Laura Mercier Secret Brightening Powder

It’s been two weeks since my last post, and I guess I’ll claim the excuse of having my birthday as a valid reason for not writing. But seriously! There’s been plenty going on. And to complicate things just a bit more, my husband and I now use an HDMI cable connected to my laptop when we want to watch TV. So, if we’re watching something, I can’t write. That may sound like a silly problem to you, but I am actually most comfortable with writing if I have a program on in the background. Yes, I blog and watch TV at the same time. My modus operandi usually involves one of my I Love Lucy DVDs playing in the background while I pound furiously at my keyboard. Or my Doug DVDs. Did I just admit I own Doug DVDs?

Anyways, I’m kind of just giving a variation on a theme here today- another simple, everyday makeup look. I don’t have a ton of unique inspiration at the moment so I figured I’d just share the easy stuff I’ve done lately. And frankly, this is my favorite stuff to do on myself or anyone. Easy peasy.

Again, we see that even though this look is “no makeup” inspired, there is actually plenty of makeup that goes into it (relatively speaking). I’ll start from the beginning: I cleansed my face and then gave my face a couple spritzes of Lush’s Eau Roma toner water. I then applied a beautiful essence from May Coop. Other skincare products layered on top of this just seem to make your face glow brighter than a comet. Because it was already near evening by this point I chose not to use any other serum or moisturizer with sunscreen. Instead, I applied Clarins Beauty Flash Balm. This stuff is a little hard to define because it’s not exactly skincare, but it’s not really makeup either. It’s this fun little enigma of a product that makes getting ready feel a bit more glamorous, though! I use it as a primer; I applied a thin layer all over my face and then proceed with makeup right away. It creates a dewy canvas for makeup, and it brightens and blurs the appearance of pores and imperfections. It also feels cooling, and it smells fresh and floral.

After that, I went for the natural-looking BareMinerals Complexion Rescue in Buttercream and undereye concealer from NARS (and can I just say that I love my shade names- Buttercream for BareMinerals, Custard for NARS). On my undereye area, I used my new Laura Mercier Secret Brightening Powder for the first time. I had asked a friend a couple months ago what she used for her undereye area because whenever I see her, there’s always this faint, flattering shimmer around her eyes that seems to mask dark circles and give the area just the right touch. She directed me to this powder, and it really is lovely. I also love that it sets your undereye concealer; I’ve needed something for so long to stop my undereye concealer from creasing. It also seems to prevent mascara from smudging down there, too. I wore Too Faced Better Than Sex mascara (yes, I know *eyeroll*) and while this stuff is amazing at building your lashes, it smears on to my lower lid pretty often. That didn’t happen with the Laura Mercier! It didn’t happen the next day either, when I tried it again. My eyeliner is courtesy of the classics: Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Gel Liner in Black, and Stila Stay All Day Liquid Eyeliner. I use a very thin angle brush when applying the Bobbi Brown, and I use it to essentially draw my wing, too. The Stila blackens it, sharpens it, and fills it in. Here’s a look with my hair back (with both of the following pics sans filter).

One thing I’ve noticed is that I’ve gotten so pale out here that most of my makeup is now just a teeny bit too dark. If you see my face compared to my neck area, you can kind of tell. Oi. It is just too dang dark out here, and it’s May!

I chose to use some of the lighter shades in the Kat Von D Shade And Light palette, to help with the color of the Complexion Rescue. This product is beautiful in that the shades can be very helpful and the textures are super creamy and yummy. However, you really don’t need a contouring palette, in my opinion. I’ve had a lot of fun with this one and it’s been worth it to watch a couple YouTube videos to see what others do so I can get the most out of it, but I think you can get away with just bronzer and a shimmery highlighter to get the same basic effect. One thing I don’t like about using the lighter shades in a contour palette is the fact that they mattify things. You know I like a glowing finish, and using the lighter shades in the Kat Von D took all the shine of the Clarins and Complexion Rescue away (and to be specific, I used the yellowish banana powder one on the middle-top). You then need to reapply highlighter on top of that if you still want shimmer, so it can create a redundant process. I prefer the darker shades meant for contouring.

For blush, I dusted NARS blush in Liberte all over my cheeks. I used my trusty-and-now-discontinued CK One brow duo for my eyebrows. I still am not sure what I’m going to use as a replacement for this, but I’ll probably just sell out and go the Anastasia route. And lastly, for my lips, I just used my longtime favorite- MAC Cremesheen Glass in Strictly Plutonic. It’s a peachy-pink neutral, and the formula is so much less sticky than the classic Lipglass. I love it so much, but of course it’s from a limited edition collection so never again!

This is kind of the makeup I do on a more regular basis. I’ll switch out the type of foundation, or change the shade of blush, or perhaps play around with eyeshadow (that’s getting serious), but this is a pretty straightforward look for me. I do give myself props for continuing to improve my cateye, but in the future I’ll continue working on making things pop a bit more. I mean, I like simple things, so simple makeup really is my jam. In the words of Don Draper, I like to keep it simple, but significant. xo, MR

Yes, I am still trying to keep this up!

However, you could probably drop the “empties” term from the whole thing and just call it an “empties update” from now on. Because there really was no particular end goal in mind for this, my so-called Empties Challenge has developed into more of a general tracking and analyzing of spending habits. So, this may be a little boring for you as a reader, but I’m basically going to lay out what my beauty spending has looked like for roughly the past three months and discuss what can be improved and what expenses lie ahead. I’ll also match it against what I’ve used up and finished at home.

My last update was on January 29th, so I’m just going to focus on purchases and empties for February through April.

I’ve only had five complete empties for this entire time period, and they don’t amount to much: a mini Kerastase Masquintense, Davines Momo conditioner, Burt’s Bees Sensitive facial towelettes, another CoverGirl Clump Crusher mascara, and finally the Sally Hershberger keratin spray. I am still almost out of a lot of things, like my Acure night cream, Clarins Beauty Flash Balm, UNITE 7 Seconds conditioner spray, my first Glossier Boy Brow, and my Shiseido Ultimune serum that I use at night. My NARS concealer is still holding on for dear life, too.

It’s frustrating how slowly I manage to go through things (except the Shiseido- I manage to go through serums like water). Part of what’s happened though is I’ve been trying to use other, lesser-used items in my possession, so that’s put some of the almost-finished ones on hold (especially in the hair department). I’ve also been going through lots of samples like Kerastase’s Elixir Ultime conditioning mask, but I couldn’t abide the scent of it so I discarded it after one use. Nevertheless, going through samples has slowed things down too.

This right is here is what a full, daytime skincare routine consists of for me if I’m firing on all cylinders. Three of these items were gifted to me, two were purchases of the past few months, and one has been with me for a while and is nearly finished. It’s just a mix of stuff I have going on, so getting through some of the bigger products without being wasteful is a challenge.

Now, let’s look at what I’ve purchased. And I’ve kind of blown it. Or at least, it feels that way.

February was the worst. I bought a BeautyBlender, cleanser for the BeautyBlender, a Becca Mineral blush, and a new Lancome Teint Idole Ultra Longwear Foundation Stick. That may not sound like much, but it adds up. I also bought my husband a fancy new beard oil to replace the nice IPA one that my mom got him for Christmas (Go Mom, and yes, IPA beard oils exist!).

March was a little better. I got a bang trim and a blowout (booked an assistant stylist for a much cheaper price!), but I walked out of the salon with a new Denman brush. Now, that brush has been exactly what I’ve needed for my bangs, but it was still something like eighteen bucks. I also purchased the Phase 2 Glossier kit on the day it debuted. Curse you, Glossier!!!

This month in April I’ve purchased an Ole Henriksen Truth Serum Vitamin C Collagen Booster, and that’s it. Whew. My mom and I went out for birthday mani-pedis while she and my dad came out to visit, but I don’t really count that toward this challenge. Beyond this, I’m declaring a full moratorium on all unnecessary expenses for three weeks (beginning with this past Monday). The moratorium will end on Monday, May 9th, just in time for … my dental appointment.

I’m kidding; a dental appointment isn’t exactly a frivolity. What I’m really saving for is my birthday in the middle of May; specifically, the hair appointment I’ve been thinking of gifting myself with once I’ve saved a little. And because it’s now about that time, I’ll be needing to book for color, and that has got me a wee bit terrified. Justin Kamm is the only stylist that has ever colored my hair and since he’s back in CA, I’ve been researching all kinds of options in Chicagoland for weeks. We’ll see what actually happens within the next couple months, but it’s worth it to nail down a salon out here that I can trust either way.

There aren’t a ton of Davines salons out in this area, so I’ve been looking into a couple Aveda ones since I really love and trust the brand. Then there’s the question of Do I go big and book a high-end salon in the city? Or is it more a thing of Trust the junior stylist that did a great job with your bangs/blowout and just say a few prayers? The junior stylist’s prices will obviously be much more reasonable, but there’s also the fact that if it doesn’t turn out the way I’d hoped, the loss wouldn’t feel so detrimental. It’s one thing to have a junior stylist in the next town over make some boo-boos with your hair that you can easily have corrected, and that you paid a discount price for; it’s another thing to book an expensive salon an hour away, have crazy high expectations, pay a ton of money, and then, if the worst happens, have to awkwardly try and tell these highly-reputed folks that you don’t like what they’ve done. And then if I had to make a second trip back into the city for corrections? Quelle horreur! But like I said before, we’ll see what happens.

All that to say, I’m still attempting to plug away at my current stash of goods and put off appointments when I can afford to. Even though it’s hard and purchases have cropped up here and there, it’s going to feel good to get through these next three weeks without buying anything. Along with the hair appointment, I’m hoping to save for Alterna’s Caviar CC Cream, Laura Mercier’s Secret Brightening Powder, and perhaps a lighter fragrance for summer. You feel the sunshine coming out from hiding in such a powerful way out here; you can’t help but want to celebrate with all five of your senses! xo, MR

thebrightblush

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Tag Archives: Laura Mercier Secret Brightening Powder

Daytime Makeup- Simple, But Significant

#EmptiesChallenge Update 3