Want It! Laura Mercier Folklore Collection for Summer 2013

I like the look of the upcoming Laura Mercier summer collection, especially the Illuminating Eye Colours. I have 4 of the previous ones (as in all 4), if you want to read about them, click here. The new colours seem quite similar, but may well be different enough to buy. The texture of these eyeshadows is really lovely, similar to the Mac Extra Dimension shades, but even better.

I also like the look of the lip crayons and the baked blush bronze.

Here are the collection details:

Illuminating Eye Colour

Eye colour with a multi-dimensional, luminous pearl finish with a soft, bouncy texture for excellent colour pay-off and a smooth, even application.

• Fire Glow – copper shimmer
• Sun Glow – gold with shimmer
• Earth Glow – deep brown

Lip Crayon

A smooth lip colour that provides pure, long-wearing colour to lips in three on-trend shades for summer. With a convenient purse-friendly package, Lip Crayon never needs sharpening, making it perfect for travel and touch-ups on the go.

• Folklore – fuchsia
• Maya Sun – orange pink
• Burnt Clay – deep brown

Baked Blush Bronze

Laura Mercier Baked Blush Bronze is a baked powder with five complimentary shades that together provide the perfect, natural colour for cheeks and face. Each tile is hand-mixed with a unique design.

Creme Eye Liner 

An ultra-smooth, water-proof creamy eye liner that applies with the ease and smooth silky finish of a gel and the precision of a liquid liner. Smudge and transfer-resistant, this long-wearing formula goes on “foolproof” with the Laura Mercier Angled Eye Liner Brush.

• Canard – teal
• Cobalt – vivid midtone blue

Faux Lash Mascara

• Sierra Brown – chocolate brown
• Black – black

Long Lash Mascara

• Bleu – true cobalt

Angled Eye Liner Brush

Specifically designed by Laura Mericer to work with the Crème Eye Liner, the Angled Eye Liner Brush uses high quality synthetic fibers in a narrow, exact point with a thin profile that creates the most precise looks.

Body Bronzing Makeup

Available for a limited time, Laura Mercier Body Bronzing Makeup instantly reveals healthy, radiant, bronzed skin without long-term commitment.

See more pictures after the jump!

Urban Decay Oz The Great and Powerful Glinda Palette Review and Swatches

There is a new big film out and of course Urban Decay has come up with a couple of palettes to go with it. I haven't seen the film yet (it's only out in March), but I remember well loving the story of The Wizard Of Oz as a child. I decided to pick up the Glinda palette more because I liked the products in it, rather than the film, and similarly I didn't pick up the Theodora palette because I wasn't very interested in the colours.

Anyway, the Glinda palette is really lovely, I'm very glad I've picked it up. It contains 6 full size (1.5 g) eyeshadows, a travel size (0.8 g) 24/7 Glide-on eyepencil and a full size (2.8 g) Super-Saturated pencil. The palette itself is the new style design your own palette, so you can pop up the eyeshadows and put different ones in if you wish. You also get a "Get the look" card to show you how you can achieve the look Michelle Williams is sporting on the box (and int he film).

The colour scheme is neutrals, pinks and purples, all very soft and feminine. You get Tornade, a very well pigmented, smooth reddish purple with a sheen, Aura, a split pan duo-chrome pink and blue frosty colour, Magic, a rosy pink with subtle gold shimmer, Illusion, a light frosty peach, Oz, a split pan frosty and glittery gold and silver and South, a frosty taupey brown. All the eyeshadows are very smooth and well pigmented, and apart from Oz, not glittery. You also get Rockstar 24/7 Glide-on eyepencil which is one of my favourite eyeliners ever (you can see swatches of Rockstar by clicking here) and Glinda Super-Saturated pencil, a glossy pinky nude colour which is very flattering.

I did two looks with the palette, one using the eyeshadows in the top row (pictures at the bottom of the post) and one using the eyeshadows in the bottom row (except the silver one). I especially liked the first look as it was so pretty and feminine. The only eyeshadow I had an problems with is Oz, the split pan gold and silver one, because it has a bit more gritty texture than the others and the chunky glitter is more fallout prone.

The eyeshadows last on me without creasing and fading for 10 hours or more. Glinda Super-Saturated pencil lasts on me for about 2-3 hours depending on whether I eat or not. It's a lovely glossy lipcolour and doesn't feel at all drying on the lips.

There are a few things I dislike about the palette itself. I don't like the make your own palette style, the eyeshadows feel quite wobbly in it and also it is extremely bulky for what it is. I also don't like that you can't see anywhere the names of the eyeshadows (other then the bottom of the actual pans and the outer box. I'm thinking about pulling th plastic insert out, depotting the eyeshadows and using the palette with magnets instead. I reckon you could fit at least 9 eyeshadows in the that way, if not more.

Value-wise I can't fault it, the set costs £35 and it includes over £107 worth of products not counting the palette itself. I can happily say that other than Oz that feels a bit too glitzy for every day wear and feels a little bit out of place for me, the palette is really lovely and I have really enjoyed using it.

See lots more pictures including swatches and a look I did using the palette after the jump!

Topshop Crayons in Sun Shower and Ramble - Review and Swatches

I popped into Topshop the other day and picked up a couple of their eyeshadow crayons in shades Sun Shower (gold) and Ramble (chocolate brown with gold flecks). I'd already owned two of these (reviewed here) and really liked them, so I thought I'd check out some new shades.

These eyeshadow crayons are really nice and soft, glide on very easily and can be blended out nicely. They stay on all day without creasing (I used UDPP under them) and both shades are just gorgeous. I adore the gold sparkles in the chocolate brown shade. They are 1.64 g, cost £7.50 each and are available from Topshop. There's one more shade (Whisper) I'm contemplating getting, but they never have testers of it (don't you hate that?) and ideally I would like to test it before I buy.

See more pictures including swatches after the jump!

Another Barry M Lip Laquer Crayon review

After saying (here) that I wasn't too keen on the more red shades of these, I decided to get shade no. 2 (Cherry Red) after all. This one is a pinky red, similar to Party Pink, just more red, and every bit as sparkly and pretty. Having tried it on, I'm happy I got it, although it is definitely a very loud shade of lipstick, it goes very well with the neutral eyes I'm wearing today. Definitely recommend this to anyone looking for an easy to apply pinky red lipstick. See some pictures...

Top Cherry Red, bottom Party Pink (with flash) Without flash

Without flash in natural sunlight

Barry M Lip Laquer Crayon in Party Pink

Look at this little treasure I've found! *drumroll* Introducing Barry M Lip Laquer Crayon in Party Pink (shade no. 4). What we have here is a lip pencil/crayon in a beautiful shimmery fuschia colour that is very easy to apply, is pretty long lasting (I didn't fully test it, but it did last for 2-3 hours on me with eating and drinking and I still had some left, but I had to remove it then), and is absolutely gorgeous! I picked it up in Superdrug and it cost £4.95, so it's great value as well. (It's also available on www.barrym.com ) They come in 5 colours (Scarlet Red, Cherry Red, Mandarin, Party Pink and Ballet Pink), but as I don't really use red or orange lipstick, the other colours didn't appeal to me that much (plus Ballet Pink is a very pale pink, again, not for my taste). But I do like this one very much. See some photos...