On My Desk Now: Summer Love Preview

Summer is around the corner, and tons of goodies are popping up on my desk to try. It makes me yearn for the beach now!

Bare Legs and Sandaled Feet
I love the Perfect Heels Rescue Balm by This Works for my feet, NARS Monoi Body Glow Bronzing Body Oil for hydrated and temporarily bronzed legs, and Chanel’s metallic nail polish in Canter - a fabulous 70’s gold - for toes (available in select stores only). 

Warm Nights Out

Chanel’s new cream Stylo Eyeshadows in Bleu Nuit and Vert Grisé are to die for, and are perfect for creating a smokey eye (available in select stores only). Bumble and bumble’s new Surf Foam Spray is perfect for that textured, salty hair look.

Weekend Sheer SPF 

I am in love with the new La Roche-Pose Anthelios SPF 60 that is oil-free!!! Light, sheer and heavenly, it’s my new soccer field go-to!

New + Notable: Spring Eye Palette Love

I love a good palette. They just make life easier. Compact, easy to travel with, and beautiful to look at - here are three of my newest favorites:

1. The By Terry Sun Designer Palettes in No. 1 and No. 2 are very Missoni.

2. The NARS Laguna Tiare Bronzer actually smells like Tahitian Manoi, so you get bronzed and feel like you’re on a tropical island at the same time.

3. The Laura Mercier Extreme Neutrals Eye Palette is full of neutrals but also has the beautiful lavenders – which wear well with ethereal white for summer time.

 I love spring!! Share your spring looks with me on Instagram: @marla.beck

New + Notable: On My Desk Right Now

1. Heavenly Scents

I am in love with the new Jo Malone The Herb Garden scents. Fresh, light and original, my favorites are Lavender & Coriander and Sorrel & Lemon Thyme!

2. Lip Line Fix

Patchology Flashpatch Lip Gels: Five-minute hydration that helps with my aging lip lines. I am sold!

3. Raw Beauty 

Sometimes I toy with a detox raw diet, so why not raw skincare?  Raw is Everything Raspberry Seed Oil is deliciously nourishing and protecting. Not to mention one of my newest and most favorite indie entrepreneurs - coming soon to bluemercury.com! 

4. Spring Lip Perfection

NARS always wins. I love these new neutrals - Instant Crash and Vida Loca.

5. Illuminating Bronzer & Strobing Powders

The latest trend and Bobbi Brown is right in there – these are my favorites: Bobbi Brown Nude Finish Illuminating Powders.

6. Instant Sleep

The By Terry Crayon Khôl Terrybly in White Wish on the inside of your lower lid creates the illusion of immediate sleep.

7. Between Blow Dry Help

Yes I over-process and over-blow dry. My ends are fried. But Living Proof comes to the rescue with the Fresh Cut Split End Mender. Right on dry hair – it fixes my ends before I blow out the front door in the morning. 

Soft & Sweet

While there are many bold and bright spring trends, I must say, I am always partial to the soft and sweet nude lip. I have the good fortune to have oodles and oodles of stuff sent to me by the most creative brands in the world. As I got up this morning, I was looking around for a lip color, and came upon NARS Mayflower. I don’t know when I got it, or how. I have a feeling they gave it to me in their office one day, but I LOVE this color. It was from Spring 2011’s collection and is a semi-sheer soft pink rose with the tiniest hint of sparkle (I am NOT a sparkle person). Loving it for spring.

Gwyneth, Nars & The Oscars

As many of you know, I am a huge fan of NARS and a huge fan of Gwyneth Paltrow. I love how this busy mom of two keeps in shape, has glowing skin and of course, wears NARS. Her gorgeous goddess look at the Oscars came from NARS and I am running to my makeup drawers to see what I have that she used:

1. PURE RADIANT TINTED MOISTURIZER $42
Launching now, this is my new favorite tinted moisturizer, with SPF30. My color is Alaska.

2. SUPER ORGASM ILLUMINATOR $30
Have and love—just a quick dab to the cheeks and voilà—glow.

3. ALHAMBRA DUO EYESHADOW $34
Running to bluemercury to get.

4. LARGER THAN LIFE VOLUMIZING MASCARA $25
Have and love.

5. ODALISQUE LARGER THAN LIFE LIP GLOSS $26
Running to bluemercury to get.

NARS does it again…I love this brand!

Oldies but Goodies - Fall Makeup

I felt like I was stuck in an August makeup rut so I rummaged through my makeup drawers for some fall colors. Here are my new addictions to old products for fall:

1. Laura Mercier Chestnut Lip Pencil. This goes with any fall neutral - it's the only lip pencil I am gravitating towards right now.

2. Nars Belize Lip Gloss. The perfect light nude to go with high drama eyes, which I love.

3. Bobbi Brown Caviar Eye Shadow + Trish McEvoy Brush 11 Precise Eye Lining. This is the perfect fall eyeliner. The color is the deepest chocolate with a hint of amethyst but looks almost black. Perfect for day to night and is striking with leather - which is everywhere!

4. Nars Orgasm Multiple mixed with Nars Laguna Multiple. My skin color is so blah as we transition from summer to fall - orgasm brightens while the depth comes from bronzy Laguna.

I feel much better with my new old colors!

The High Risk Smokey Eye

Wolf Blitzer of the Situation Room on CNN

Bret Baier of Special Report on Fox News


Was getting ready for White House Correspondent's dinner parties when I decided I was going to experiment and innovate with a smokey eye. Usually I use a Laura Mercier's Coffee Ground, a deep matte brown, all over my lid and in the crease for the 2-minute smokey eye. But for some reason on Saturday night I was feeling extra daring. So I pulled out my brand new NARS 15x15 palette and used 4 colors for a smokey eye. This could have easily been a disaster, but I was LUCKY!. Used eyeshadow base, then Edie (shimmery bone) over entire lid, then used Underworld 1, a shimmery silver in crease and on lid, blended Underworld II, a deep midnight shimmer blue all over lid and in crease, with a heavy hand on the corners. Lined top and bottom of eyes with Night Breed, a black shimmery NARS classic, and voila - a midnight blue smokey eye. This could have completely backfired. But taking a risk at home in your bathroom with makeup is really not so risky when you think about it!

Capitol File after party was a blast - Wolf Blitzer, Ewan McGregor, Ashley Judd, Kim Kardashian, etc. Washington meets Hollywood - par for the course these days!

The March to 40

I will be turning 40 in May. When I started bluemercury at age 29, I had none of the skin concerns I have now - hyperpigmentation, fine lines around the eyes. Here are the things I really notice between 35 and 40:

1. Getting small indentation on chin. Dermatologist said that is from tensing facial muscles and loss of tiny fat deposits. Her solution: Restalyne. My solution: live with it.

2. Uneven skin tone. Too many years of California sun on fair skin are starting to show. My solution: glycolic acid peels (either at bluemercury spa or Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare Alpha Beta Daily Peel Pads), Vitamin C (the miracle collagen building, spot busting vitamin), and a little better coverage on the foundation front. (NARS Sheer Glow in Fiji or Bobbi Brown Skin SPF 15 or Dr. Dennis Gross All-in-One Tinted Moisturizer Sunscreen SPF 15).

3. Eyelids starting to wrinkle at inner corner. No one told me about this one! Just noticed it last year. Eyeliner starts to flutter up wrinkles in the morning after I first apply. Solution: little dose of Bobbi Brown or Laura Mercier concealer on inner corner prior to application of all over eye shadow. And a q-tip for touch up after.

I'll take 40 over 29 any day, I am much wiser and more at peace. And the beauty challenges - I'll tackle those one at a time!

Heart-broken

I was traveling last week and my NARS Laguna Bronzing Powder broke into a million pieces. I didn’t realize how attached I was to this glorious bronzer, until this happened. I discovered bronzer when I was a teen – I used to use the Guerlain orange-looking one. (If you look at my pictures – I definitely have an orange tint!) There is nothing like a bronzer to give you that quick sun-kissed look. NARS Laguna is my absolute go to – the perfect hint of sun, a little glimmer, no orange. I often put it over a pinkish or coral blush. Right now – I am layering it over NARS Penny Lane Cream Blush. I already ran to bluemercury to pick up another. It is now back in my life and I am no longer broken-hearted (or broken-bronzered).

Palm Beach 4: Makeup Oldies But Goodies

None of my typical makeup was really "working" for me in Palm Beach. My brown eyeshadows for fall were too dull. My pink matte blushes (think Nars Penny Lane) too flat. My lipsticks (Laura Mercier Rose or Bobbi Brown Tulle) too wrong. So I had to dig into my bag (I brought 5, gallon-size ziploc bags of makeup and skincare) and reset my makeup. I went back to a shadow I started wearing 8 years ago - Trish McEvoy Cashmere (although discontinued Trish Matte Eye Shadow in Heather and Glaze Eye Shadow in Rose Quartz are good equivalents). Bobbi Brown Bone Eyeshadow all over my lid, Trish McEvoy Cashmere in my crease, and a deep purple eyeliner (Trish McEvoy Arabian Nights) became my old but new Palm Beach look. For blush - I used NARS South Beach Multiple (South Beach, Palm Beach it is all Florida). Lips - Laura Mercier Blush Lip Glace - another color I have worn for years and years. The purple hue on the eyes worked much better then my typical brown eyeshadows and blue eyeliners. Voila - oldies but goodies. Everyone has them!

My Relationship with Lip Gloss

I have a strange relationship with lip gloss. I have tons, I am not loyal, and I am constantly losing and finding them. So if you ask me what I would give a girl friend (or myself) for the holidays – the answer is so easy: one of the cute limited edition lip gloss sets that come out only this time of year and then disappear. They are perfect. You get variety, quantity, and quality. It’s a great way to try out new colors that you wouldn’t normally try. And they tuck right into a festive, but tiny evening clutch. Some of my favorites for this season are:
Laura Mercier Mini Lip Glace Set
NARS D. Lovely Lip Gloss Coffret
Bobbi Brown Lip Gloss Trio

I, of course, cannot choose and will be owning all three. Which is for you?