These days, you don’t need an occasion to wear flawlessly applied foundation or luscious hot-pink lip color or bat-worthy eyelashes. Makeup is a daily necessity now as much as a smart phone or a designer tote. Also, in days beset by monsoon rains, lipsticks and liners are the ultimate uppers.
Here, a rundown of Rustan’s best-selling maquillage products and some market newbies to try out.
Pür Minerals: Skin-loving makeup
What is it: This best-selling collection includes makeup and skincare that combines micronized minerals with high-tech and skin-loving ingredients devoid of chemical dyes, fillers, oil, talc and other gunk that can clog up pores and harm your skin. Great for everyday coverage and seamlessly camouflages scars, blemishes and uneven skin tone.
Why it’s fab: It’s not just the formulation of Pür Minerals that are made for everyday wear. The line’s color and shades are subtle and neutral, making it easy to blend into skin.
How to wear it: Thankfully, Pür Minerals also has a professional brush series that makes makeup application all the more easier.
Island Paradise Collection
What is it: Inspired by exotic tropical destinations, this collection includes shadows in provocative pastel shades (Island Escape cream shadow collection), bouquet-inspired lipsticks (Petal Pout 4-piece lipgloss collection) and mineral bronzers that give a subtle sheen (All-Over Glow mineral powder).
Why it’s fab: This happy collection is bursting with summer freshness, which is perfect for these blah, rainy days.
Natures Paradise Collection
What is it: Featuring six eye shadows, the Tropic Bronzer and Polynesian Pink Blush, the Nature’s Paradise collection is a dazzling palette of tropical pastels and deep-sea corals that captures the bold spirit of a season filled with excitement and mystery.
Why it’s fab: The rich colors in this collection allow makeup lovers to break away from usual neutral shades and make every day extraordinary.
Celebrities that love Pür: Beyoncé, Kerry Washington
Poudre T. LeClerc: Going Banane
Why are women all over the globe going bananas over Poudre T. LeClerc’s Banane loose powder? Because, like fashion’s Little Black Dress, Banane is the LYP (Light Yellow Powder) of the beauty world: the one must-have shade that universally flatters all skin tones.
This amazingly fine and light loose powder hides flaws while magnifying the complexion. Based on pure rice starch, it provides a matte finish and visibly smoothes the skin. Well-tolerated by even the most sensitive skin, it also protects against pollution and solar radiation. What more could you ask from a facial powder?
What is it: This light-reflecting formula for the face glides on smoothly to refresh the skin, enhance the complexion and create incandescence. It comes in three shades: Copacabana, which imparts a pearlescent sheen, Super Orgasm, which leaves a peachy-gold hue and Laguna, which gives your skin the perfect golden-bronze, sun-kissed glow.
Why it’s fab: Created with polar berries known for their antioxidant properties and bisabolol, an anti-inflammatory obtained from the chamomile plant, the Illuminators can be used to highlight bare skin or light up your makeup.
Nars: The age of illumination
How to wear it: Mix with foundation or wear alone and apply all over the face. Can also be used to highlight the neck, shoulders and décolleté.
Body Illuminator
What is it: Following the success of their award-winning facial Illuminators, Nars came up with an Illuminator designed for the body. It leaves a golden-bronzed radiance from head to toe and delicately scents the skin with exotic Monoï de Tahiti oil.
Why it’s fab: The formula is transfer-free and won’t bleed into clothing.
How to wear it: Just apply all over body focusing on legs, arms and décolleté.
Makeup Your Mind cheeks, lips and eye set press
What is it: A collection of makeup sets for the eyes, lips and cheeks inspired by Francois Nars’ best-selling before-and-after makeup manual Makeup Your Mind.
Why it’s fab: Each set includes the brand’s best-selling makeup shades.
Fall 2011 collection
What is it: A confident and graphic collection that plays with dramatic shades such as bright blue and silvery taupe for the eyes and matte reds and plums for lips.
Why it’s fab: It has eye, lip and cheek colors that you can play with to bring out your inner glamazon.
Celebrities that love Nars: Mila Kunis, Beyonce, Amy Adams, January Jones
PPPLaura Mercier: Resort chic
What is it: A collection of Laura’s best-selling makeup and tools designed for professional-looking makeup application. The Flawless Face Kit combines all of the essential formulas and tools needed in one convenient travel-size zippered case.
Why it’s fab: This kit allows you to prime, moisturize, and cover up your way to complexion perfection. Includes the sheer Tinted Moisturizer with SPF 20, the lightweight, vitamin-enriched Foundation Primer, and the Undercover Pot, an innovative packaging that combines the brand’s best-selling Secret Camouflage (covers up blemishes, scars and imperfections) and Secret Concealer (best for covering up under-eye circles) with the silky Translucent Loose Setting Powder. Also has a Secret Camouflage Brush, Camouflage Powder Brush, velour puff and egg-shaped sponge.
How to use it: Apply primer before the tinted moisturizer (as substitute for foundation). Cover up blemishes with Secret Camouflage and Secret Concealer and finish off by dusting face with Translucent Loose Setting Powder for a velvety matte finish. After creating Laura Mercier’s signature flawless face, create flawless colors by using Laura Mercier’s Second Skin cheek color, eye basics, eye color and your choice of lip color, lip glace or stick gloss.
Full Blown Mascara
What is it: The Full Blown Mascara is a volumizing and lash-building mascara that instantly thickens lashes for maximum impact.
Why it’s fab: With each stroke of this lightweight, nutrient-infused formula, lashes appear sculpted, curled and thickened. People will ask if you’re wearing false lashes.
How to wear it: Work the mascara brush from the root of the lashes then wiggle up through the lashes, pulling the formula out to the very tip. Repeat for added volume.
Portofino makeup collection
What is it: Inspired by resort town Portofino, called “The Pearl of the Mediterranean,” and ‘50s resort fashion, this new collection features radiant, subtly-bronzed skin, gilded rosy cheeks and eyes swept with shades of sun-washed blue and golden beige, then lined with deep blue liner.
Why it’s fab: The new products in this range include a moisturizing, non-feathering lip color in Coral and limited-edition Sunshine, a high-shine lip gloss in Nectar and a blue and green palette for the eyes called Riviera.
Tightline eyeliner
What is it: Laura Mercier revolutionized eyeliner application with her “tightline” technique and Cake Eye Liner, which uses a flat eyeliner brush and an eyeliner in a pot.
Why it’s fab: This long-wearing transfer-resistant cult favorite gets refreshed with new shades and an updated formula. In addition to Black Ebony, Mahogany Brown and Bleu Marine, the Tightline Cake Eyeliner is now also available in Forest Green, Plum Riche and Charcoal Grey
How to wear it: To create a tight line, use the Flat Eye Liner Brush and dip the brush into clean water. Work the Tightline Cake Eye Liner into a thick paste and apply the underneath the root of the upper lash line by wiggling the brush between individual lashes. Reapply for added intensity.
Celebrities who swear by Laura Mercier: Sarah Jessica Parker, Julia Roberts, Juliette Binoche
Stila: Ready, set, glow!
Illuminating Tinted Moisturizer SPF 20 and Sheer Color Tinted Moisturizer SPF 20
What it is: Stila’s best-selling oil-free Illuminating Tinted Moisturizer and Sheer Tinted Moisturizer have been made over with an infusion of SPF 20. The formula, however, still has gingko biloba to kick in an antioxidant feature and chamomile to combat redness.
Why it’s fab: Micro-fine light-diffusing pigments create a sheer wash of natural color and help diminish the look of fine lines and wrinkles.
Prime pot
What is it: Stila’s Prime Pot is a waterproof eye shadow primer that promises eyeshadow wear that lasts from day to night.
Why it’s fab: This innovative waterproof formula is crease-resistant, creates flawlessly smooth lids and keeps excess oil at bay.
How to wear it: Dab Prime Pot onto eyelids and enhance with Stila’s Stay All Day Eye Liner for the perfect “no-makeup makeup” cat eye look.
Stay All Day eyeliner
What is it: This best-selling Stila product stays on all day without smudging, feathering, or running. It’s now available in dark brown and indigo.
Why it’s fab: The thin, marker-like tip is so easy to use, even for the beauty beginner.
Forever Your Curl mascara
What it is: A longwearing mascara with an innovative lash-curl memory that with continued use gives your lashes a defined curl over time — sort of like a lash perm.
Why it’s fab: No more bothersome eye curlers!
One Step Bronze
What it is: A bronzer, primer, illuminator and moisturizer all in one. The One-Step Bronze color-corrects the skin and gives you the perfect sun-kissed glow.
Why it’s fab: Apart from evening out skin tone, it also promotes cell regeneration and helps diminish fine lines.
Perfect and Correct foundation
What it is: A high-performance foundation with moisturizing and skincare properties
Why it’s fab: Makeup coverage that also reduces imperfections and improves skin texture
Sparkle Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner
What it is: The first-ever waterproof glitter eyeliners on the market.
Why it’s fab: These ultra, long-lasting liners stay put no matter where you go or whatever activities you do: clubbing, all-night partying, even swimming.
Celebrities who love Stila: Kim Kardashian, Katherine Heigl, Emma Stone