A/W Essentials: Beauty Bases

YSL Le Teint Touché Éclat · Armani Luminous Silk Foundation · NARS Creamy Concealer · Laura Mercier Secret Concealer

While San Francisco weather can be a bit finicky, the seasons are definitely changing and with that my makeup changes too. My base becomes more of a light to medium coverage — sticking to products with great lasting power, especially for the harsh winter winds I'll be seein' on the East Coast in a few weeks.

Foundations /

• YSL Le Teint Touché Éclat is still in rotation — I've been using this foundation for a few years and I probably will keep it around as long as they still make it. The coverage is perfect, it's buildable, and it lasts quite long which is a big thing for me when it comes to bases. It's more of my summer color but I can still get away with it (not for long I'm sure)
• Armani's Luminous Silk Foundation has finally made it into my collection. While I usually stick to the same few foundations when it comes to repurchasing, I really wanted to try something a bit new! No regrets on this purchase — it's definitely going to be added to my rotating list of repurchases (along with NARS Tinted Moisturizer, Bobbi Brown Longwear, and Chanel's Vitalumiere Aqua.

Pro-tip: I love mixing these two together or topping them off with Laura Mercier's Mineral Powder for a bit more coverage or extra-long wear. 

Concealers /

I should preface by saying I've gained a new appreciation for concealers! I used to use them but wasn't really into them... until now. Now I might actually have a concealer addiction, oops.

• For under the eyes I love using NARS Creamy Concealer — a product I once thought was over-hyped. Silly me. The consistency is beautiful, the coverage is everything you could possibly want, and the subtle brightness it brings to your face is kind of glorious.
• For spots and blemishes I'm really into Laura Mercier's Secret Concealer. It's pretty high coverage and gets rid of any pesky areas I might want to cover up. On lazy days I'll use this around my nose / to cover general redness and I'll pop a powder or something light over it. Sometimes less is more, ya know? 

And that's it for my A/W base essentials. Next in the series will probably be lips, cheeks, and eyes! What are your favorite foundations and concealers for the colder months? 

Unpopular Opinion: Laura Mercier Radiance Primer

Laura Mercier Radiance Primer / $19.50

Another one of these posts — I don't love doing them but sometimes they just need to be done. My only worry with doing things like this is: I don't want people to think "oh she doesn't like it so I won't either" because that's not the purpose of this post. The purpose of these Unpopular Opinion posts are just to let you in on things that don't work for me specifically and the details surrounding why. Just because it doesn't work out for me, just because I don't like it for X reason, absolutely doesn't mean you won't love it! With that said, here we go.

I love me some Laura Mercier. I'm a huge fan of her Silk Creme and Mineral foundations and most other things that she does (well with the exception of this). So many bloggers love this stuff and I've seen it over on Kate and Vivianna's blogs, two ladies I trust when it comes to cosmetics. That with the fact that I've been lusting over this for ages made it all the more worse when I just couldn't get this to work with me.

I've heard people say it gives the perfect glow, smooths over your skin and blurs imperfections. What I found was it made me look shiny not luminous — I tried using different amounts of this stuff, from small to big and still, shine. Another issue was it made my pores look so crazy and huge. I never have issue with my pores looking big or noticeable so when this happened I was totally put off.  For a second opinion I even enlisted Richard to tell me what he thought and alas, he was in agreement. Although I was a bit wary, I tried it a few more times with a few different foundations. Still? Same results each time. I just do not love the look this gives my skin, which makes me a little sad inside. I have to keep reminding myself that there are plenty more primers in the sea but I just really had high hopes for this baby.

Though I am pretty bummed, it'll be alright. I still have my Pro-prime (which I really love now) and my BECCA Shimmering Skin Perfector — two things that just work for me when it comes to achieving the perfect base. So that's that. Love at first sight and broken heart at first application. So it goes.

What do you guys think of this primer? What are some of your favorite primers?!

P.S. rented a Nikon for the weekend, if the photos look odd it's because I am having the hardest time getting used to it, lulz. Sowwy!

Laura Mericer Silk Creme Foundation in Medium Ivory

Laura Mercier Silk Creme Foundation · $43

I get a decent amount of compliments and on my skin — and while yes, I have nice normal skin and am not prone to blemishes or spots, I owe a lot to my trusty foundation.

Before this I wore MAC foundation but could never find the right color or coverage. On a trip to Sephora this past April, I was introduced to the lovely Laura Mericer brand and was immediately interested in the foundations. For a while I was going back and forth between two shades but settled for Medium Ivory.

Laura Mercier's Silk Creme foundation is (for me) medium coverage with a natural and dewy finish. It lasts all day and doesn't leave me oily or dry. I've tried other foundations but nothing else has compared to this so I just can't seem to pry myself away. It blends like a dream and is buildable, so on days where I feel like I need a little extra coverage, I just add another layer. It never looks cakey or fake which is one of the things I love most about this foundation.

What do you guys think of Laura Mercier's foundations? Do you have a fav?

Laura Mercier Shimmer Bloc in Peach Mosaic

Laura Mercier Shimmer Bloc in Peach Mosaic · $38

I'm a huge fan of Laura Mercier products, or atleast the ones I've tried. I used her Silk Creme Foundation every day and though the thought of trying something else has crossed my mind, I'm not sure I'd ever make the switch. Her products are always really amazing quality so when I saw this I knew I had to have it!

I've had this for quite some time now (three months maybe?) and absolutely love using it as a highlighter on the apples of my cheeks and along my cheekbones. It gives a really beautiful glow and looks even better in the sunlight. I'm really into highlighters and anything that brightens my face so this product is definitely something I love using. The bloc itself is seriously gorgeous, I mean, look at it. I usually use my Real Techniques stippling brush to apply; swirling it in the shimmer bloc and stippling/buffing it into my cheeks and around until I get the finish I like. 

What do you guys think of the Laura Mercier Shimmer Bloc? What are some of your favorite highlighters?