BGP: Laura Mercier’s Flawless Face Kit

Laura Mercier Oil-Free Flawless Face Kit, Sephora, $65

I keep a running list in my head of makeup that I want to try but just never get to it for one reason or another. Typically I’ll walk into Sephora, list in hand, only to pick up something shiny that caught my eye and curse myself when I get home because I didn’t get a thing off my list. The Clarisonic was on this list, and currently the list includes a creme blush brush, the Aqualillies for Tarte palette, and some Stila Smudge Pots.

(Although before I buy anything else I need to do a massive purge of my makeup.)

This Laura Mercier kit has been on my waiting list for probably about two years. I finally broke down and bought it during Sephora’s Chic Week, where the VIBs get I think it was like 15-20% off their purchases during the week. The main reason I bought this kit was for the concealer brushes, which you’ll see on the right hand side of the graphic above. The brushes were almost $28 apiece, so buying the kit just made much more sense. I’ve used the Laura Mercier setting powder in the past and it was okay, but I was eager to try everything else.

First, the good:
There are two brushes in the kit, a pointy brush and a flat, rounded brush. Both are concealer brushes but they have different purposes. I have heard the pointy brush called “a laser guided” aid in applying concealer to a pimple. The statement may sem laughable but it’s true. This brush is five types of amazing. The pointy-ness allows to take just the right amount of the concealer and places it on the head of the pimple. Either tap or blend it very lightly with the brush, set it with the powder, and the pimple is gone. Because I’ve seen and tried so many different formulas, brushes, methods, etc., to conceal, it’s hard to impress me. This combo of the brush and concealer is impressive.

The second rounded flat brush is for use with the other side of the concealer for under your eyes. It seems to have yellow-ish undertones which worried me at first, but once I got it applied it’s truly spectacular. Again, I’ve seen and done a lot to get undereye circles gone, and this worked perfectly. Both this brush and the pointy one are full-sized, and mixed in with the concealer (which is half-sized) I consider my $65 well-spent.

The okay:
I’ve used Laura Mercier’s setting powder before, and at the time I liked it. Now, after using Tarte’s Amazonian Clay setting powder for so long, I really don’t think it’s as good as I thought it was. In a pinch, it’ll do, but I’ll continue to use my Tarte. The sponges included in the kit for applying the tinted moisturizer and the puff for the powder are both good quality, and I threw them in my travel kit so I don’t have to haul my foundation brush with me all the time.

The bad:I haven’t used Laura’s primer or tinted moisturizer before but have heard a lot of good things about them so I was more than willing to give them a try. Well, what was should I say interesting was watching my makeup melt right off my face despite the primer. I could see where my blush was migrating down my cheeks. I’ve never seen anything like it. I stepped outside on one of the hotter days in downtown Charleston, and I could see where a bead of sweat was moving down my face, covered in makeup. I tried the tinted moisturizer without the primer, but it didn’t seem to last that long. I didn’t see any residue when I washed my face that night on my Clarisonic.

Despite the fact I didn’t like the primer or moisturizer, the kit is a good buy. The brushes alone are worth their weight in gold, and the concealer impressed me, tryer of all things concealing.