Laura Mercier Flawless Face Kit

Recently, I was hunting for some summer makeup. In all honesty, I am a mineral foundation girl, but in the summer, I can't wear my Bare Escentuals because it contains bismuth and I am one of the unlucky ladies who itch in humidity when wearing it. I wanted something easy, with a little coverage that didn't feel too heavy. After trying on several brands, I opted for the Laura Mercier Flawless Face Kit. For the right price, it comes packed with a tinted moisturizer, 2 concealers, a powder, a primer, a puff, a sponge and 2 brushes- all in a little bag. As I mentioned before, I was having concealer issues and thought after playing with it in the store, it might be the right one for me. After wearing it for several weeks, here are my thoughts.

I love the brushes and tools this kit comes with. They alone are probably worth the price of admission. The powder is top notch, but comes in a pot that is so small, I am perplexed how to easily use it, without shaking some on to the puff or using the medium sized flat brush it comes with. When used with the concealer, the brush and powder combo are wonderful together. But just shaking some powder onto the puff for a full face application seemed really wasteful. The tinted moisturizer is really nice for weekends or days when you don't need any real coverage.

When I first put this on, I LOVED how my skin looked. Dewey and fresh, I was a happy camper. However, I did notice that my makeup slid off rather quickly when I wore the tinted moisturizer, which is a bummer, since I took the time to apply it. If I just needed to run out quickly and wanted a little polish, then this is perfect. But when I applied blush and the rest of my face, it had no staying power. I also wasn't thrilled with the primer. Perhaps I prefer the more silicone/satin feel of primers like Prime Time. But even when I used the primer with the tinted moisturizer together, my face still slid south super fast.

For a quick, vacation no-mess face, this kit might be right for you. If you need more coverage then this might not be the best option.

I'm ehh on this item. I bought it. You should test it first. (unless you need the tools and the concealer, then it's a steal.)

Benefit's Erase Paste & Powderflage

I am very pale and have a little bit of darkness under my eyes, not too bad, but it bugs me. I also have very dry skin, so I was having a hard time finding the right concealer to make my eyes look flawless. You know what I mean. Magazine perfect eyes. Since I work in advertising, I know that real people don't achieve this in their daily lives. You need serious lights and the right angle to get that flawless look. Ads lie and some part of me understands this, but I just can't get that image out of my mind.


Makeup artist pal, Erin Chado, convinced me to give Benefit a try. I haven't tried a lot of Benefit- their cutesy names turn me off a little. But if the product delivers, than I won't let a little cutesy stop me. Erin insisted I try their Erase Paste in combo with Powderflage. Erase Paste is a thick-ish concealer that needs to be warmed up and dabbed on. Powderflage is a white-ish, pinky powder that you apply with a fan brush (which it comes with). Honestly, I don't care for the brush - it's a little too ouchy to use. But with my Sonia Kashuk dome brush, it's just lovely. The end result? Pretty close to magazine perfect eyes.



I love these. I bought these. You should try these.