Laura Mercier Master Toolbox

Packed with an array of colors for the eyes and lips, the Laura Mercier Master Toolbox promises endless makeup looks in one sleek, convenient package. Wearing nothing but Laura Mercier products for a couple weeks straight, I put the claim to the test!

Create simple glamour with this handy kit.

With words like "master" and "toolbox" crowding its name, I expected nothing less than the best from this product. Laura Mercier has almost never failed to impress me with her extensive, impressive array of colors suitable for all skin types. The formulas are usually top notch, the eye shadows long lasting and the lip colors extremely pretty. Based on my past experiences with the brand, I was very excited to try the Master Toolbox and see if it could, effectively, become my go-to cosmetic palette. Foremost on my "worthiness" list is whether the product can produce a number of looks with just a few colors – if so, I know it's worth the price and will pay for itself over time.

The "toolbox" is not so much a box as it is a sleek, rectangular palette housed in Mercier's signature brown metallic packaging. It's discreet, simple and not flashy in the least. The compact is divided into two separate palettes – one tier is devoted to the eyes, the other to the lips.

The eye palette contains:

• Chocolate eye shadow (a matte warm brown)
• Fresco eye shadow (a matte rosy-beige brown)
• Morning Dew eye shadow (a light neutral pink)
• Rose eye shadow (a shimmery rose gold)
• Twilight Grey eye shadow (a smoldering dark grey)
• Black Violet kohl eye pencil (a deep inky purple)

The lip palette contains:

• Amaretto lip color (a rich pink-bronze)
• Cinnamon lip color (a deep warm brown)
• Garnet lip color (a vibrant berry red)
• Pink Champagne lip color (a cool natural rose)
• Tea Rose lip color (a natural pink-nude)

Additionally, the kit contains a lip brush and a double-sided eye color brush. One side is flat, wide and perfect for applying color to the entire eyelid. The other side is tapered to deposit color to those hard-to-reach corners.

With several colors, it follows that there are several looks to be created with this handy toolbox. In fact, I discovered fairly quickly that it's adaptable for day and night usage.

A day at the office or spent running errands hardly requires a heavily made up face. This palette offers several neutral possibilities. One of my favorite combinations is Morning Dew all over the entire lid, with a touch of Fresco or Rose in the crease. A touch of mascara is enough to lend the eyes an appropriate daytime finish. Alternately, dust Rose all over the lid and press Fresco into the outer corners of the lid. The juxtaposition between matte and shimmer colors is quietly striking.

Don't forget the lips! Though the colors in the lip palette are generally on the deeper side, a couple of the shades work very well for daytime wear. Tea Rose and Pink Champagne are both practical shades that are neutral enough to work well with any color scheme. Pull off a deeper lip, such as Amaretto, by toning it down with a hint of pink or champagne colored lip gloss.

As soon as the sun sets, it's time to break out the bold, brilliant colors. This palette makes it exceptionally easy to create a look that stops traffic. Use it to pull off a dramatic smoky eye by first applying Black Violet liner on the top lash line, tracing from the inner to the outer corner. Follow suit on the lower lash line. This liner is quite easy to smudge, so rub a pinky finger or cotton swab across both lash lines to set the smoky tone.

Follow up by covering your lids with Twilight Grey or Chocolate – your choice, depending on whether you want to make a strong, edgy statement with the grey or a slightly less smoldering one with the brown. Either way, your eyes will definitely look fierce! Finish with a dusting of neutral shadow, like Morning Dew, over the brow bone and two coats of black mascara.

A smoky eye demands a less bold lip, even at night. I found great success by blending Garnet with a light lip gloss, such as gold. Blot the color to lessen its intensity – this creates the perfect eye-lip balance. You don't want to go overboard, after all. Alternately, you might wish to play up your lips and keep the eyes low key. That's easy, too. Just use one of the darker lip shades and relegate the eye area to a wash of neutral shadow and a coat or two of mascara.

As I quickly found out, it's practically impossible to go wrong the Laura Mercier Master Toolbox. Loaded with flattering shades that are easy to mix and match, it provides a variety of looks in one convenient place. It's a great buy well worth the $68 price tag. The limited edition kit is available online at Laura Mercier's Web site.

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