Cosmetics Connoisseur Laura Mercier Cooked Up Something Surprisingly Complex With the New Baked Eye Colour Palette in Free Spirit

This — THIS! — is one of the reasons I love Laura Mercier. First time I saw her new $48 Baked Eye Colour Palette in Free Spirit, I thought, “There’s no frickin’ way I’ll be able to pull that off.”

I thought the colors were way too cool for me, and that the pastels would appear chalky and entirely unwearable on my warm skin tone.

But then I started playing…

And, like she does so often, Laura came through. 🙂 Again, she found a way to make seemingly safe shades interesting, unusual and, I think, totally wearable.

At first glance, these colors might not get your heart pounding, but give ’em a chance. Dig a little (NOOO! — not literally into the pans, of course!), and you might just find something surprisingly beautiful hidden within something so seemingly subtle.

It happened to me with this palette.

A couple of its pastels do seem pretty typical, like the lightest blue, Soft Cloud. It’s pretty much your run-of-the-mill shimmery blue.

And then there’s Pink Tutu, the light pink on the far right — a competent but uninspiring shimmery pink. Neither one will set any records for originality, and you can probably find dupes from other lines.

Oh, but the remaining three shades — the dark blue on the far left, and the two darkest shades guarding the center — they hold the keys to this palette’s true power.

My favorite’s the one in the middle, Satin Ribbon, a gorgeous coppery bronze with blackened undertones.

SO BEAUTIFUL! It makes my head spin. And so complex. If you wet your brush first before applying it on your lids, the copper tones come out to party, looking rich and bright. I didn’t expect something like it from a palette with pastels.

Bare Yoga, seated to Satin Ribbon’s right, also blew me away. It’s my second favorite of these colors. Despite how basic it looks in the pan and when swatched dry, this mauve really grooves when you start buffing, revealing a purply brown personality. I love the way it looks blended into the crease with Satin Ribbon on my lids.

And then there’s Blue Zen, the darker blue on the far left, and the Clark Kent of this palette. A mild-mannered mid-toned blue by day, he flexes his stormy gray muscles when faced with buffing.

I’d never think to put these colors together, and I never thought they’d work on warmer skin tones, but some how, some way, they do. They just work, and I think they would for most gals (and guys).

Wear ’em wet or dry, either way, they last a really long time without creasing. Slightly longer when applied wet, like 9-10 hours, as opposed to dry, where they last from 7-8 hours for me. No fallout, either. 🙂

PRICE: $48
AVAILABILITY: Available now at Laura Mercier counters and lauramercier.com
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: A- (the light pink and light blue are pretty, but easily dupeable)

Weirdo tabby

I kept my office door closed today because El Hub was home and working downstairs. I didn’t want to bother him with An American in Paris playing on full blast (I’ve been really into Gershwin lately) and with all of the conversations I carry on with myself (dude…I talk to myself A LOT).

Anywho, every 10 minutes or so, Tabs would scratch at the door, so I’d get up, let him in, and close the door again. Of course, once inside the room, he quickly saw that I wasn’t doing anything remarkable or exciting, and so he’d paw at the door and meow to be let back out.

This went on ALL DAY LONG! Drove me absolutely nuts.

Eventually, I just gave up and left the door ajar, to which he responded by staring — sitting inside the room and staring at the door, like it was now broken.

Cats are just so weird… 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen