Skin & Tonics : Skincare Guides & Product Reviews

I love vanilla ice cream – I simply don’t believe a brownie sundae can be done the same justice with any other flavor of ice cream. But sometimes, vanilla ice cream is boring, and what I really need is a pint of chocolate ice cream chock full of chocolate covered, peanut butter filled pretzels (I’m really hungry right now, by the way). Much like vanilla ice cream, there’s no replacement for a palette of brown-toned neutral eyeshadows, but sometimes I get a little bored with them, especially when I’m shopping limited edition holiday palettes. For this reason, I was really excited to discover this year’s limited edition Laura Mercier Artist’s Palette for Eyes.

The Laura Mercier Artist’s Palette for Eyes ($48) is full of a dozen eyeshadows, primarily in the pink and violet range, with just a sprinkling of browns to round things out. It contains a nice mixture of lights, darks, mattes, and shimmers. The top row consists of the cooler shades, while the bottom row is comprised of warm shades.

The clasp is magnetic! I love a magnetic clasp.

The colors in this palette are:

Sparkling Dew – Very light, shimmering, cool pink
Guava – Cool toned, shimmering peachy pink with gold flecks
African Violet – Cool, shimmering, pinky-violet with gold flecks (and really, the star of this palette)
Plum Smoke – Matte, cool-toned, light plum
Kir Royal – Matte, cool, rich, medium plum
Violet Ink – Matte, cool, deep plum
Vanilla Nuts – Very light, matte, warm cream
Primrose – Light, shimmering, warm peach
Fresco – Matte, medium-toned, warm peach
Bamboo – Warm, shimmering, medium taupe
Truffle – Matte, warm, rich, medium brown
Espresso Bean – Matte, warm, deep brown

Nearly all the colors have a perfectly, buttery texture with amazing color payoff – akin to what I get from most of my Urban Decay and Lorac shadows. The exceptions were the lightest shades, Sparking Dew and Vanilla Nuts, which were a bit powdery. The Sparkling Dew seemed to have slightly better payoff than Vanilla Nuts, but this doesn’t stop me from using either one as highlighters. African Violet, on the other hand, is now one of my favorite eyeshadows in my entire collection.

Top: Sparkling Dew, Guava, African Violet
Bottom: Vanilla Nuts, Primrose, Fresco

I’ve gotten up to 11 hours of wear without any visible signs of fading. I alternate between Too Faced Shadow Insurance and Urban Decay Primer Potion for my eyeshadow primer, and have noticed that the Too Faced Shadow Insurance seems to make the colors in this palette pop a little more.

Top: Plum Smoke, Kir Royal, Violet Ink
Bottom: Bamboo, Truffle, Espresso Bean

I’m extremely happy with the Laura Mercier Artist’s Palette for Eyes. I highly recommend it for anyone looking to expand her collection with wearable, work and weekend appropriate shades that aren’t just brown. The only people that might not be happy with this palette are those who picked up last year’s Laura Mercier Palette for Eyes, since four of the shades in this year’s palette are the same as last year’s (Vanilla Nuts, Guava, African Violet, and Plum Smoke). I missed out on last year’s offering, so I couldn’t be happier with my Laura Mercier Artist’s Palette for Eyes. Well, I could be happier actually – if Vanilla Nuts showed up a little better, and I had a pint of chocolate ice cream filled with chocolate covered, peanut butter filled pretzels.

Guava on the inner lid, African Violet on the outer lid, a little Bamboo in the outer crease, and Vanilla Nuts as a brow highlight

Pros:
+ Great variety of 12 shades and finishes
+ Extremely wearable, every day colors that aren’t just brown
+ 10 of the shadows have amazing color payoff
+ 10 of the shadows have smooth, buttery texture

Cons:
– Vanilla Nuts and Sparkling Dew are dryer and have less color payoff than the others
– 4 of the colors are the same as last year’s palette

Skin & Tonics Rating:

Performance: 4/5 – Great color payoff (for 10 of the shades), extremely long-wearing

Quality: 5/5 – Great texture (for 10 of the shades), and the case is both sturdy and beautiful

Value: 4/5 – $48 for $108 worth of high-quality shadows in a single palette is a pretty great value

Overall: 4.4/5

Where to Buy

The Laura Mercier Artist’s Palette for Eyes is a Sephora exclusive, where it retails for $48. I bought mine online at Sephora.com.

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