All posts tagged: laura mercier

Made-Up History: Johannes Van Hoytl the Younger’s “Boy with Apple,” 1669

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Yay, a new Made-Up History—finally!—and one for Wes Anderson Week. This painting played a prominent role in his recent feature, The Grand Budapest Hotel. Called “Boy with Apple,” this painting was credited in the film as being created by Johannes van Hotyl the Younger, but it’s actually a fictional painting made specifically for the film by present-day artist, Michael Taylor. (Read more here.) Not to give too much away, this painting (modeled by Ed Munro) kind of pushes the story along its trajectory after everything is set into motion. Anyway, this was the first thing I thought of to do when I thought of doing Wes Anderson Week!

FOTD: Ginger Lily

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A quick Face of the Day using a long-forgotten love—my Laura Mercier Artist’s Palette for Eyes! I have the 2012 version, and it was my first big palette purchase and I fell in absolute love with it. To Me, You Are Perfect kind of level. I think it still might be my favorite palette, if not after the NARS NARSissist Eyeshadow Palette, released earlier this year. Anyway. The look is pretty simple, despite what this long-ass intro might lead you to believe. I think it’s pretty and soft and suits this bold-ass orange lip by Flower Beauty called Ginger Lily, which is the orange lipstick that made me swear off orange lipsticks. And then it grew on me—go figure! For the eyes, I used a MAC Paint Pot (Groundwork) for a base on the mobile lid, blended a little past my natural crease. For my lid color, I used Vanilla Nuts, a creamy off-white matte from the palette, all over the lid. I deepened outer ‘v’—just the outer ‘v’!—with a beautiful shimmery chocolate brown called… …

Tonal Exercise: Matte Browns

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If you’ve ever taken an art class before, you’d be familiar with tonal exercises. Tonal exercises are what you use to study shade gradations. One such exercise is similar to what I have illustrated here—bars of a color, from white to dark/black, shown in varying degrees. Here are some very utilized eyeshadows: my matte browns. Starting from a non-brown but a beige-y off-white, Laura Mercier’s Vanilla Nuts is actually a shade I use(d) fairly often as a base for my entire lid and as a browbone highlight. Le Métier de Beauté’s Tamarack and Laura Mercier’s Café Au Lait are two subtle crease colors, to aid with transition and slight depth. Addiction Truffle is a warm, creamy matte brown I use for the outer corner or crease. Laura Mercier’s Coffee Ground is darker, the shade of cocoa powder. I use that for the outer corner or a really dark crease, too. Last, but not the least, Laura Mercier’s Rich Coffee, which is great for the outer corner, too, but is also a very nice dark brown …

Softly Special: My Top Five Favorite Eye Palettes

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I know I did Lipstick Week not too long ago, but the truthiest truth out there is that I’m an eyeshadow lady. I fricken love the stuff. I think that’s really where it all went downhill. I can remember the first eye product I purchased that changed everything and how I looked at eye makeup (i.e. bareMinerals’ READY 2.0 in The Scenic Route). And then I was doomed to a life of swatching. I don’t know if I want to make a whole week’s worth of celebration out of this, because eye swatches are much, much harder to do than lipstick swatches, but I’ll begin by outing my favorite eye palettes for all of you. What I basically look for in eyeshadow palettes is versatility, which I feel like entails a good variety of tone, texture, and shade. With that little checklist in mind, I looked at my palette collection and picked out a few favorites. Here goes nothing! Honorable Mention: Guerlain Ecrin 4 Couleurs in Turandot (Review) This was the first high-end palette I …

Faces of the Week: February 4-10, 2013

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A catalog of looks for the past week. For my own reference, but I hope it may be of some use to someone out there. I decided to do this this week because it’s a rarity that I find myself out of the house—all 7 days of the week at that. I think it would be tons more interesting to see seven looks than a measly three or four. 🙂 MONDAY Meant to do some errands, which were thwarted because school offices were closed for President’s Day. Say hello to my unruly brows! Face: Benefit Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow Liquid Foundation (Cheers to me, Champagne), bareMinerals Mineral Veil, K-Palette Kuma 0 Cover Control Concealer (02 Yellow Beige) Eyes: Benefit Lemon Aid, bareMinerals READY 8.0 (The September Issue: Tres Chic for lid wash, Couture for outer corner, crease, & lower lashline, Gliteratti for middle of lid and inner corner), The Body Shop Brow and Liner Kit (02) Cheeks: Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush (Natural Beauty) Lips: Chanel Rouge Allure (Captivante) TUESDAY Light, fuss-free makeup for a food …

December Favorites

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I’ve got a few favorites from December! I don’t know how that happened since I was in the middle of a makeup ban… Funny how things happen. Ahem, in any case, here’s twelve products—two lip, five eye, 1 set of tools, 2 face products, and 3 skin care products. Phew. I hope you enjoy this roundup! 1. Guerlain Rouge G L’Extrait in Orgueil (Review) I purchased this on the last day of November, and loved it from the get-go, but I wasn’t able to include it in my November Favorites. The Rouge G L’Extraits are incredibly smooth, creamy and pigmented. A little lasts a long while, which is great considering the price point. I’d gotten two more shades (sale!) after Orgueil, but this remains my favorite. 2. Revlon ColorStay Ultimate in Premier Plum (Review) An excellent drugstore find! Formula is great, though a bit tacky on the finish. The color is my favorite part, as it’s a beautiful medium pinky color that leans heavily towards plum. 3. Laura Mercier Artist’s Palette for Eyes (Review) I …

FOTD: Plum Chocolate

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My Face of the Day for today, but after about six hours of wear, because that was the only time I thought to take photographs. I used just a few products (which I will post a picture of below). Even though the makeup’s slightly faded, I think you can still kind of see where I wanted to go with it. I used the Laura Mercier Artist’s Palette for Eyes (review and swatches here). After priming my lids with Etude House Proof 10 Eye Primer, I started with colors! In terms of “simple diagramming,” I used a light taupe-y color as a lid wash (Sable), a dark chocolate brown for the outer “v” (Chocolate), and a bit of a lavender grey (Plum Smoke) on the outer crease. A light matte cream (Vanilla Nuts) was used for a highlight on the browbones. I don’t usually use eyeliner, so as you can see I fudged up on one eye! But, in case you care, I used K-Palette 24H Real Lasting Eyeliner, which is awesome for people who suck …