I haven't tried the LM foundation yet, but I love love love their tinted moisturizer. I have no doubt that their foundation would be fantastic too!

I just bought a Boots Botanical's Conditioning Clay Mask, and it's green! My first ever green mask.. :P

and last week I bought 2 Covergirl mascaras. The "Professional All-in-One Waterproof mascara" and the "Professional Super thick Lash mascara". I've only used the waterproof one, and I like that it gives me natural looking lashes that are just more lush than my normal lushes.

and I also bought a grapefruit bath scrub from Trader Joe's. It's so luscious and makes my skin feel wonderful.

laura mercier moisturizing foundation in vanilla beige -- Yummy! i've used other foundation products from this line, but i think i found my best friend :-).

special note to those using LM tinted moisturizer -- i loved this product until it was brought to my attention that it was not a complete sunscreen. although i don't mind wearing sunscreen underneath a foundation, if i buy a product which claims to provide sun protection, i expect that protection to be adequate. i'll not repurchase that product although application was flawless. i'm looking at replacing with stila when tube is bone dry. at $40 a pop i cut the end off the tube and scrape with a clean popsicle stick to get every last drop.

Without using at least moisturizer underneath, it goes on my face really blotchy. Then again, the MA told me of that before I purchased it. :P I think my current one is too light for my skin in the summer, and at $40, I don't think I can afford to get a separate tube just for the summer. Ugh.. I hate summer!!

For some reason I keep procrastinating about buying new foundation. I was going to get Laura Mercier and then I saw good reviews about Bare Escentials Mineral system.

Since several of you have used Laura Mercier I thought I would ask for advice. I wanted to get the tinted moisturizer because I just want to even out my skin tone and I didn't want to have to invest in foundation AND primer. I planned on using that over my Neutrogena Oil Free Sunscreen which I LOVE. Can anyone compare these LM products for me? And why does LM sell a primer?

And has anyone who has used either LM and Bare Escentials tell me the pros and cons of both/either. This shouldn't be rocket science but I am very bad at making decisions like this. Don't even get me started on choosing a concealer.

Thanks.

judy, i would like to take a stab at answering your questions as i have fair amount of experience with both mineral foundations and the LM line in particular. it isn't possible to compare a mineral foundation to a tinted moisturizer because they are very different products, but i'll try to break it down. here goes.

1. primers are relatively new to the more prestigious product lines and in general are nothing more than glorified moisturizers. they simply add to a cosmetics company's sales dollars. that being said, i do like some of these products, those with silicone do temporarily smooth the surface of the skin, but so would any silicone product. as much as i love LM, i find the primer to be unnecessary in terms of purpose and expense.

1. BareMinerals contains titanium dioxide and zinc oxide (UVA and UVB protection) in addition to bismuth oxychloride, mica, and iron oxides. LM contains all of the above plus pearl powder. if you choose either of these products, the use of a 15 spf sunscreen is not necessary because the mineral powder itself provides a physical barrier.

2. the LM tinted moisturizer provides sheer coverage in a good selection of shades. the texture is sumptuous but there are two major pitfalls -- the $40 price tag and lack of UVA sun protection as mentioned above. in my experience, the LM counters provide generous samples of their products as well as competent color matching.

3. the questions that remain are the type of coverage you are seeking and and your skin type. the tinted moisturizer is sheer and if you are trying to cover serious blemishes you may not be satisfied. the mineral formulas eliminate the need for additional sunscreen, provide buildable coverage, disguise blemishes fairly well. and are suitable for oily skin types.

hope this helps. happy shopping!

St. Tropez tanning mousse! It's great!

The color is less deep than the lotion, but it also dries faster and is less prone to streaking.

Same smell, which I have always preferred over other tanning lotions.

I just got Cover Girls' Liquid Pencil. I'm really wary of CG products, but Glamour, I think, recomended it for spazzes like me who love liquid liner but can't put it on well. It's kind of like a felt-tipped pen for your eyes.
I also just bought the hair-dye I use--Chocolate Cherry by Feria, this great dark brown-red shade. I've been using this since I was16, which is kind of sad...

My latest purchase was Neutrogena Moisture Shine Lip Soother (color sheen). I have two and love them both!

I also LOVE LOVE LOVE Bare Minerals. I love Make-up but always hated foundation. I was hesitant to buy it, but my sister in law had let me use hers one time and I immediately purchased it. I feel like I'm not wearing any make-up and I generally just use it and maybe some eyeliner (still learning how to use it) or mascara and of course my gloss :)

taiwanesegurl- I feel you on the LA apt space. I've resorted to storing make-up and hair products in containers in my bedroom.

It's hard to go wrong with the LM tinted moisterizer because it's so sheer. However, if you decide that you've got the wrong color then take it back. It's too expensive to toss.

My very last purchase was a lipstick by Clinique: Moisture Sheer in Ruby Kiss. It goes on quite sheer indeed so for me it's the perfect red to wear to my office job.

I love Clinique a lot, except for their foundations. I find them very hard to work with because almost all colours tend to have an orange tinge and I don't like the feeling of the product on my skin. The last foundation I bought was the new one from Chanel, Teint Innocence. It goes on perfectly but if you have combined or oily skin, you'll get a shiny face during the day. For that matter I prefer Shiseido Dual Balancing. It doesn't keep my face shine free all day but a least the biggest part of it ;-)

I hope the Laura Mercier tinted moisterizer worked out for you at least.

I dropped too much money at Macy*s back in CA. We have Smacy*s here in SE VA (Small + Macy*s = Smacy*s). Ah, my beloved Benefit! I bought That Gal!, a pink face primer, more Lemonade (yellow eyelid primer), and 10, a bronzer/highlighter in one box. Paula loved that stuff!

Still madly in love in DiorShow. After a full day (therapy, work, lunch with hubby, pedicure, and a flight from Norfolk to Sacramento), I only had 2 flakes of mascara and that's because I rubbed my eyes. When we got to Hotel Hell in northern Sacramento it was 3 AM my time...and my mascara still looked great!

MAC is awesome! Their eyeshadows are just so pigmented and it goes on soo smoothly. I go to MAC to get wild colors. Their Studio Fix powder foundation is also really good. It offers a lot of coverage and it's just so easy and quick to apply.

I recently bought Olay's Regenerist Targeted Tone Enhancer. I have some sun spots and acne marks that I'd love to get rid of, and this wasn't too pricey ($17/$18?). I'll let you guys know in a month how my sun spots are doing.

yesterday I bought several new make up items:

clinique's touch tint in Gold- I used this for years as my go to cream eyeshadow, I'm back and happy to say I still love it! The only thing I ever liked from clinique...

3 victoria secret lip items as follows:

very sexy lip stain in 'celebutante'- gives just enough pink color to make my lips look flushed and is not drying. love it.

very sexy lip shine in 'quiver' (gold color)- a healthy dose of golden shimmer and makes my lips very supple. more pigment than I think I should wear so I layer it with the...

very sexy lip gloss in 'bling'- a sheer gold fleck infused gloss that dilutes the lip shine for me. sticky at first but softens once it settles- love it.

very happy with my purchases! $10 sale on those VS lip items!

OK so I was deinitely overdue at the pharmacy. I got:

Neutrogena Clean Lash Tint--Thanks Sassette
Clean&Clean Advantage Spot Acne Treatment--Thanks PurpleRules and others who commented on it...although sorry it's not helping your neck Purple :(
Clean&Clear Continuous Control Acne Cleanser
Neutrogena energizing body scrub
Neutrogena energizing body wash
Almay intense i-color bring out the hazel (although my eyes are greenish, blue, grey--the color looks like a nice one) eyeliner

And that is it. I can't wait to wash my face. The humidity sucks here!

I just purchased a 'Falling in Love' perfume from Philosophy. I aleady have the body lotion. I love love LOVE the way it smells. It's sweet though.

I just bought Cover Girl eyeslicks in 2 colors a minty color and an earthy color. I don't have them with me so I can't be specific with the names. I like them so far. It's 2:40pm here and I have had them on since 7:45am and the eyes still look nice. I used the minty color kind of like eyeliner. Looks nice.

I also bought Poshe quick drying top coat recommended by PurpleRules I believe. Haven't tried it yet...I meant to bring it to work to do my nails during naptime (I love this little guy he sleeps for close to 3 hours!)

I really just meant to buy Cranberry Pills.....

I bought Benefit's Dandelion Face Brightener (AKA blush) a couple of weeks ago. I like it and I LOVE the brush it came with. However it is packaged in a little square box rather than in a compact style case so it ISN'T really something you can stick in your purse.

Yay Karen!!! I'm so glad you like it!

I've also recently been using it as a highlight when I don't do a full face. Just under the brow bone, inside of eyes, and above my cheek bone in a upward sweep.

I picked up a Shu Eumora lipstick and two eyeshadows yesterday. I already had a lipstick of his that I love; it's sheer and not drying and the color stays true so I thought I'd get another. The shadows looked really nice and I was in the market for matte purples and he had a quite a few so I bought two. I felt really guilty spending that kind of money on eyeshadow (they were $20 each) but they're just gorgeous. They go on beautifully and are exactly the same color on as they are in the pan. I'm going to have a lot of fun playing with these.

They placed my branch of my bank across the street from the mall.. so I went there after depositing my paycheck..

I don't know if the mall people were being super smart or what, having banks across the street from them.. but basically..

I walked into the mall saying to myself, "ok.. I ONLY need to buy a Stila Smudgepot in black and MAYBE a pair of ballet flats if I find them for $20 or less"..

There wasn't a Stila counter at the Nordstroms there, but there was a Nars.. so I finally bought the Orgasm blush after all these years.. it was between Orgasm and Deepthroat, and the MUA and I agreed that Orgasm looked better..

and I did buy a pair of ballet flats.. but they were $30...

I'm sooo soooo soooo bad!!!! but then my cheeks look sooo sooo soooo cute!

Karen: Where do you apply the High Beam? I have a small tube of it that came in the concealer kit, but I'm not really sure when and where it's appropriate to apply it.

As for the husband idea... sadly that doesn't work for me. I can get all dolled up and he won't notice a thing....

after 7 years together, many different hair colors and styles, he always says "it looks the same".. -sigh.. same thing with make up... I come home looking all pretty after a day at a counter, and all he does is shake his head and sigh over the fact that I spent more money..

Gosh, Gloria: Maybe he just thinks you always look gorgeous and sees no reason to make changes! I've always gotten the impression you are a Makeup Master!

As for High Beam, I actually saw the dazzling effect of it last week on a four page spread in InStyle magazine - Hollywood stars made up with Benefit makeup. The High Beam looked like moonlight reflecting on Terri Hatcher's cheeks. Really gorgeous since it's almost iridescent. That, plus Judy's mention of Dandelion, got me to the Benefit counter. (Plus, I love my new tube of Benetint.)

Here's how the MA did it and then explained it to me: After you put on your foundation, and then stain and/or blush, put small dots of the High Beam on the very tops of your cheeks. Pat those shimmery light pink dots out with your fingertip. At the outer most areas, buff it with your finger tip to blend it in (or use a sponge). She also put a little on my brow bones. Then, she lightly used Dandelion over it, as well as on my forehead, in a sweeping out action. You definitely want the iridescent quality to show without it being too heavy so it can take a few days before you get the hang of it.

I picked up a copy of Benefit's catalog and liked what I saw. I feel like they have some interesting new products instead of the "same old/same old". I'm anxious to get back there and try some other new things! Herminione sure loves her Benefit "10" and That Gal, too! (see her post above) They also have this lip gloss that has a hint of blue (you don't really see the blue) to make your teeth look whiter. It's super mint scented to make your breath fresh, too. (Sure beats chewing gum!)

BTW: I'm still not ready to give up my Prestige mascara, in spite of the funky smell before it dries! My eyes are a WOW when I wear it. But here's a question for you: How do you think it compares to either DiorShow or Dior Maximeyes?

Oh, and Cate: I don't know when I'm going to make it for the Bare Minerals makeover at this rate!

^I've done that... and nearly scared myself shitless...

I actually hide all my make up purchases from my hubby.. my new blush? it hasn't left my bag because he's been home..

i just bought a new bag that's soo cute.. it's not really make up, but it's still a super cute bag.. and hilarious too!!

Basically there's a little Caucasian girl saying "WOW! You speak English so well!" to an Asian girl (Little Angry Asian Girl), and the LAAG replies, "I was born here you dumbass!"

=P all my friends love it because it's soooo true and has applied to all of us.. i