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La Mer skin care is the stuff of legend. As it should be, considering that its creator Dr. Max Huber worked for 12 years — conducting 6,000 experiments — to create its signature, bio-fermented “miracle broth” from sea kelp and a cocktail of vitamins, minerals, citrus oils, and plants. And people love it. Despite its hefty $170-per-ounce price tag (that’s more than $2,000 for the 16-ounce, Costco-sized version, people), a laundry list of celebrities swear by the brand’s Crème de la Mer, including Jennifer Lopez and Mariah Carey.
Well, get ready for the next wave of brilliance from La Mer, because the company is entering the makeup space. The just-launched Skincolor de la Mer is a tightly edited collection of three base-makeup products (foundation, concealer, and powder) and two brushes (foundation and powder) that focus on achieving flawless, luminous skin. There are no eyeshadows, lipsticks, or any other trend-focused color cosmetics in the mix — and still, we’re set to blow most (okay, all) of our paychecks on these makeup staples.
Here’s why: Beyond the fact that the pigments are designed to sink right into skin (via transparent capsules that keep it from coming on too cakey), each product is also infused with the brand’s famous miracle broth — meaning we can rule out redness, but not freckles, and get a hefty dose of skin care with our coverage. What’s more, celebrity makeup artist Patrick Ta (the man behind Gigi Hadid's glow) is on board as a global ambassador. Ahead, he shares his very best makeup tips for each of the products through a series of videos with the brand. You're going to want to prep your bank account.
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This foundation claims to stand up to humidity and last all day. Though it’s laced with miracle broth, Ta says he likes to up the skin-care factor even more by mixing a drop of the brand’s The Renewal Oil into the formula before applying. “It really thins out the foundation and leaves a product that’s covering just the areas that need be, and takes away the redness so your freckles still show,” he says. “It gives your skin that luminous look that everybody wants.”
Ta also uses it to contour. “My personal favorite way [to do that] is to use a darker shade of foundation mixed in with your foundation, so you can actually just blend the two products together,” he says. That way, he adds, "the effect is a lot more seamless. You can’t really see where the lines are."
La Mer The Soft Fluid Long Wear Foundation SPF 20, $110, available at La Mer.
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This hand-tapered brush is made with antibacterial bristles. Ta says he uses it three different ways with foundation: He blends in the formula using circular motions for medium coverage; swipes the brush with liquid along the skin for medium-to-full coverage; and gently taps on the formula with the tapered end of the brush to give full coverage, he says.
La Mer The Foundation Brush, $70, available at Neiman Marcus.
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“I love this finish because it has a little bit of shimmer, but it just locks in the foundation,” Ta says of this featherweight powder. It's engineered with air-spun and seaborne particles, which the brand declares “some of the lightest materials on Earth.”
Ta suggests tapping powder onto the nose, the middle of the forehead, and the chin. “I like to leave the perimeter of the face as luminous as possible so when the camera hits it, all you see is a glow,” he says.
La Mer The Powder, $95, available at Nordstrom.
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This hand-shaped brush is also made with antibacterial bristles. Fellow global ambassador for the brand Violette, a makeup artist who specializes in editorial, uses the brush to lightly dust powder all over the face before applying a touch of The Renewal Oil to cheekbones for a natural highlight.
La Mer The Powder Brush, $80, available at Barneys New York.
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Ta says he likes to spot-treat by tapping on this concealer with fingers to help it melt into the skin. He then suggests using that same tapping motion to go over the areas with a foundation brush.
But you can also utilize this moisture-infused stick as a natural-looking highlighter. “Try a concealer that’s one to two shades lighter than your foundation and go right under your eyes in an upside-down triangle shape, put it on the peak of the forehead, down the bridge of the nose, the Cupid’s bow, and right on the chin,” he says.
La Mer The Concealer, $75, available at Saks Fifth Avenue.
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