Laura Mercier Smooth Finish Flawless Fluide in Ecru - review and swatch

I love Laura Mercier. While I gravitate towards brands that are bit more bold in their point of you, no-one can dispute the understated sophistication of the LM brand or the cult status of their face products. I do own their Tinted moisturiser, of which is considered the measure of which all tinted moisturisers are help up to. I thought it was really good, I owned it and used it ,but it was never quite the right colour match. Fast forward a few years and I jumped once again onto the LM bandwagon and bought the new Smooth Finish Flawless Fluide. This time I had the luxury of being colour matched at a Sephora with their foundation matching gadget. An excellent handheld machine that was spot on in it's selection of shade - Ecru. I did not purchase it at the time but was given a generous sample. A dear friend (McG!) facilitated this purchase for me as the sample sold me on the product!

The packaging is utilitarian - lightweight plastic. No bells and whistles - but its what inside that counts. It is an oil free formula that needs to be shaken before application to mix up the bi-phase formula. It is quite liquid when I place it on the back of my hand. I use fingers for best application. I find that it is extremely similar to Armani Maestro  Fusion foundation - yet this formula is more forgiving as and it provides far more cover than the Maestro, yet it is still weightless in texture and looks invisible on my skin. Skin looks like perfected skin- it evens out my skin tone really well. I do have oily skin - it works pretty well to keep it fresh not a total oil slick. Ecru is described as 'Light with cool undertones'. Strangely, when I first purchased this when it was first released I could have sworn that it described as 'Light with neutral undertones' - which actually describes my skin more accurately (this reads more rosy to me than cool?) - nevertheless.....

Ecru

I have been loving this foundation and it is a fabulous addition to my foundation wardrobe. If you struggled with Armani's maestro, but want this 'type' of foundation, this LM Fluide might be what you are looking for.

Laura Mercier Face Illuminator in Spellbound - Fall 2013

Laura Mercier released her Dark Spell Fall 2013 collection ahead of many brands. I love the collection image- it really conjures up deep, dense looks with within a haze of molten rose gold that is Spellbound.
I was able to get this, my first LM illuminator, and would like more from the collection, but they were not yet available at the counter. A have quite a few of her products even thought I have not reviewed them, but Spellbound is a real stand out.

This metallic rose gold powder is housed in a lightweight, but sizeable black compact. The powder has a swirling look as you would get when peering into a cauldron with a spell being stirred. It is really pretty. While this illuminator has quite a metallic finish, it is only more apparent when light hits it at different angles. I have swatched it quite heavily, on the cheeks it has less pigment but still with a definite rose gold gilded effect.

Swatched Heavy

Applied to cheek

Have you been enticed by any of the Laura Mercier Dark Spell Collection?