I am almost always late in the morning, because I always want that extra few minutes of sleep and tell myself I'll be speedy enough to make up for it. It's rarely true. In an effort to remedy this (while still getting those precious snoozes, of course), I've been trying to streamline my beauty routine.
If I were extraordinarily efficient, I could do my whole beauty routine in 15 minutes, but I am not, so it usually takes about 25-30. Eye makeup is often a time eater, since applying/blending eyeshadow can be a challenge when tired and mostly blind, so I decided to cave and finally try one of the Laura Mercier Caviar Sticks in the hopes it could be a swipe-and-go kind of product.* I chose Khaki, wanting a versatile but not boring neutral, and owning too many (purpley) taupes to justify Amethyst.
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| a rather uninspiring picture of the unused product |
Khaki is described as a "neutral taupe with pearl", which is accurate-ish**.
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| one swipe blended out (left) and straight from stick (right) |
Compared to my other taupes, it's really different, but mine tend towards the grey/purple end of the taupe spectrum, and Khaki is very brown. I also see some olive in it, but compared to other greens, it's clearly not.
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| Laura Mercier Khaki, L'Oreal Gilded Envy, Sleek Original olive |
The texture is just unbelievable, really wonderfully creamy and pigmented and smooth––every time I apply it, I'm re-amazed. I tend to swipe it along my upper lashline then blend it up and out using a dense brush (the Real Techniques Crease brush works fantastically for this). I also tap my ring finger on the tip of the stick and transfer the product to my eyes; this has the advantage of working when my crease brush is dirty, and allows for a sheerer wash, but it doesn't offer quite as much precision. My eyelids are oily, like the rest of my skin, so I always wear primer (UDPP works the best for me), but I did try wearing Khaki on bare lids one morning; it lasted 4 hours with minimal creasing, so I do believe that it wears well alone on those with drier lids, but I shall continue to prep with primer. It's pretty on its own, giving some definition without being dramatic, but I often augment it with other (powder) shadows. I also often swipe a small definer brush along the stick and apply to my lower lashline, which works well.
Here it is blended on the lid with Inglot 352 on the browbone, NYC Waterproof 932 Dark Brown on upper lashline, and L'Oreal Telescopic on curled lashes:
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| Ack, wrinkles! |
And here it is on the lid with L'Oreal Gilded Envy patted on lid, MAC Dalliance blended in crease, Inglot 352 on browbone, and Tarina Tarantino Fleur de Lash on curled lashes.
Even though it's only 0.05 oz, it's really long, and while the packaging weighs too much for me to calculate g/use, I think it will last a very long time, especially as it doesn't need to be sharpened. Now I want more. Sand Glow and Grey Pearl and Orchid and Moonlight are all calling to me. Next time there's a sale, I'll pick up another one or two :)
Overview
Quality: 9
Effectiveness: 4.25
Ease of Use: 5
Senses: 5
Pigmentation: 5
Duration: 4.25
Consistency: 5
Price: 1
Value: 4
Grade: B
*I'm so incredibly slow about reviewing things that companies keep increasing the retail price between me purchasing something and actually writing about it. Yargh!
**I taught my students that suffix, and sometimes when I ask them if they understand something, they respond "ish" with a hand wiggle. I'm so proud.
What do you think of Khaki? Have you tried any of the Caviar sticks? What's your favorite time-saving strategy?
