the Hannah Hardy

About
–Launched in 1996 by Laura Mercier 
–She couldn’t find the formulas, colors, and textures she wanted so she set out to create her own
–Introduced the first foundation primer to create a perfect canvas for makeup application
–Best known for loose translucent powder and tinted moisturizer
–Available at Ulta, Sephora, Nordstrom, lauramercier.com, and many other stores

Best Product: Caviar Sticks
Underrated Product: Matte Radiance Baked Powder in Highlight-01 Golden Nude

Buy: Caviar Sticks
Pass: Foundation & concealer

Improve: Shade range

Tried
–Translucent Loose Setting Powder (review)
–Velour Extreme Matte Lipstick (review)
–Silk Crème Moisturizing Photo Edition Foundation (review)
–Caviar Volume Panoramic Mascara (review)
–Flawless Fusion Ultra Longwear Concealer (review)
–Caviar Sticks
–Pure Canvas Blurring Primer
–Secret Blurring Powder for Under Eyes
–Matte Radiance Baked Powder Highlighter
–Rouge Essentiel Silky Crème Lipstick
–Longwear Lip Liner
–Oil Free Tinted Moisturizer SPF 20 (review coming!)

My Opinion
If you haven’t heard of the renowned Loose Translucent Setting Powder and you’re slightly into makeup, you must be living under a rock. It is a phenomenal powder and definitely lives up to the hype. It locks your foundation in place for all day wear and keeps oil at bay. I have dry skin so I have to tread lightly with it, but when I had oily skin, it was the only powder that would control my oil all day. I’ve tried one of her foundations, but even her fair shades are dark, too dark for me. Her shade range is ok, most foundations come in 30 shades, but there is still room for improvement. I think you can find cheaper alternatives for almost all of her products with the exception of my two favorites—Caviar Sticks and Velour Extreme Matte Lipsticks. The Caviar Sticks or so pigmented and depending on the finish you get, extremely metallic. A few swipes of the stick and a quick blend gives you an eye shadow look that is gorgeous and it looks like you tried, when you really just used that one product. The Velour Extreme Matte lipsticks are matte and long lasting but not drying. I want EVERY shade. I like several products from the brand, but it’s very expensive and I can find products that do the same for much cheaper.

About
–Started in 1985
–Provide prestige-quality color cosmetics to all makeup users
–Affordable luxury cosmetics
–On-trend, innovative, and exceptional quality products
–Cruelty free
–Available at Ulta, Target, CVS, lagirlusa.com

Best Product: HD Pro Concealer
Underrated Product: Shockwave Neon Lipliner

Buy: Lip products
Pass: —

Improve: Foundation offerings and shades

Tried
–HD Pro Concealer (review)
–Pro Matte Foundation (review)
–Pro Coverage Illuminating Foundation (I use the white shade to lighten products)
–Shockwave Neon Lipliner
–Lip Attraction Lipstick
–Jetsetter Mascara (review coming!)
–Glide Gel Eyeliner Pencil
–Shady Slim Brow Pencil
–Shockwave Neon Eyeliner
–Ultimate Intense Stay Auto Eyeliner

To Try
–Strobe Lite Strobing Powder 
–Primer Spray
–Line Art Matte Eyeliner
–Volumatic Mascara
– Blending Sponge

My Opinion
You can’t beat LA Girl’s prices. Their most expensive item is $18. You can get a full face of good, quality products without breaking the bank. I’m a big fan of their lip products and eye liners. I use their Pro Coverage Illuminating Foundation in white all the time and I have gone through multiple bottles of it. The only downside is it’s not as easily accessible as other more affordable brands like elf. My Target has more recently started carrying it, but prior to that, I could only get it online. I feel that they are best known for their HD Pro Concealer and for good reason. It’s a PHENOMENAL concealer and it’s $5 and comes in a ton of shades. They only have two foundations—a matte and an illuminating formula—but the shade range isn’t the best. I hope they will release new shades in these formulas and continue to expand their product offerings.