Sarah Jessica Parker designs new Laura Mercier palette

A new makeup palette designed by Sarah Jessica Parker, a cream foundation that gives you hi-def coverage … this is just a fraction of the beauty news from Laura Mercier.

As someone who’s helped hone the images of the most stylish women in show business, from Madonna (Laura did the makeup for all her music videos) to Julia Roberts (responsible for Roberts’ public “game face”) to Sarah Jessica Parker (they’re BFFs in real life), Laura Mercier has always occupied one of the top spots in the pantheon of celebrity makeup artists.

A Healthy Glow Courtesy Of Sjp

One of the breakthrough products coming to the Philippines shortly is Bonne Minne, a portable makeup palette Mercier created because of Sarah Jessica Parker.

“Laura is best friends with Sarah Jessica; they do everything together,” reveals Sean Stevenson, Laura Mercier Cosmetics’ regional training manager, who flew in from Chicago to launch her fall 2010 Mystique collection at Rustan’s. “We were all sitting at dinner when Sarah Jessica pulls out of her handbag this little compact that she made herself. She took all these cream products we used to make, smashed them down into a palette and said, ‘Laura, I want you to make this.’”

Mercier looked at the palette, which was full of bronzes, creams and highlighters that would give instant radiance to the face, and said, “Oh, my gosh, why do we not have this?” So they went to the lab and made it, christening it Bonne Minne, which is French for “healthy glow.”

“It’s a palette that’s all creams,” Stevenson says. “And even though it tends to be more humid and hot here, they’re water-resistant and oil-free, so it’s really designed that you can just open it up, put your fingers on it and apply it anywhere. You don’t need brushes and tools. It’s just really simple.”

Best of all, the palette, which will be released for holiday 2010, will only be available at Rustan’s and Sephora in the United States, “because Filipino women like easy, on-the-go makeup,” Stevenson notes.

Crème Smooth Foundation: Airbrushed Perfection

Personally, I love Laura’s philosophy of the Flawless Face and the products designed to achieve it. I was a long-time user of her oil-free liquid foundation until my skin went from combination to dry and I switched to her tinted moisturizer. I also can’t live without her Secret Concealer to camouflage my dark circles.

So any new addition to the Flawless Face range registers on my radar, and the new Crème Smooth foundation promises to be a major blip.

“This new foundation launch is huge since we’re known for our foundations,” Stevenson says. “It’s a really beautiful whipped foundation in a jar that’s designed to give fuller coverage, but it’s great for women on the go that want something really quick and easy.”

Stevenson says Crème Smooth gives you an airbrushed look great for HD (high-definition) cameras, and he’s already demonstrated its groundbreaking properties on Oprah in Chicago, applying it on Winfrey’s guests. It took six labs and four years for Mercier — who as creative director has 100-percent control over product development — to perfect the formula, the secret ingredient of which is argan oil.

“Argan oil is a great anti-aging therapeutic oil, so even if you have oilier skin, it’s just healing,” Sean says. “Other anti-aging ingredients like Dermaxyl stop the formation of fine lines and wrinkles and actually plump the fine lines on your face. You’ll see a 31-percent reduction.”

But while Crème Smooth is a great consumer product it’s also makeup-artist-driven, with coated pigments you’ll find only in professional-quality makeup. “A really teeny bit goes a long way,” Stevenson continues. “Instead of sheering out on the face it really stays put and is transfer-resistant, so in a more humid climate like here it’s really going to stay on the skin.”

He recommends applying it sheer all over your face with fingers, and stippling it into the skin with a dry sponge for more coverage. You won’t even need a foundation brush.

Sequin: Eye Drama

Made to complement Crème Smooth’s airbrushed look is Sequin, a collection of glittering, almost 3D eye shadows that takes its cue from fall fashions. “Sequins were really shown on runways at New York Fashion Week big time,” notes Sean. “People were wearing sequined brooches and accessories, so we decided to do the same type of thing except in an eye shadow.”

Just as its tickity-tack to wear too much sequins, these high-shine shadows are meant to be used sparingly, as an accessory to more neutral makeup. Stevenson recommends placing it on the middle of your upper eyelid to highlight or using it as eyeliner to open up the entire eye. “It’s a very dramatic look so pair it with something really sheer on the lips, like bronze, gold and platinum,” he advises.

Mystique: Tough Luxe

The current Mystique collection also has SJP’s stamp of approval: her blush throughout Sex and the City 2 was Mercier’s brand-new cheek color City Pink.

Mystique also includes almost-nude lipsticks with a hint of color, three new lip glosses (the standout is Plum Noir, a pretty berry for dressy occasions), anti-feathering lip pencils and Full Blown Volume mascara, a gel formula that builds, thickens, curls and lengthens your lashes without smudging.

“I like to think of it as tough luxe,” Stevenson says. “It’s luxury but has a little bit of a grunge appeal, biker-jacket type of thing.”

The training manager, who educates everyone that works at Laura Mercier counters worldwide, says that though the colors and textures may change, their Flawless Face philosophy will always remain the same. “We want to give people tools, not rules, to be successful.”

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Laura Mercier is exclusively available at Rustan’s Makati, Shangri-La Plaza Mall, Alabang Town Center, Gateway Mall, Robinsons Place Manila and Ayala Center Cebu.