apologies in advance for the length - and so early in the year!
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Serge Lutens: the only makeup I've ever cared for, aside from the band.
Being continuously sleep deprived I *am* getting dark circles under my eyes. I've never worn much makeup save eyeliner. If I bought makeup, it was always on a whim, and I never did much with any of it but "play" on occasion. Recently, though, my
Serge Lutens guy showed me the (newly available in the states) SL makeup line, and I am now bonkers over it. I mean, I threw away much of what I've accumulated over half a lifetime of "playing" with makeup, and I replaced it all with a small kit that covers nearly all the makeup I could possibly need.
Here it my set with what I consider a reasonable object to use for size comparisons around these parts -- an Ann feather necklace for scale:
(L to R: two water based lip tints, lipstick,
Quant-a-Soi makeup base for dark circles/blemishes, potted kohl liner w/ application pen with two tip shapes, finishing powder that I sometimes use in place of foundation, the only eye color palette offered in the SL line.)
What I love about his line is its thoughtful packaging and the confidence and decisiveness with which he edited the offerings. (A little bit of control freak there?) There is only one blush color for example, one set of colors for the eyes and only one
kohl eyeliner in a pot.
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Lipstick/lipstain
The
water-based lip tints were extraneous purchases for me, but I don't usually wear lipstick so I felt that they could serve as a reasonable compromise. You can wear the water-based lip tint alone or layer it under or over the lipstick, in my case to change it from red-red to a red-orange or a berry red similar to
Chanel's Vamp. Modular.
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Foundation
I hate liquid foundation, and there no detestable liquid foundation to be found in this line. With that alone, he wins. You use the quant-a-soi base, whose texture and feel is magnificent, under the eye and to cover blemishes. You then brush and "set" the powder foundation over it. It stays in place all day - no fuss whatsoever, and most important to me,
you can't feel it. (If you like, you can get the finishing powder for touch ups - I did get it because I hate the idea of touching up with more foundation.)
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Money/the buzzkill/what is best to buy first? how to get the most for least?
It's not cheap: if you bought an "essential" set, as refills where they're available (foundation powder, lipstick, makeup base, eye palette which only comes with the compact, kohl liner), it would cost around $500 w/ tax. (Based on how much I actually wear makeup, most of it would last one to three years before I have to replace something, which is awesome.) For what I think are the must-haves of the line (kohl, foundation powder, quant a soi makeup base), I estimate you'd pay ~ $230 + tax. It was worth it for me to get rid of the little things I've accumulated over the years and to replace it with a perfectly curated and minimal set -- or that's how I justified the (still mind-numbingly painful) cost.
The eyeshadow and foundation compacts, as well as the lipstick, are refillable. The also don't appear to scratch. Since I don't touch up with more foundation, and thus don't need to carry it around, I bought the foundation powder as a refill (sans compact) to save $$$.
The line is sold only at Barneys in the US. The guy I go to is one of the top SL experts in the US - PM if you want his email address. He'll definitely take care of you where fragrance/color samples are concerned, get your colors right
, work with your budget, etc.
And no, I don't get free Serge makeup (I wish!) I am a true fan girl and my enthusiasm overflow-th, per usual. It seems obvious if you're going to pay that much for
anything, you should be talking to the best there is - i.e., my guy - for advice. Also, someone recently told me of a really disappointing, lackluster experience at the SL counter/Barneys NYC. Not at those prices you shouldn't!
MBD
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Originally Posted by MetroBulotDodo
