Freshly Baked Beauty...
There's just something about marbleized powder that I find so intriguing.
At first glance, I am always intimidated, but I have this primal need to figure out where every drop of color will go...
The Laura Geller Fresh Baked Beauty Collection gives you the opportunity to experiment with 5 different compacts of swirly delights. For my part, I was new to this line, but after several applications, I must say that I am a fan. It is much easier to use than I anticipated, and at $60, this is a really good deal.
At first, I found the Balance-n-Brighten a little intriguing, because I wasn't quite sure how this seemingly artistic product was going to eradicate the redness in my face. Sadly, I suffer from a rather pale complexion which I have learned to embrace (well, not really... but that's another story). Anyway, I initially doubted that this product could even out my rather Irish skin tone. And I must say that it came through with flying colors. On particularly "rough" days, I still think a liquid foundation is your best bet for intense coverage. But, this sure does the trick in terms of finishing things off to give you a dewy, just-stepped-out-of-the-spa look.
The Blush-n-Brighten in Pink Grapefruit integrates all sorts if yummy pinkish tones that make your cheeks just glow. The product worked well with my fair skin, but I think it would look even better on a tanned complexion. So, if you don't want to use it right now, just save it for summer.
I found the Baked Cake Eyeliner Duo in Blueberry/Dutch Chocolate to be a little tricky at first. I did not read all of the instructions upon my first pass, and things were, err, a bit messy. Round 2: I wet a skinny brush and applied the liner. Wow, the product cast a gorgeous cat-like effect over my eyes. And if you put this stuff on wet, it looks awesome. Translation: no smudges. Okay, I don't quite have Audrina eyes, but it's close!
The Baked Marble Eyeshadow in Blue Icing/Coffee Cake really brought out my azure tones and made me feel especially glamorous. The stark contrasts in the hues of the powder created a nice contrast, and I found the Coffee Color to be particularly sparkly (and perfect for party mode!).
The Lip Gloss in Rosy Nude gave me just a hint of shimmer and created a classic pout. Considering the bold eye statements that this kit provides, a subtle lip is a good choice. It shows that you know how to edit and can put together a sophisticated look.
I LOOOVE baked makeup because it generally tends to be more richly pigmented than powder - you get deeper, richer, stronger hues that last way longer. And like Jamie says, one of the best tricks with baked is using it wet - you get an awesome shiny metallic effect with it.