Let’s sidestep Summer for a moment and take a look at Dark Spell, Laura Mercier’s mystical Fall 2013 Collection, featuring dark smoky eyes, nude lips and luminous skin. Laura Mercier has been my go-to make-up brand for many years and this is quite a departure from her usual soft, wearable hues that never fail to disappoint. I’m really trying to be open minded about my beauty choices at the moment, so take my hand and let’s step out of our comfort zone together! As this post is a bit of a picture fest I’ll try to keep my words to a minimum…
Eyes
While it’s not something I’d have chosen myself, there’s something about the simplicity of Dark Spirit Satin Matte Eye Colour (£18.50) that I’m really drawn to. It’s a highly pigmented eye shadow with a creamy texture and long-wearing formula, has good colour payoff and surprisingly little fallout. It works really well along the lashline or as the base for a smoky eye, with Mystical Baked Eye Colour (£18.50) patted over the top for added sparkle. I’ve been experimenting with these over a pale champagne gold Chantecaille shadow... I’m not brave enough to share yet, but I will at some point!
Don’t be too scared by the intensity of these - if I can, you can - believe me! Reassuringly they are dermatologist and Ophthalmologist tested; deemed suitable for sensitive skin types and safe for contact lens wearers.
Swatches
Light and heavy swatches of Mystical, left and Dark Spirit, right. Above with flash and below in natural light. I think you can see how velvety smooth Dark Spirit in particular is from these pics. It was actually difficult to do the light swatches and these really are packed with pigment.
Nails
Dark Spell includes two Limited Edition nail lacquers (£12.50 each): Bewitched - a dark, blackened green with gold shimmer and Forbidden, a metallic champagne gold. Bewitched is my favourite - can you tell?! The quality of this is amazing; 100% opaque in a single coat. I added a second to intensify the shimmer for these pics, but needn’t have.
And there’s more…
Ideally, I would pair the above with the following gems from the collection - to soften the look and provide a contrast with the smoky eye and dark nails.
Spellbound Illuminating powder (£31) is the star of this collection and would be perfect to highlight cheek and brow bones with a soft rose gold shimmer. Angelic Lipstick (£20), a Crème Smooth lip colour, has been described as the perfect nude lip - subtle but not corpse like! EC2 (£22.50) is a nude toned Eye Canvas, the ultimate base for a smoky eye (or any eye look).
Anything take your fancy?
Laura Mercier Dark Spell* is available now at Urban Retreat or Space NK
