

Sonia Kashuk brushes: Every time I am in the US, I always hit up Target and get some of these cause we don't have them in Canada (we really should!). I asked my cousin to get some for me, even gave them links to specific ones. I got the Synthetic Multi-Purpose brush, eyeshadow brush, dome shaped crease brush (love this the most) and one of the regular line eyeshadow brushes too. I love the handles on these, so cute.

Urban Decay Primer Potion Professional Size: Thank the lord they came out with this in a professional size, much more user friendly. However, I do find the product really hard to get out since it's thick you have to really squeeze the container. This will last me forever since I had the original UDPP for two years.

I will do full reviews on all these products once I use them up more.

Now for some Christmas shopping pictures. Here is the Toronto Eaton Centre, they had a giant Christmas tree in the centre of the mall, it turned. Also that is snow that you see falling from the ceiling there, not real snow of course but a short of soapy stuff that fell from the ceiling, it was really cool!

They also had a Ferrero Rocher tree. We lined up for like 15 minutes to get a free chocolate. If you can see in the bottom left corner they had a smaller tree, you'd take a chocolate off the tree, open it up and depending on what colour ball you had on the inside you could win money or gift cards, or at least a free chocolate. We got the free chocolate.

The top 4 pictures are of The Bay Christmas window displays, the pictures do not do justice to how cool these are, there are moving parts and they are so elaborate. One of the nice things of living in Toronto is finally being able to see this.

And here is how busy the Eaton Centre was on the 23rd.. people everywhere! I do not miss this at all. :)

Did you do much Christmas shopping this year? Or boxing week shopping? Did you get some nice beauty items in your stocking this year?