I was surprised and more than a little impressed that for her latest collection, foundation phenom Laura Mercier went WAY back — almost 3,000 years back — to the ancient Han Dynasty and the trade routes ancient merchants from China, India, Tibet, Persia and the Mediterranean used to sell their silk, satin, perfumes, spices, medicines and jewels.
Available now on Laura Mercier counters and online, the 13-piece Silk Road collection was inspired by the precious gemstones and raw silks that moved along those ancient routes, but when I stopped by the counter yesterday to take a look, I found myself asking something I imagine some of those ancient merchants must asked: “Haven’t we been this way before?”
Two of the items, Persian Rose Blush and Gold Thread Liquid Liner, look familiar to me. Luckily, I like them both. 🙂 Persian Rose Blush reminds me of NARS Orgasm, and doesn’t Gold Thread Liquid Liner bear a striking resemblance to MAC Superslick Liquid Liner in Pure Show?
Renowned for their award-winning face makeup, the relatively small Laura Mercier line, named after the famous French makeup artist, is one of my favorites. Their foundations, tinted moisturizers, primers and concealers are fixtures atop Best of Beauty lists. I wear Laura’s Oil-Free Foundation in many of my pictures because I love the complete coverage it provides. I also really like some of the fun things the line does with their seasonal color collections, often accenting neutrals with dashes of brights (reminds me of Chanel).
Even though I feel like I’ve seen a couple of these colors before, I still think they’re great and fit nicely into Laura’s latest crop of gorgeously wearable makeup for spring.
Here, we see shimmery purple, taupe and pink eyeshadows ringed by gold, gray and indigo liners (for a nice contrast); and lips and cheeks sparkling in shimmery shades of warm pink, coral and gold.
Products in the Laura Mercier Silk Road Collection
Eye & Cheek Palette, $48 (new; limited edition) — It contains six shimmery powder products — two blushes and four eyeshadows. Persian Rose, the blush that I think looks a lot like NARS Orgasm, appears just as universally flattering as well (YES!). And the second blush, shimmery golden Palace Pink, should work well as a blush for lighter lashes, or as a highlighter for bronzy babes.
The eyeshadows, Golden Sands (a pinkish beige with silver and golden glitter) and Regal Violet (a blackend purple with pink glitter) apply sheer with lots of glitter; Rare Taupe (a shimmery purplish taupe) and Lavender Silk (a opalescent purple) increase the collection’s WOW factor with rich pigments and a high-shine finish.
Liquid Eyeliner in Gold Thread, $25 (new, limited edition) — Laura’s very first liquid eyeliner, according to the helpful artist working at the counter yesterday. It shimmers so brightly that it took my breath away, but I passed purely because of how much I think it looks like MAC Pure Show.
Kohl Eye Pencils in Purple Sapphire and Stormy Grey, $19 each (repromoted colors) — It was the dazzling Purple Sapphire that first drew me in with its indigo intensity, but Stormy Grey won my heart in the end. Green flecks flash when the light hits this shimmery gunmetal gray just right (I don’t think I’ve seen anything quite like this one before).
Lip Plumpers in Ruby Glaze, Golden Glaze and Rosy Glaze, $30 (new, limited editions) — All three of these shiny, lip enhancing glosses lean toward the warm end of the spectrum: Ruby Glaze applies as a pigmented reddish pink with golden pearl, Golden Glaze as a sheer golden pink with multi colored glitter and Rosy Glaze as a golden peachy coral. They contain peppermint extract to gently (read: not painfully) plump lips.
Stickgloss Lip Colour in Pink Jewel (new, limited edition), Fuchsia (new, limited edition) and Purple Haze (repromote), $20 each — Pink Jewel (a warm pink), Fuchsia (a shimmery magenta) and Purple Haze (a shiny plum) all kiss lips with a sheer wash of color and shine.
Eye Colour Brush, $27 (repromote) — A natural hair brush for applying powder products all over the eyelids. It didn’t really jump out at me for any particular reason, and it seems a little pricey at that.
Full Blown Volume Mascara in Black, $24 (repromote) — Designed primarily to thicken and lengthen, Full Blown is new to me, even though it’s also part of the permanent line (If you’ve tried it before, please let me know what you think about it in the comments).
Eye Basics, $24 each — This eye primer, used to extend the wear time of makeup applied on top of it, is available in six colors. I use and like the shade called Wheat.
Some Pictures from the Laura Mercier Silk Road Collection
Eye and Cheek Palette
The Gold Thread Liquid Liner applicator
Lip Plumpers
Stickglosses
Laura Mercier Silk Road Swatches on NC35 Skin
Eye and Cheek Palette from left: Blush in Palace Pink, Eyeshadow in Regal Violet, Eyeshaow in Golden Sands, Eyeshadow in Rare Taupe, Eyeshadow in Lavender Silk, Blush in Persian Rose with flash
Liners from left: Liquid Liner in Gold Thread, Kohl Eye Pencil in Purple Sapphire and Kohl Eye Pencil in Stormy Grey with flash
Stickglosses and Lip Plumpers from left: Stickgloss in Pink Jewel, Stickgloss in Fuchsia, Stickgloss in Purple Haze, Lip Plumper in Ruby Glaze, Lip Plumper in Golden Glaze and Lip Plumper in Rosy Glaze with flash
Full Blown Mascara in Black (left) and Eye Basics in Wheat (right) with flash
Swatches with flash
Swatches without flash
I couldn’t resist taking the Silk Road and ended up leaving with a few goodies from the counter, namely the Eye and Palette, Lip Plumper in Ruby Glaze, Stickgloss in Pink Jewel and the Kohl Eye Liner in Stormy Grey. I’ll let you know what I think about them after we’ve spent some time alone. 🙂 For now, what do you think about the collection and the Laura Mercier line in general?
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
I love Laura Mercier. Her colors are so wearable with a good mix of neutral and colorful shades. This collection looks fabulous and I can’t wait to see it in person. I haven’t tried here eyeliners before but the colors in this collection look lovely.
I also love Laura Mercier. I’m so excited for this collection! I like her Full Blown Volume Mascara-I did a review on my blog-it was in the Sephora Lash Sampler.
Ooh. I love LM, just can’t afford it. But if I could I’d go for the lip plumping glosses! I have one (Peach) that I adore and would love to own every color ^.^
I am finally embracing the LM line – took me long enough. I love the oil-free primer and tinter moisturizer – Caramel is my perfect match. I want to try the foundation now. I am eyeing that Kohl eyeliner as well as a stick gloss since lipstick and gloss together is just as good as chocolate and peanut butter.
Loving all the eyeliners!
Thanks for the swatches. Day-um the dark purple shadow and the coral blush in the palette looks amazeballs. I may need to eat Ramen for a month to afford it!
First of all, I LOVE the inspiration behind this palette!! -sigh- I get easily suckered in by themes and names. Palace Pink and Persian Rose? Love it. Probably gonna hold back on this one though.
cant wait for your review on this. i love your blog.. it has such a character… the way you write. very entertaining.
i love laura mercier’s mineral powder foundation so much and i really want to try out her tinted moisturizers and concealers. i’m sure her other products are lovely but what i’m really interested in are her skin/complexion products.
Thank you for the early review – love the swatches! I especially like the palette, plumpers & gloss sticks!
Must resist. Must resist! Hahaha!
I was the saying the same thing to myself at the counter. Then I was like, who am I trying to fool? LOL
ooooo! love it! <3
Yay! Glad you like it.
I have never tried Laura Mercier products, but I have heard good things about her foundation, so that is on my shopping list. I like the colors in this collection, especially the lip products.
Her Oil-Free is great for pics. It can be a little heavy for the day to day, but you could always try applying it with a dampened brush/sponge to take it down a bit.
oooh, ruby glaze and the fuchsia stickgloss look great!
Ruby Glaze would look really pretty on you… there’s a golden pearl to it that shows up in the light. If you get it then you’ll have to try it with your coral blushes and let me know how it looks! 🙂
So, what primer are you wearing today?
lol, no primer and no makeup. I’m still snowed in 🙁
The palette looks like quite a big pan. And I love all the shades in it.
The pans in the palette are quite generous! 🙂
Wow, that liquid liner in Gold Thread is amazing in your swatch! I’ve only tried the LM tinted moisturizer, but it’s a bit cakey on me. I like the inspiration behind this palette and it’s a bit different, since I’m expecting everyone to use a Pearl theme. Is it awful that when I saw the promo photo above, I immediately thought of a Barbizon model, circa 1986?
Ah, I know LM’s TM isn’t for everyone. Have you tried Tarte’s? It’s very light and great if you want just a wee bit of coverage.
GURL, I actually wanted to go to Barbizon when I was in fourth grade.
I’ll definitely give Tarte’s a try. I like Murad’s tinted sunscreen (the consistency and finish) but I could use more coverage. I think LM’s might be better for me in the summer when I’m not so dried out, so I’m not giving up on it. 🙂
My friend’s sister did the Barbizon thing when she was in high school. She’s beautiful and I remember thinking if she couldn’t be a model, no one could! Ah, the inner workings of a 13 year old’s mind! 🙂
The palette looks awesome and I’m seriously considering it! The liner in in Stormy Grey will be mine though no matter what. It is just so unique.
I’m not sure about the glosses, I got a sample of LM gloss in my next to last Birch Box and I wasn’t impressed. The color was beautiful, but it dried my lips out something fierce.
Hi Lisa,
Stormy Grey is really unusual, isn’t it? I really hope it wears well along the lash line. 🙂
i wish i could afford more LM, but keeping me in tinted moisturizer and loose setting powder is probly all i could do at the moment.
that palette with the coral blush is <3333 though!!!!
When you’re ready you’ll have to try the Secret Brightening Powder — it’s great for setting concealer!
Did you remember to bring your wallet today? Yesterday I ended up getting a moisturizing body wash and lotion from a drugstore brand called CeraVe (a couple of gals here have recommended it). Used it last night and this morning and the itchiness is starting to go away!
ill probly grab the secret brightening powder soon …. my loose setting powder is almost gone!
i did i did — and i got a huge bottle of Curel, and now that you remind me, ill grab a bottle of the CeraVe body wash on my way home. i need to switch off of St Ives for a bit.
I don’t like Laura Mercier. I’ve tried 3 different products and wasn’t happy with any of them. I guess that surprises me the most is that usually I love most high end makeup brands, because they all have something great to offer. I will keep trying to like this brand, though 🙂 I’ll have to swatch the new spring collection!
Hi Katie,
What products have you tried from the line?
Karen! That taupe looks to die for on your arm! Which leads me to my question, what’s your favorite taupe eye shadow? I’m trying my darndest to get one to look good on me!!! They totally emphasize my under eye circles if they’re at all purple leaning *stares wistfully at Satin Taupe*. Got any sure fire recs to knock my socks off? Thank yous!!!
Hi Indoorkitty,
Ya know, I have the same issue with Satin Taupe. I know soooo many girls who look great in it, but it brings out the purple in my under eye area something awful.
I have yet to find a taupe that knocks my socks off and am hoping that this pan of Rare Taupe will be the one to change it all.
But let me ask the other ladies here in the comments — I bet we can get a few good recs!
I swear by Nars Kalahari, but one of the two is still somewhat purple – not so much as satin taupe tho. If you haven’t tried it, it might be worth a shot.
Satin taupe does that to you too? I was afraid I was a freak of nature. Thanks so much for putting the shout out to the ladies! I can’t wait to see what we dig up!
My go-to taupe is Bobbi Brown Rock. It works great as a crease shadow or a wash of color.
Hi gals,
Quick question for ya. Indoorkitty (she’s in the comment above this one… say hi to her, she’s nice!) asked for a recommendation for a great taupe eyeshadow that’s NOT MAC Satin Taupe.
Do you know of any amazing taupe shadows? Please share!
if she’s open to cream eyeshadows, what about MUFE aqua cream in taupe?
I love creams! I’ll check that out! Is it a warm taupe?
I LOVE the taupe color of Clinque’s Pink Slate eyeshadow duo!
I love LM, and one of the big draws of the brand is that it appeals to my more grown up side without being stuffy. That being said, this is a lot of glitter going on here – the gold liner rocks it but those shadows I’m not so sure of. I love the colors, but I’m sooooo over glitter fallout and you know that if you wore these that within a few hours you’d be lookin like you’d be touched by a drag angel. I totally fantasize about that palette minus the glitter.
And the shimmery blue-violet liner? epic!
Not gonna lie — I wouldn’t be mind looking like I was touched by a drag angel, LOL!
I want that palette so badly! That light violet shade is shouting my name.
I’m loving the gloss sticks. I’ve used the LM tinted lip balms before and they are fabulous — sheer, not waxy, and a decent moisture boost. But, sometimes you want a bit more shine. LM makes some great soft shadows perfect for simple washes of color.
I’ve always love wear lipstick its make me beautiful..choosing Laura Mercier lipstick are good choice they are fabulous and cool brand 🙂 definitely!!!