SOFT FOCUS

Laura Mercier
Foundation Primer ($32.00, lauramercier.com)

PRODUCT 101: A lightweight, creamy gel that creates an invisible barrier between skin and makeup to prime your face for color. Worn under foundation, this illuminating primer creates a smooth, flawless canvas for application, allowing foundation to glide on easily and stay fresh and color-true for hours. Ideal for all skin types, the universal pearl tint creates a soft focus effect to minimize the look of imperfections with a radiant finish. It’s the first step to Laura’s “Flawless Face.” Dermatologist-tested and non-comedogenic, it is formulated with antioxidants vitamins A, C, and E; Prestige Soft Focus Pearls; and skin-conditioning Jojoba.

What else you need to know:
Just as a painter primes a canvas, Foundation Primer—the original—was created by Laura Mercier in 1995 to prime the skin. After creating the industry’s first primer, she “reinvented” it and made a version that added soft highlights, luminosity, and radiance to skin. A lightweight, creamy vitamin-rich gel that prepares the skin for makeup application, it creates an even, invisible layer that acts as a buffer to outside elements and expertly holds foundation. This water-based formula not only keeps makeup staying fresh and color-correct for hours but also helps perfect skintone over time.

VELVETY

Nars Cosmetics
Lipstick, Dolce Vita ($48.00, narscosmetics.com)

PRODUCT 101: A pure, creamy lipstick formula for bold color. Nars Lipsticks are enriched with vitamin E to increase wearability and keep true color intact. Sheer finish creates the most natural, stained-looking lips. Semi-matte produces velvety, full-bodied lips. Finally, satin fashions creamy, moist-looking lips.

ULTRA-CREAMY

Tom Ford Beauty
Lip Color, Sable Smoke ($48.00, tomford.com)

PRODUCT 101: To Tom Ford, there is no more dramatic accessory than a perfect lip. It is the focus of the face and it has the power to define a woman’s whole look. Each Lip Color is Tom Ford’s modern ideal of an essential makeup shade. Rare and exotic ingredients including soja seed extract, Brazilian murumuru butter and chamomile flower oil create an ultra-creamy texture with an incredibly smooth application. Specially treated color pigments are blended to deliver pure color with just the right balance of luminosity.

WEIGHTLESS

Yves Saint Laurent
Le Teint Touche Eclat Illuminating Foundation ($55.00, yvessaintlaurent.com)

PRODUCT 101: A weightless, illuminating foundation. For the first time, the magic light of Touche Éclat is in a foundation with the added benefit of SPF 19 sun protection. Infused in a weightless fluid, this foundation targets shadowy areas and highlights the contours of the face. Free of opaque fillers, its perfecting texture evens the complexion and helps conceal imperfections while enhancing your skin’s natural beauty.

What it is formulated WITHOUT:
• Parabens
• Sulfates
• Petrochemicals
• Phthalates
• GMOs
• Triclosan

GLOWING

Shiseido
Radiant Lifting Foundation Broad Spectrum SPF 17 ($45.00, shiseido.com)

PRODUCT 101: An antiaging foundation with innovative light technology to eliminate shadows and give skin a radiant, youthful glow. Revive your skin with light.Radiance Reflecting Powder provides a soft-focus effect and luminosity for a more youthful, lifted appearance for 12 hours and a rich moisturizing effect for 24 hours.

What else you need to know:
Smooth wrap oil, hydroxyproline, and rose apple leaf extract provide abundant moisture to help counteract wrinkles and firm the skin.

LONG-LASTING

Make Up For Ever
Full Cover Concealer ($32.00, makeupforever.com)

PRODUCT 101: An ultra long-lasting, matte finish, oil-free, waterproof, full coverage concealer. Designed to cover major imperfections like scars, hyperpigmentation, major discoloration, burns, and tattoos. This light and creamy concealer contains a high concentration of pigments that stay put, making it perfect for use on the face, as well as the body. Clinically tested on sensitive skin and dermatologically controlled for gentleness.

ICONIC RED

Make Up For Ever
Aqua Rouge ($24.00, makeupforever.com)

PRODUCT 101: A liquid lip color that provides the intense and long-lasting hold of a lip stain with the eye-catching shine of a gloss. Formulated with a combination of high molecular weight polymers and volatile oils, Aqua Rouge locks color on the lips for a smudge-proof result that will not transfer or fade. Its intensely pigmented formula provides immediate, opaque color with extreme shine, and its creamy, non-sticky texture glides effortlessly on the lips for comfortable wear.

What else you need to know:
Aqua Rouge’s double-ended packaging allows for a simple, two-step application: apply lip color with precision using the ergonomic, foam applicator and evenly distribute the clear top with the polyester brush to lock the color onto the lips.

SENSUAL GLOW

Nars Cosmetics
Sheer Glow Foundation ($42.00, narscosmetics.com)

PRODUCT 101: A glowing, satin-finish foundation with sheer and buildable coverage. This Sheer Glow Foundation enhances, without masking, your overall natural complexion. The weightless formula hydrates the skin while complexion brightening properties improve skin brightness, radiance, and texture, leaving skin with a luminous, sensual glow.

What else you need to know:
Suitable for normal, normal-to-dry, dry, and very dry skin types.

Research Results:
• 100% say skin felt soft and smooth
• 96% say it evens out skintone
• 96% say they would purchase it if it were available on the market
• 96% say they would recommend it to a friend
• 92% say skin looks brighter and more radiant

SATIN CHIC

Make Up For Ever
Rouge Artist Natural ($19.00, makeupforever.com)

PRODUCT 101: An ultra-creamy lipstick with a translucent soft, shiny finish. Enriched with nourishing properties, Rouge Artist Natural keeps lips hydrated for eight hours after application. Its incredibly smooth texture glides on effortlessly for ultimate comfort while also leaving the lips supple and moisturized. Formulated with mother-of-pearl and colorful pigments, Rouge Artist Natural’s translucent shine adds a natural sheen to the lips.

What else you need to know:
This lipstick is available in an array of fresh, luminous shades with two finishes: satin and pearly.

CARAMEL

Make Up For Ever
HD Invisible Cover Foundation ($40.00, makeupforever.com)

PRODUCT 101: An oil-free medium-to-full-coverage liquid foundation that covers skin imperfections flawlessly while remaining invisible on-screen and in real life. This long-wearing foundation creates a soft-focus effect, which is designed to meet the coverage concerns of those in the spotlight. It leaves your complexion with such a flawless finish, it can withstand bright or harsh lighting. This foundation comes in 25 shades to suit all skin tones. Make Up For Ever HD Invisible Cover Foundation is an Allure Best of Beauty Award Winner.

CREAMY

Shiseido
Shimmering Cream Eye Color ($25.00, shiseido.com)

PRODUCT 101: A lightweight cream eye shadow with a radiant, lustrous finish that maintains a just-applied fresh look for 16 hours without smudging or creasing. This gorgeous eye color, available in an array of lustrous shades, maintains a just-applied fresh look that lasts all-day long without smudging or creasing. Super Hydro-Wrap Vitalizing DE hydrates the skin. Shiseido Shimmering Cream Eye Color is an Allure Best of Beauty Award Winner.

BETTINA

Nars Cosmetics
Velvet Matte Lip Pencil ($24.00, narscosmetics.com)

PRODUCT 101: The application of a lipstick combined with the convenience of a pencil in a jumbo crayon design. Lips are instantly saturated with rich pigments and a velvety matte finish. The long lasting, non-drying formula is enriched with emollients for a creamy texture, while a combination of unique silicones ensures long-lasting, seamless color for hours. Use for lining, all-over lip color, or pairing with another lip product.

• “Best Long-Wearing Lipstick” 2011 Allure “Best of Beauty”
• Rich, vivid shades
• Enriched with Vitamin E
• Convenient, easy application

BEAUTY QUEEN

The Gold Standard. Legendary. Elegant. Innovative. The most influential makeup artist in the world by Vogue magazine. Pat McGrath was born and raised in Northampton, England. One of the most creative makeup artists of her generation, McGrath began her career in 1990 after completing an art foundation course at Northampton College, and said she “grew up living and breathing fashion in a compulsively creative family”.

• While she had no formal makeup training, her career breakthrough came while working on i-D magazine in the early Nineties.

• Since then she has worked with all the world’s top fashion photographers, designers and models.

• During the Nineties she spent ten seasons creating the makeup concepts for Prada and Miu Miu and in 1999 was asked by Giorgio Armani to design his cosmetics line.

• In 2004 she was named global cosmetics creative design director for Procter&Gamble, the name behind makeup brands including Max Factor, Dolce & Gabbana, CoverGirl and SK-II.

• She regularly collaborates on major fashion advertising campaigns such as Louis Vuitton, Prada, Lanvin, Calvin Klein and Balenciaga, and her editorial work includes regular shoots with Vogue Italia and American Vogue.

• She is also Beauty Director of i-D magazine and dispenses her knowledge in the expert advice pages of Allure.

• In a Vogue article in 2007 she was named the most influential makeup artist in the world and has worked with celebrities as diverse as Madonna, Sarah Jessica Parker, Cate Blanchett and Oprah Winfrey.

• Despite creating the makeup for a plethora of shows and campaigns each season, McGrath remains inspired, “I’m influenced a lot by the fabrics I see, the colours that are in the collections and the girl’s faces. It’s always a challenge but that’s the key – to make it different every time.”

STROKED

Yves Saint Laurent
Mascara Singulier ($30.00, yvessaintlaurent.com)

PRODUCT 101: A multi-dimensional mascara that creates dramatically styled lashes with volume, curl, and length. This mascara creates extreme volume, length, and curl, and saturates the root of the lashes like the stroke of eyeliner—creating an intense new type of separation. At the heart of this long-lasting formula, the “Modelling Stretch Complex,” sculpts the lashes in three dimensions: Volumizing micro-spheres thicken the lashes with Pro-vitamin B5 to provide protection, nourishment, and reinforcement of the lashes’ structure; Nylon microfibers extend the lashes like hair extensions; and a high-performance curling wax, helps the brush style the fringe of the lashes for an ideal curve.

MANDARIN CRUSH

Nars Cosmetics
Wonder Lip Gloss, ($24.00, narscosmetics.com)
PRODUCT 101: This shiny, sheer mandarin orange lip gloss is laced with pink and gold shimmer for a pop of citrusy color. Wear it alone or over other lip colors for a shinier look with added depth.

Nars Cosmetics
Bolero Velvet Matte Lip Pencil, ($24.00, narscosmetics.com)
PRODUCT 101: Grab your castanets. This pink cantaloupe, velvet matte lip pencil is as subtly suggestive as the seductive, slow-tempo Latin music after which it’s named.

JUST ONE KISS

LIP SERVICE: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Whether you prefer a strong red mouth or just a wash of color, lipstick is one of the easiest ways to create a signature look. There are so many looks you can achieve with the right shade and the right tools. For instance, red lips are great with an almost-no-makeup look. Want to emphasize a pout? Dab a little frosted lipstick onto the center of the lower lip. Meanwhile, a pale mouth works well with a sexy smoky lid. The idea is to achieve a sense of balance. More important, however, is to blend everything so your lips don’t enter the room before you do.

• Don’t use a dark lip pencil with a lighter shade of lipstick.

• Blend everything! Again, you don’t want your lips to enter the room before you do.

• A stronger lip balances a nearly nude eye.

• Smoky eyes require a paler mouth.

• Use a lip brush to apply color. It helps you create a more precise shape and distributes the pigment evenly.

• A latex sponge is an important tool. Use it to blend your lipstick, it picks up the excess, so your lips don’t look heavy or gooey.

• Avoid dark colors if you have thin lips. Instead, highlight the top lip and stick with sheer colors.

• Lighter shades create the illusion that small, round lips are larger.

• Your makeup isn’t finished until your lips are done!

MAC Cosmetics
Cremestick Liner ($14.50, maccosmetics.com)
PRODUCT 101: A creamy, highly pigmented, retractable lip liner. Lightweight and smooth to apply: very long-lasting. Use as outline or as a “fill.” Helps prevent feathering and bleeding. For a nude lip, try Gingerroot or Summerfruit. Also try, Red Enriched or Portside for colors that delivers a darker punch.

Chanel
Glossimer ($27.00, chanel.com)
PRODUCT 101: These exquisitely colored glosses add shimmer without stickiness. Very long-lasting and has a fragrance-free formula. Apply it over lipstick and the color looks like shiny glass. Available in a variety of shades, from pale pinks, apricot oranges to vampy intense burgundies.

EYE BELIEVE IN YOU

HOW TO DIMINISH PUFFINESS AND DARK CIRCLES

What ages you most? Surprisingly, it might not be wrinkles or gray hair but dark circles under your eyes. Although dark circles under eyes usually aren’t a sign of exhaustion or serious illness, they can make you feel old, unhealthy and exhausted, and most of us have experienced the “raccoon eyes.”

Handle with care. The skin under the eyes is the thinnest on the body. The many blood vessels in this area can show through the delicate skin, contributing to the appearance of dark under eye circles, especially if the vessels become dilated. Fat pads surround the eyes, and the muscles that enclose the upper and lower eyelids hold the fat pads (and skin) in place. As we age, skin and muscle lose elasticity, which can result in sagging around the eyes. With this known fact, as a makeup artist and avid beauty addict, I stress out the importance of a proper rigid eye care system to almost everyone that I encounter. I will always go out of my way to get my eye cream fix.

Puffiness under the eyes occurs when you retain water and your under eye tissue swells. Dark circles indicate blood vessels or hereditary pigment. To reduce puffiness, look for an eye cream containing caffeine, which causes blood vessels to temporarily constrict, or shrink. You should also avoid salt and drink plenty of water. For a quick at-home fix, apply cool compresses (tea bags soaked in ice water or cucumber slices work well) and rest with your head elevated for as little as 15 minutes or as long as overnight. To lighten dark areas, use a cream containing hydroquinone or kojic acid; both brighten hyper-pigmented skin. To cosmetically improve the appearance of dark circles, apply eye cream that contain mica or light-diffusing particles to make the skin seem lighter and brighter, if necessary, follow with concealer.

Shiseido
Benefiance Concentrated Anti Wrinkle Eye Cream ($50.00, shiseido.com)
PRODUCT 101: An ultra-rich, age-defense eye cream that protects skin from dehydration and dramatically minimizes the appearance of wrinkles and lines to promote a youthfully smooth, radiant look. Developed with Shiseido-exclusive Anti-Photowrinkle System, consisting of plant extract chlorella to counteract the appearance of future wrinkles. Recommended for dry and very dry skin. Pat around eye area, morning and night, as last step of skincare routine.

Murad
Lighten and Brighten Eye Treatment ($75.00, murad.com)
PRODUCT 101: A patented, triple-action formula targets the signs of environmental damage around the eye area. Scientifically proven to fight multiple signs of distress around the delicate eye area by lightening dark under eye circles and diminishing under eye bags and puffiness. Clinical testing has shown that using this product lightens dark under eye circles by an average of 59% and diminishes under eye bags and puffiness by up to 50%.

DOLCE! DOLCE! DOLCE!

DOLCE AND GABBANA LAUNCHES COSMETIC LINE

This February, Scarlett Johansson will be channeling Marilyn Monroe in her boudoir to mark the debut of Dolce & Gabbana’s luxurious new makeup line. “We see makeup as another thing for women, like a dress,” Stefano Gabbana recently told WWD. “We worked on the makeup line like we work on a clothing collection — you can change makeup like you can change your clothes, depending on your mood.”

The color palette was inspired by the deep burgundy of the dahlia flower (Gabbana’s favorite flower), the intense cerulean hues of the Mediterranean, and the stark black volcanic sands of Stromboli (where D&G like to summer). Collaborating with world-renowned makeup artist Pat McGrath, the lushly-pigmented line includes three looks: Sensually Natural (understated neutrals), Provocative Eyes (smoky eyes & pale lips), and Lustful Lips (tres silver screen siren with dark ruby lips and nails). “For me, lipstick is one of the most important things. When I see a woman made-up, I look straight to the lips.”

In addition to the ultra-glamorous, shiny gold packaging, the line also features a retro rose scent. “We noticed that lipsticks on the market took away their fragrance, but we wanted to create makeup with a scent. Domenico and I remember when we were children and opened our mother’s handbags — the scent of her lipstick trailed out.”

The luxe collection will roll out at the beginning of February in select Saks Fifth Avenue department stores.

A GLOW FROM RIO

Warm colors are a girl’s best friend. Mimic the warmth of skin when achieving natural beauty. Keep in mind, it’s about quality, not quantity! Bronzing powder gives skin a healthy, sun kissed appearance, and you don’t have to spend a second in the sun. Look for warm golden or brown tones a few shades darker than your skin. The sheerer the texture, the more natural it will look. Bronzing powder also helps neutralize red or ruddy complexions.

Touch it. Feel it against your skin. Bronzing powder should feel silky soft and fine, like any loose powder, or if it comes in a compact, like pressed powder or blush. The softer the texture, the more your skin will radiate a natural flawless glow.

The trick is to shine through your makeup, rather than hide behind, accentuate rather than change. Apply bronzing powder with a medium-sized fluffy brush. Try MAC 129 Powder/Blush Brush, ($34.00, maccosmetics.com), a full, rounded, all-purpose brush that I have been using for years. Use it over foundation or on bare skin. Rather than dusting a uniform layer onto the face, apply it where sunlight would naturally hit, the center of your forehead, the bridge of your nose, the tops of your cheekbones, and your chin. Finish it off by applying a warm peach blush on your cheeks, this will give you a more fresh and richer complexion. When you naturally tan, your skin is a little flushed and rosy.

Guerlain
Terracotta Light Sheer Bronzing Powder ($48.00, guerlain.com)
PRODUCT 101: This multi-tone bronzing powder has a light texture and doesn’t contain a ton of pigment, so it’s subtle and discreet enough to use even in the cooler months. It glides on smooth, not too shimmery and the application can be easily controlled. It can slightly warm pale and medium complexions, be paired with a darker formula to create a deep tan, or help build a warm base for a smoky eye.

MAC Cosmetics
Powder Blush, Style ($18.00, maccosmetics.com)
PRODUCT 101: This shimmering peach blush is universal. It flatters more complexions than cooler colors do, and it warms up the complexion a little bit, so it still looks natural and fresh. It’s soft and sophisticated, and has a subtle touch of pink that makes it look good on almost anyone.

DOMESTIC BROWS

THE PERFECT EYEBROWS: ALMOST AS EFFECTIVE AS AN EYE LIFT

If your eyes are the windows to your soul, then your eyebrows should be the most uplifting part of your face. They completely alter the expression on your face, from surprised to perfectly calm. In addition to channeling feelings and emotions, eyebrows frame the face and creates clear boundaries and acts as a guideline for eye makeup, which is why keeping them well groomed is so important. If your eyebrows are in great shape, you need less makeup to look effortlessly polished and pulled together.

Always customize your brows to fit and flatter your face. You can’t go wrong with the universal brow shape: medium full with a tapered end and soft arch. But if you want truly customized brows, factor in the shape of your face. Think about proportion as well, if you have prominent features, you’ll look best with fuller brows; if you have small, delicate features, try a thinner softer shape. Brows always appear softer and more feminine when they are slightly lighter than your hair color. Know when not to fill in your brows. Brows don’t always need to be filled in. If a brow is naturally full, by simply adding a small amount of brow gel will do the job. Filling in an already heavy brow can quickly overtake the focus of the makeup application. Also, avoid the application of too much color on the inner brow. This can make the shape of the brow look “blocked off” and too heavy. Leave this portion of the brow clean and natural, just focus efforts on the arch and tail with only a tint of color on the inside.