Enhancing natural beauty

By Paula Rath
Advertiser Staff Writer

No one looks like Catherine Zeta-Jones on the cover of Allure magazine, Courtney Cox Arquette on Marie Claire or Madonna on Harper's Bazaar. Not even the actresses themselves.

The looks they achieve in these staged shots required the hand of a skilled makeup artist, in this case, Laura Mercier, to help them look like that.

The French-born Mercier recently made her first appearance in Hawai'i, at Neiman Marcus Ala Moana. In her lovely, lilting French accent (she was raised in Arles) she taught Island women how to put their best face forward.

Her philosophy on makeup is surprising for one whose specialty is creating those impossible-to-reproduce magazine looks: "It's not about transforming yourself. It's finding your uniqueness, liking it and enhancing what's good about this uniqueness."

Mercier, who is 41, developed her signature line of makeup in 1996. This was followed by a simple skin care line that begins with "One-Step Cleanser To Go," a face wash that also serves as a makeup remover and toner, streamlining three processes into one.

Mercier had some words of caution for Island women. She said it's often hard to recognize dehydrated skin in our humid climate. And with sun damage and age comes an increasing proclivity toward dehydration.

If skin becomes a little rigid and flaky, or dry on the surface and oily underneath, it's a sign of possible dehydration. "The skin produces oils in reaction to abuse," she said. It's important to exfoliate the skin or slough off any dead skin.

She warned, however, many American women tend to think that because an exfoliant, toner or anti-wrinkle cream burns or tingles on the skin, it's working. Not true, she said. Using too many of these products can make the skin hypersensitive, causing dryness on the surface and oiliness underneath. She recommends beta-hydroxy acids for exfoliating, as they are gentler than alpha-hydroxys.

"Makeup is a protection due to the pigments," Mercier said. "But it's not enough for Hawai'i. Here you need a sunblock with at least 20-plus protection from both UVA and UVB rays." She recommends a moisturizer with built-in sunscreen, as long as it doesn't contain titanium dioxide, which is like a white clay and can cause breakouts in the heat.

Mercier believes in pinching and massaging skin upward and outward to make circulation more active and to boost regeneration of the cells. "You would be shocked about how much I massage moisturizer into my skin to make it more supple and dewy. Unless you have rosacea or acne, then it's not good to touch your skin too much," she said.

She believes in massaging moisturizer into the skin when it's still damp so it gets right into the pores. "I try to make moisturizer part of the skin so it becomes like a second skin," she said.

Common mistakes

Mercier said the biggest mistake American women make is wearing too much foundation.

"Foundation should be invisible. Too much takes away from the character of the face, so you want to use the least amount possible. When looking at yourself you should see skin, not foundation." She added that the more foundation you put on, the more wrinkles show. Makeup sinks into creases and, by the end of the day, the wrinkles appear deeper.

As a woman ages, Mercier said, she ought to lighten her foundation (in texture), perhaps even changing to a tinted moisturizer or mixing a tinted moisturizer with her own foundation for a lighter application.

Color may also need some tweaking. "As a woman gets more wrinkles and more dehydration, her skin loses some color, so she may want to change from a neutral brown to a hint of pink or coral to make her face brighter and happier," she said with a characteristic broad smile.

As for application, Mercier recommends putting on foundation with a sponge, as fingers can give uneven coverage and add unwanted oil to the face. She advises starting with a few drops and then layering until the desired coverage is achieved.

Her way

During her years as a makeup artist for major magazines and celebrities, Mercier has developed some methods that are unconventional, but tried and true.

Her national makeup artist, Patti Ramsay, demonstrated one that seemed discomforting at first. It's a way of applying eyeliner, a task many women dread. Weird as it was, upon seeing the results, it was worth trying. After several unsuccessful attempts, voila! A great look that stayed put.

This is the Mercier eyeliner method: Use a short, flat, stiff brush made of a synthetic material, not natural hair. Tilting the head back, pull the upper lid diagonally upwards. Use a dabbing motion in between each lash, under the lash, to get a saturation of color. The color is actually placed deep into the roots of the lashes. At first this practice may cause tears, but, with practice, it will become easy.

Mercier cautions against using blush to contour. She recommends placing blush only on the apples of the cheeks, in a backwards horseshoe shape. For Hawai'i's humid climate, where blush tends to fade away, she suggests using a cream blush set with powder, then a little powder blush on top.

She uses a huge brush for blush and pats so lightly that it looks like she's bouncing it on rather than stroking it across the cheeks.

Blush can also color-correct, Mercier said. Use a yellow-based blush to offset pink skin tones, a pink-based blush to offset yellow skin tones.

Flawless face

Mercier's signature is what she calls the flawless face. This involves four steps for creating perfect-looking skin.

• Primer: A primer is applied after moisturizer and before foundation. It helps to shield the face from the elements with a protective base. It also keeps makeup looking fresh all day and evening, according to Renee Hampton of Nu'uanu, who has used Laura Mercier products ever since Neiman Marcus opened here.
• Foundation: Wet a sponge, squeezing out excess water. Apply foundation to the back of the hand, working it into the sponge before applying. Concentrate on one area of the face at a time, avoiding the eye area. Apply sheer layers using downward and outward strokes.
• Secret Camouflage: This technique makes use of a signature blemish concealer that can be used without foundation or after foundation is applied. Stroke (never swirl) the Secret Camouflage brush and "warm up" the product on the back of the hand. Use light, feather-like strokes only in areas where blemishes, shadows or imperfections exist. Dab into skin with fingertips. Mix with a small amount of emollient eye cream to achieve a creamy consistency for use around the eyes.
• Setting powder: Use a large soft brush to place powder gently over areas where Secret Camouflage was used. Use a velour puff to set foundation, folding the puff like a taco and rolling it gently over the skin.