We’ve all made makeup blunders, from a cakey face, to raccoon eyes, to patchy lip color, and have since vowed to stay away from those “cursed” products after seeing our reflections. They just aren’t for us, we decide, because it works so well on the rest of the female population.
While there are many different factors that contribute to a botched beauty look, such as the all important application, the quality of the product can be a close second. Mumified faces instead of evened out skin can be a result of some powders, and resembling a panda rather than defined eyes is often due to a terribly smudgy eyeliner. So instead of trying the famed “no makeup makeup” look, we just go for no makeup at all.
The demand for natural beauty has hit an all time high perhaps because of technological developments. Now that our cameras capture such sharp images, there is less need to highlight features as compared to the Golden Era of Hollywood where a strong red lip was the only way to look like you had lips on camera. High definition has also made seamless makeup a standard; couple that with developments in beauty results in the clamor for au naturel makeup. There’s certainly no more room cakey face.
French makeup artist and co-founder of the eponymous cosmetic brand Laura Mercier recently added four new products to its offerings, refining makeup staples like powder foundation, primer, lipstick, and eyeliner to make ‘no makeup makeup’ even easier to achieve. It’s almost as if Laura Mercier created a SWOT analysis of each product and transformed the weaknesses into strengths. Don’t get the picture yet? Here’s a quick rundown as explained by the brand’s International Makeup Artist Jeffrey Tasker during his recent visit to Manila.
Lipstick that feels likes skin
“Laura wanted to create a lipstick that was 100% wax free. What she wanted was no lipstick lipstick. She wanted lips when you put it on,” Tasker said. That icky feeling when you put on lip color? That’s what she worked to remove for three years despite the lab’s insistence that it was impossible not to have wax on lipstick. Wax is the binding agent for pigment and keeps lipstick together. The Rouge Nouveau Weightless Lip Colour is 100% wax free, so it doesn’t have that sticky feeling but it has the same benefits of lipstick, lots of color. “It’s the first time on the market there is a lipstick that is 100% wax free lipstick. These are conditioning to the lips but they feel very lightweight,” Tasker said.
Rouge Nouvea Weightless Lip Colour defies the usual pitfalls of lipstick; if it is longwearing, it must be drying, and if it doesn’t feel like lipstick, it probably has no color. It is also fragrance free and comes in three finishes, matte, cream, and sheer, and 15 shades. “I especially love the sheers, we created the sheer for the bitten-lip look,” Tasker said.
Smudge-proof eyeliner
Ever wore on your upper eyelid in the morning only to find that you may have lined your bottom lashline by lunch hour too? The Longwear crème Eye Pencil doesn’t budge, is waterproof, and has intense color. Use it to define your eyes or make your lashes look fuller by dotting and wiggling the pencil very closely into your lashline. It comes in six shades, Noir, Espresso, Slate, Violet, Cobalt, and Sage. If you want to turn the notch up your lash definition but don’t want to go full on black eyeliner, try using Slate or gray eyeliner. It’s bolder than brown, but isn’t as intense as black.
Beautiful, flawless skin
Laura Mercier is known for makeup that aims to even out and smoothen complexion. Its primers are the bestselling primers worldwide, because “our primers are water-based not silicone-based. It allows the products underneath it to work and allows skin to breathe,” Tasker said. Its two biggest additions and launches are in the face category, the Foundation Primer—Protect with SPF 30 PA+++ and the Smooth Finish Foundation Powder.
Protect with SPF 30 PA+++ “is for the consumer who wants sun protection without adding a step,” Tasker said. Primer is an important step because it acts as a sealant to your skincare products and the base to which your foundation adheres to. It keeps the makeup from affecting your skincare products. A little secret he shared was Mercier uses the brand’s Hydrating Primer even at night when she isn’t putting on makeup to seal in her skincare while Tasker has been using this, and has since received many compliments on his skin. “It has True Color Complex on it, so put anything on top of it, it stays true to the tone and it does not change colors,” Tasker said.
The second launch, Tasker is convinced, “is going to do so amazing in the Philippines!” It’s selling well in North America and Europe. The Smooth Finish Foundation Powder is what “Laura calls the next generation of foundation powders. The reason for it is foundation powders don’t move. When you smile, it cracks,” Tasker begins to explain. But this two-way powder is different because it is powder but it looks like skin. Yup, you read that right. It disappears into your skin seamlessly but evens out your complexion.
Tasker uses the brand’s Finishing Face Brush to apply this and advises to use the sponge it comes with for touch ups. The best part? You don’t need a separate concealer to retouch your imperfections. Just use your concealer in the morning and go over it again with this powder foundation when needed, and you’re good to go. It works even under the eye, where the finest of powders should be used, because it doesn’t settle into facial lines. He says it’s great for women who like to do highlight and contouring because of its seamless effect and it does not oxidize, meaning the color doesn’t change on your skin. Tasker used this for his visit; “Manila will always test whether it turns or not!” The color stayed true.
Try the “no makeup makeup” with these new formulations and look like there’s nothing on. It won’t even feel like there is.
Laura Mercier is available at Rustan’s and is also located at the 2/F Glorietta 4, Ayala Center, Makati City.
source: interaksyon.com
