Review! Laura Mercier Shimmer Bloc in Golden Mosaic, PLUS Garnier BB Cream update

Laura Mercier Shimmer Bloc in Golden Mosaic is intended to be used as a bronzing highlighter.  On first take, I felt it was too dark for my skintone.  However, using a much lighter hand, it has become my go-to bronzer for this Spring.  I use it in the hollows of my cheeks, and at my temples.  I have tried using it as eyeshadow, but even over primer, it creases terribly on the lid.  It has too much shimmer to be used for contouring the nose.  

It picks up very easily on a blush brush, and glides on very smoothly.  It blends extremely easily, and seems to melt into my foundation and leaves a seamless finish.  

Also, because it is so shimmery, it photographed very light in the bottom photo.  In real life, that top color is a very deep coppery brown.  The size I have is a deluxe trial size (purchased with a Sephora cheek, highlighter and bronzer trial set), and is about half the size of the regular product.  It takes so little of this product that I can't imagine hitting pan for at least a year... if not longer.

At $40, I can see a bit of hesitancy at trying this, but I really love it.  So many bronzers look orange and fake on me.  I like that I can focus my brush on a particular color to alter the depth of shading.  I've tried a few drugstore bronzers, and I haven't found one that I like as much as this one.  So, I can easily see myself re-purchasing this once I run out.

-Side Review-

I have been using it over Garnier BB Cream Skin Renew Miracle Skin Perfector. (You can see my review on that here.)  I ran out of my Laura Mercier Illuminating Tinted Moisturizer, and dug the Garnier up out of my makeup pit to use while I ponder which tinted moisturizer I want to use this summer.  I've been using a hefty dollop of it (unlike in the review), and I've come to the conclusion that I'm pretty happy with how the Garnier is performing.  I wouldn't say it lives up to its name, but it is moisturizing, offers a light-to-medium coverage, and it is playing very well with my other cosmetics.  Surprise of all surprises, it is allowing powder blushes to look nice!  You regular readers know I really HATE wearing powder blushes, so you know that's one heck of a statement coming from me!

Multi-Review! Garnier, Tarte, Hard Candy

Today I have a multi-product review of Garnier's BB Cream, Tarte's Natural Cheek Stain, and Hard Candy's Glamoflauge.

First, a bare face.

I don't have a whole lot to cover up, so I mostly look for foundations that will just even out my skin tone a little bit.  I don't have any problems going completely without foundation if I'm not in the mood to fiddle with it, and I'm fortunate enough to have clear skin that looks just fine bare (I think so, anyway).

I am finding more interest in corrective measures, such as wrinkle prevention, spot correctors/skin whiteners, and pore minimizers.  From the chatter I've heard, the BB Creams from Korea are the best for these purposes, but before I knew that, I tried out Garnier's BB Cream, Skin Renew Miracle Skin Perfector in Light/Medium.  So, it's more of an ultra-thick tinted moisturizer.  It has sunscreen in it, and it is moisturizing.  It also feels heavy and greasy if you put on too much.  All you should need is a pea-sized amount, dot it around your face, and then rub it in.  Seriously, really rub it in.  Any skin-perfecting, airbrush finishing is going to come from filling in the pores with product.  Yep, it sounds gross.  But hey, it's skin, we've all got it, and most of us have the same issues with it.  So put on your first layer, and then let it set for a few minutes.  If you want it to help conceal large pores, take a teeny-tiny amount, and apply it to areas that didn't smooth over as well as you would like.  Then really rub it in.  You are kind of spackling it up, honestly.

The finish is dewy, but not glittery.  I like dewy, and I like glittery, too.  If you want a matte finish, you will need to set it with powder.  My nose tends to get oily throughout the day, so I blot it with plain tissue paper, and it doesn't disturb the cream.  I have been using this product for about 3 weeks, and I have not noticed any benefits that last after I remove the cream.  So, I do like it, but it really is just a thick tinted moisturizer.

Here's a pic with just the BB Cream added to the bare face from above.  There's not much difference in the photos other than an evened out skin-tone.  In person, you would see that the pores around my nose have been concealed.

Now, I do have a bit of darkness under my eyes and along the bridge of my nose.  That's what you get when you have an infant in the house.  Today the dark circles weren't so bad, but man, you should have seen it on Monday.  Yikes.  Anyway, to combat the dark circles, I use Hard Candy's Glamoflauge Heavy Duty Concealer in Medium.  Does it work?  Holy smokes, does it ever!  This stuff stays in place all day long.  It only takes a teeny, tiny, little itty bitty bit to do each eye.  It was designed to cover up tattoos, so your dark circles are no match for this stuff!  I apply it under my eye, along the bridge of my nose, and then I blend it down the side of my nose, the part where my cheek meets my nose, and then the top of the cheekbones.  Basically, it's just thinning the product out to nothing so that you don't have reverse-racoon eyes.  I usually only use this concealer on days when my circles are super-dark.

And there is a picture of my face after applying the Glamoflauge.

Finally, we get to my new favorite blush, Tarte's Natural Cheek Stain.  I have the shade "Blissful".  It is a peachy coral shade, with tones of pink.  I apply it with a stippling brush (realTechniques brand), and it goes on so easily.  You can build up to the intensity you prefer, and I recommend that you build it up slowly, as it doesn't come off easily.  Well, it washes off just fine, but you'll be taking off your foundation, too.  So do build up your intensity slowly.  This blush also has a nice fragrance to it; to me it smells of mandarin oranges.  I don't know how long the scent lingers, because I am not overly sensitive to fragrances.

I have never liked blushes.  When I first started wearing makeup, I would wear blush, but I always thought it looked so fake, so powdery, so cakey.  I abandoned blush for years, only using a dark shade to contour the hollows of my cheeks.  With cream and gel blushes (Tarte is a gel), I can blend the color into my skin, and the look is much more natural.  My aim with foundation, blushes, and contouring powders isn't really to change the way I look; I just want to perfect it a little bit.  With that said, here is a picture of all the above, plus Tarte's Natural Cheek Stain in Blissful:

And finally, with the rest of my makeup applied: