Earlier this month Laura Mercier released Summer Nudes Collection which consists of six lip glosses and six nail polishes.The following are the complete list of products and color definitions provided by the brand, you can also find press photos here:
Lip Glace ($24.00/ €27.00)
Lip Glace ($24.00/ €27.00)
- Pout – cool soft pink
- Bare Baby– peachy pink
- Pink Diamond– sheer delicate pink
- Bare Blush– deep champagne taupe
- Bare Beige– light neutral brown
- Quartz– rich bronze gold shimmer
- Bare Angel– soft pale pink
- Bare Rose– soft mauve taupe
- Bare Haze– cool slate
- Bare Mocha– cool brown
- Bare Espresso– rich coffee bean
- Cocoa Suede - chocolate brown
Lip glace is supposed to be a lip gloss with more pigmentation. The colors didn't call my name so I passed on those. As for the nail polishes, I remembered the last one, called Cocoa Suede, from Fall Collection, Cinema Noir, you can check it hereat Pam's blog. I found Bare Angel to be too sheer for my taste and Bare Espresse too dark for summer, so I brought home three of the nail polishes, Bare Rose, Bare Haze and Bare Mocha.
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| Laura Mercier Summer Nudes Collection Nail Polishes, Bare Rose, Bare Haze, Bare Mocha |
The first thing upon coming home was to find out about the bottle craziness which is going on with Laura Mercier nail polishes for the past year. Not only the form changes drastically, but also the size of the bottle, check out the following releases to understand what I mean.
Left: Organza from Cinema Noir Fall 2012 Collection, 10.35ml/0.35 OZ.
Middle: Crimson from Art Deco Muse Collection from Holiday 2012, 14 ml/0.46 OZ.
Right: Bare Rose from Summer Nudes Collection from Summer 2013, 11 ml/0.37 OZ.
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| Laura Mercier nail polishes from different collection, from left to right Organza, Crimson, Bare Rose |
What made me smile was to see the confusion about where to write the brand name on the bottles and in which direction. Looking at the trend let me guess that next time they will try to put it perpendicular and on the glass part! *big grin* I usually like the formula of LM nail polishes but in my opinion they should really settle on a concept if they want to be an respected brand on the market. I encourage the company to check Chanel nail polish bottles for the last ten years to see what I mean.
Anyway, moving on to the swatches. A good nude is always welcome to my stash regardless of the bottle shape so let's see if those are qualified to be stacked inside one of my precious shoe boxes (!). Before I start I would like to apologize for any strange artifacts you may see in the photos. I am experimenting with Gimp with no previous Photoshop knowledge so please bare with me and be kind enough ignore anything out of place.
Let's start with the darkest of the bunch, Bare Mocha. It is defined as a cool brown. I wore this shade for three days and it appeared different to me each day. Be it a rich brown, a warm dark taupe or a dark plum, I love such shades which are not easy to explain.
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| Laura Mercier Bare Mocha from Summer Nudes Collection |
The formula and staying power was great. I used two coats for the swatches which was perfectly opaque. Also the formula of Laura Mercier dries very quickly which is a must-have property for me since I am so impatient once it comes to staying still and doing nothing.
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| Laura Mercier Bare Mocha from Summer Nudes Collection |
The second shade I would like to introduce is Bare Haze. As soon as I have seen this one, I was sure that I needed it. I can't resist warm greyish colors which lean to all possible other colors, is it a gray, a mauve, a taupe or khaki? All mixed down, it would be Bare Haze. This shade is also not so dark, makes it perfect regardless of the time of the year or the occasion. Perfect formula, two coats are needed for a good coverage, as seen in the following photos.
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| Laura Mercier Bare Haze from Summer Nudes Collection |
Bare Haze gives you the office friendly nails which matches almost all your outfits without being boring. Too good to be true, isn't it?
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| Laura Mercier Bare Haze from Summer Nudes Collection |
I compared Bare Mocha and Bare Haze to similar nude colors from my stash. As I was expecting, Bare Mocha is rather dupable and very close to both Chanel Particuliere and Dior Trench so if you own any of those, you may want to skip this one.
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| Laura Mercier Summer Nudes Collection Bare Haze and Bare Mocha comparisons |
Bare Haze however proves to be a "lighter" nude which is as interesting and unique as Particuliere. I haven't found anything in my stash which is close to it. Dior Grege leans much more beige and Khaki Rose is too warm and brown once compared. Needless to say, Bare Haze is my favorite of Laura Mercier's Summer Nudes collection.
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| Laura Mercier Summer Nudes Collection Bare Haze and Bare Mocha comparisons on nail wheel |
Last color I would like to present is Bare Rose. I must have been sold by the name, or maybe by the subtle fuchsia micro sheen in the bottle. Unfortunately this doesn't transfer to the nails and Bare Rose needs three coats to become opaque. It is a nice nude for those of you who like mannequien hands but I believe there are other polishes in the market which are opaque with two coats, would give you the same effect and are probably cheaper. So check out the following photos to decide for yourself.
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| Laura Mercier Bare Rose from Summer Nudes Collection |
Comparing Bare Rose would be an insane effort since I own way too many nail polishes which are almost identical. I skipped that and instead tried to capture the pink/fuchsia sheen in the bottle. Isn't it beautiful?
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| Laura Mercier Bare Rose from Summer Nudes Collection |
Final thoughts: I picked up three of the six shades released with Laura Mercier's Summer Nudes Collection. Bare Mocha is nice and complex but very close to Chanel Particuliere and Dior Trench. Bare Haze is very unique and stunning, which is my favorite of this collection. Bare Haze and Bare Mocha need 2 coats to be opaque and both have great formula. Bare Rose needs three coats and it should be flaterring on many skin colors but it is highly dupable. For me only Bare-Haze is a must-have.
Have you checked out this capsule collection of Laura Mercier? Do you find yourself wearing such colors for Summer?