Review: Laura Mercier Eye Kohl in Stormy Grey

As a contact lens user, I struggled for years with using eyeliner on my waterline.  It used to make my eyes feel dry, sore and just generally  uncomfortable all day so I just used to avoid using it, for fear of becoming a red-eyed mess for a day afterwards.

Recently, I have been dipping my toe back into pencil and kohl liner and Laura Mercier Eye Kohl is one that I have been enjoying using a lot.  Laura Mercier’s packaging is very simple and chic and I much prefer this to overly cutesy, retro packaging (cough, Benefit!).  Saying that, if a product is well made and performs well, I will generally buy it regardless of its packaging!

So  what about the liner itself?  The shade,  Stormy Grey,  came as as part of a gift set I procured from Space NK and is a deep, dark grey.  The pencil is very soft, as is usual with a kohl, (I hate pencils which feel like they are scratching away at your skin) and colour payoff is superb with an opaque line in one pass. 

I find this very easy to pop on first thing and find that it has been lasting throughout an entire working day.  It does tend to fade a little after about 6 hours but I was amazed that it didn’t slide around or migrate to my under eye area.

Verdict

This was my first foray into Laura Mercier Eye Kohl but it won’t be my last.  Long-lasting and kind to sensitive eyes, this was a winner for me and I’m certainly going to be looking at more of the shades in the range

5/5

Price - £15.50

Where to Buy - John Lewis  (currently out of stock but it is a permanent product so it should be restocked shortly)

Review: Laura Mercier Full Blown Volume Mascara

I have been a recent convert to Laura Mercier products after my initial delve into them with the Secret Camouflage proved to be a disappointment. I recently purchased a gift set in the Space NK sale for the bargainous price of £35 instead of £70 and this mascara was included in the set. Now I certainly don’t need more mascaras as they seem to breed in my makeup box (to the extent that even my hubby mentioned this fact during his speech at our wedding!) but I have been very impressed with this one since I’ve been using it over the past couple of weeks.

 

The packaging is the typical sleek, chic look expected from Laura Mercier and the mascara itself promises to dramatically thicken, lengthen, curl and sculpt lashes with each stroke. The lightweight, nutrient-infused formula leaves lashes super-shiny, soft and clump-free all day long.

 

The wand is a regular mascara wand which I found very easy to use, not so small it takes forever to coat all of your lashes and not too big you end up poking yourself in the eye with it (or is it just me that does that?!). The formula itself is rather wet, which I like as I find drier formulas end up clumping together quickly on me. It does mean it takes a minute or so to dry though – which I found out after putting my glasses on afterwards and promptly finding mascara smudges all over the lenses!! When dried, it felt soft and lightweight, which I must say I prefer to ‘crispy’ lashes. It almost felt like I wasn’t wearing any mascara at all but the effects of lengthening and thickening were very obvious.

 

I have pretty straight lashes which I tend to curl most days and this mascara did a fairly good job of maintaining the curl, although towards the end of my working day, they had drooped a little. I was pleased to discover there is no flaking under the eye with this product and it was very easy to remove at the end of the day (cough, Benefit They’re Real!, cough!).

 

Verdict

Whilst Laura Mercier’s Full Blown Volume Mascara will not give you a super dramatic false-lash effect, I do find it a very pleasing mascara for daytime use and it subtly enhances lashes for a natural effect. I particularly liked the fact that it was a wetter formula which dried to a soft touch and I would certainly consider re-purchasing (if I didn’t have a zillion and one mascaras in my box still to use!)

4/5

 

Price – £18.50

Where to Buy - Space NK, Liberty, John Lewis

Review: Benefit Hoola Bronzing Powder

I have to confess that prior to purchasing this, I knew almost nothing about bronzing powder or how to use it.  It just never figured on my radar and living in Scotland, you get used to not looking bronzed!

I found this on Buyapowa and promptly snapped it up as I had heard many bloggers raving about it.  I thought that if so many people praised it, it must be super versatile and easy to use.  So were they right?

The bronzer itself comes in a standard box which is used by Benefit for all their blushes, bronzers and face powders.  Many people are big fans of Benefits cutesy 50s-style packaging but its not really to my taste.  I find these boxes bulky and impractical for transporting and would much prefer something sleeker.  It is also a major pain if the cardboard gets wet...  A brush is also included with the bronzer, however I rarely use the brushes that come with makeup, preferring to use my own tried and tested ones.  I did give this a quick go but it was promptly discarded for a bronzing / blush brush as I found it picked up far too much of the product.

The powder itself is a matte dark brown which you cannot see that well in these pictures.  Believe me when i say it is quite dark and if you have very fair skin, I can see that it could turn quite 'muddy' looking on you.  it is super pigmented!  I did find it quite powdery and dusty, although it blended easily.

The swatches above show one swipe with my finger and also a picture of it blended in.

I've experimented with a few different ways of applying this and eventually settled on just dusting a tiny amount on my brush and then tapping it off before applying.  A light, light hand is the best option for this.  I have been applying a slight dusting over my cheekbones and temples and following it with some blush and I have found it gives me a healthy glow.  When blended out this looks lovely, but I cannot stress enough that a little goes a long way.  I can see this bronzer lasting forever, which makes it seem better value as it is usually £23.50, although I think I paid around £17 for it from Buyapowa.

Verdict

Is it a holy grail product?  I'm not so sure and it is certainly not a must have for me, merely a nice product to own which adds an additional dimension to my makeup.  However, with practised application, I can see this becoming almost a staple during the summer and it will last forever.

4/5

Price - £23.50

Where to Buy - Benefit, Boots, Debenhams, John Lewis, ASOS, Feel Unique

 

Review: Liz Earle Daily Eye Repair & Smoothing Line Serum

Liz Earle is well known for her approach to clean, unfussy skincare so when I was on the hunt for a new eye cream, I decided to give them a whirl.

As I am nearing the end of my 20s, I am becoming much more aware of some small fine lines that are starting to appear and ideally, I would prefer that these didn’t get any bigger, although to halt my impending forehead wrinkle I will need to stop frowning as much!  After a browse on the website, I decided to try out the Round the Clock Eyecare Kit which consists of a Daily Eye Repair and a Smoothing Line Serum.  They are designed to be used in conjunction with one another and to help keep the fragile skin around the eyes smooth, supple and bright and are suitable for all skin types.

If you are familiar with Liz Earle skincare, you will know that the essence of the brand is to use naturally active botanical ingredients which are kind to your skin.  As a result, many of her products have a distinctly ‘herbal’ scent, which although not overly unpleasant, can be something of an acquired taste!
 

To start with, I will talk about the Daily Eye Repair.  I have been using this only in the morning as I prefer to use the serum in the evening and I don’t like to overload my eye area with products as I find it can end up quite dark and congested if I overdo it with rich creams.

The eye repair comes in a small tube with a very small pipette for targeted dispensing of the cream.  It is very easy to control the amount dispensed, although I do prefer jars of eye cream.  I realise that tubes are more sanitary, it is just a personal preference.  The exterior packaging is in line with other products from the Liz Earle Brand and is very simplistic but functional.  The cream itself is of medium consistency, perhaps leaning a little to the runny side and you only need a couple of small squeezes to dispense enough product for both eyes.  There is no discernable scent to the product which is good, as I prefer not to use highly scented products close to my eyes.
 

The cream is said to contain light-reflective particles to brighten dark under-eye shadows, and also includes SPF10 mineral sunscreen to help protect from UV light.  The main benefit of this product is to reduce the appearance of fine lines, and nowhere in the product description does it mention that it moisturises the eye area.  Usually with an eye cream, I tend to look for moistursing formulas as using eye make up remover frequently can dry some of the delicate skin around your eye area.

In terms of brightening under–eye shadows, I cannot really say that this has made a difference, mainly as I usually use YSL’s Touche Eclat each day to brighten my under eye area and I find it does an excellent job.  After applying this cream, even without makeup, I confess I haven’t really seen a discernable difference.  The addition of SPF10 is a nice touch for everyday wear, but not really enough for summer when you wuold need a separate SPF.  I would say my one disappointment with this product is that it wasn’t overly moisturising.  Whether that was because I needed to use more or apply it more than once a day I am not sure, but it really didn’t seem to do much to the skin around my eye at all and often just seemed to sit on the surface of my skin, taking quite some time to sink in.

I used the Smoothing Line Serum in conjunction with the Daily Eye Repair and used it only in the evening, after cleansing and moisturising, just before bed.  It comes in a small container with a pump dispenser, which again made it very easy to control the amount of product required and again, there was no scent.  The serum was a clear, gel-like substance which I have to confess I wasn’t expecting.  For some reason I thought it would be more like a cream, but not being a big user of serums, perhaps all serums are like this? I found one and a half pumps sufficient for moisturing both eye areas.
 

The serum is said to help plump and firm skin around the eyes, lips, forehead and décolletage.  I tended to use it only around the eye area, although if I had any product remaining, I used a little on my forehead.  The full-sized product is very small at only 10ml so I couldn’t imagine it would last very long if you used it on all the specified areas!  I patted and smoothed it around my eyes and it did feel quite refreshing and much more moisturising than the Daily Eye Repair.  The serum conatins antioxidant grapeseed extract and soothing echinacea  both of which are said to help aid smoother and softer skin.

Verdict
After using these products for a month, I feel that both of them are in the ok, but not a must buy category for me.  They didn’t do anything bad, but I don’t feel that they made a significant difference to my eye area, and I much prefer Bobbi Brown’s Eye Cream for its moisturising properties.  I think if you are looking for a first eye cream and are perhaps in you are in your early 20s,  the Daily Eye Repair may be of use, although you can probably find similar products in other brands.  I did like the serum, as I feel it was more moisturising and helped to ‘plump’ my skin, but the fact that it comes in such a small container and you are expected to use it over a wide area such as your neck, decolliage and forehead would stop me from repurchasing as I think I would get through it very fast.  You also have no way of telling how much product is remaining as the container is not transparent.
3.5/5

Price - £26 for the Round the Clock Eyecare Kit, £13.75 for 10ml of the Daily Eye Repair or the Smoothing Line Serum (both products can be bought as a 5ml tube for £7.25.
Where to buy – Liz Earle, John Lewis (if you buy directly from the Liz Earle Website you can request some samples of other products you would like to try free of charge when you make your order which is a good way of trying other products that you may be interested in).