LA MER TUTORIAL – TIPS AND TRICKS FROM A PRO

Many people ask me why I’m always so enthusiastic about getting some beauty treatments, and while I always name my laziness or my lack of technique as main reasons, there is also one thing I have never told to anyone – a story from my childhood that resonates in my mind every time I’m about to get pampered. As some of you might know I come from a pretty modest background, to make it short when I was a kid my mother and I were broken most of the time – so imagine my surprise when one evening she payed for a home manucure, some kind of luxury one might think useless in our village. But when I asked her why she did it that’s what she replied: you pay once, you learn the skills forever, you save money in the future – a woman should be able to take care of herself, without requiring the assistance of someone else. And to this day my mother gets compliments wherever she goes on her self-made manucures, and me – well I try to pay attention to gestures, to products, to tips and tricks you can only learn from true pros to, afterwards, adapt those techniques to my routine and improve my skills.

Fortunately, as a blogger, those occasions abound and a couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to shoot a tutorial in collaboration with La Mer and Monika Spisak – a freelance make-up artist and Friday magazine’s Online Beauty Vlogger. It was also the perfect occasion of testing La Mer’s new Sheer Pressed Powder – but more about it below 🙂

STEP 1 : Clean the face

Before applying any products Monika cleaned my face with La Mer’s Cleansing Micellar Water to remove pollutants, impurities and the cream I applied at home.

T&T from Monika :

I prefer cleaning the face with micellar water, so that you don’t have to wash it afterwards, as it would be the case with a tonic 

STEP 2 : Moisturize

You guys might remember that I reviewed La Mer’s Moisturizing Matte Lotion a few months ago? Well this time I got the opportunity of trying another version of the range, the La Mer’s Moisturizing Soft Lotion that has a satin finish – a finish Monika prefers, especially for winter time, as it gives the skin a natural glow. By seeing the result I was totally convinced!

STEP 3 : Foundation

Having started using foundations only recently, I was dying to test La Mer’s Soft Fluid Long Wear Foundation – for it is known to be a real gem: weightless and blendable. I must say that I not only loved how it felt like, but also learned a lot from the way Monika was applying it.

T&T from Monika :

To make it more sheer, lighter and softer – mix it with La Mer’s Moisturizing Soft Lotion (used in Step 2)

To avoid losing the majority of the foundation’s product in the brush, tap it first into the lotion and only then in the foundation.

Always start with a thin layer, and add additional layers on the parts that need more coverage afterwards. 

Never apply foundation on the nose, it doesn’t look nice –  it’s one of the biggest mistakes women do when they put makeup on, nose is definitely an area to avoid.

STEP 4 : Lip Moisturizer

To prepare the lips for all the fabulousness that was to come, Monika went for La Mer’s Lip Balm, a luxurious and highly moisturizing product with a fresh minty flavor.

STEP 5 : Mascara

Because Monika likes a simple look, she decided to skip the eyeshadows and only apply mascara – she used Clinique’s Chubby Lash.

STEP 6 : Brows

My brows have seen a lot of products going on and off, but that was definitely the first time they experienced a « Brother’s Love » tube, some kind of product usually fancied by men for the care of their … beards. I was perplexed at first when Monika started using it as a colored brow wax that she applied with a … toothbrush, but then the result was awesome and stayed for hours so who am I to judge? 😉

STEP 7 : Concealer

Mmmh the favorite part of anyone that woke up with a third eye (me that particular day for instance). To conceal everything that needed less exposure Monika used La Mer’s Concealer – a product that needs to melt a bit to be fully efficient, so she applied it with her fingers to work it under my skin.

T&T from Monika :

Take your time with the concealer, apply it by layers to avoid putting too much on. And blend it by dabbing, not rubbing!

STEP 8 : Lips

As the eye look was pretty simple, Monika offered me to do bright lips – and you guys know me, I never refuse an extra color! The first thing was to remove to remaining of La Mer’s Lip Balm, then the contour (essential for well defined lips!) and finally the color itself. Because my current obsession is all about Bobbi Brown’s Crushed Lip Color, we went for one of these newbies : the bright red « Regal » shade. This formula has a satin-matte finish, so to make it look even « matter », Monika used the new La Mer Sheer Pressed Powder over the lipstick to texturize the result and make it last longer.

T&T from Monika :

For the contour, the trick to do a perfectly symmetrical form is to have the same movement for both sides of the lips : if you do the right side from top to bottom, do exactly the same with the left side. 

If you can see the powder on the lipstick color, just add an additiona thin layer of lipstick on it – it will deepen the shade.

STEP 9 : Blush

Using my favorite shade from Bobbi Brown’s Crushed Lip Color line, « Babe », Monika made me a little fresh blush. It was the first time I experienced a lipstick-as-a-blush technique although I heard about it a lot. I absolutely loved it, but I definitely shall require some practice at home because believe me, it’s not that easy to avoid the clown-face effect.

STEP 10 : The powder

Freshly launched by La Mer, the new Sheer Pressed Powder is just what tho doctor ordered for me: elegantly presented in a lightweight compact, the powder provides a healthy matte finish that would be ideal for long shine-free days and/or parties where you know you’ll have your picture taken as it’s formula has some light-reflecting pigments. Ever since Monika chose my shade and applied it over my makeup that day, I’ve been carrying this powder with me for rapid touch-ups. Needless to say that I’m seduced!

STEP 11 : The oil

To add some glow to my matte look, Monika initiated me to the oil technique and to one of her favorite products, La Mer’s Renewal Oil that is a dual phased formula (Miracle Brooth + sea-sourced actives). The product needs to be shaken first for the formula to mix. Monika took a tiny portion on her hand’s palm, and added some little amount of the cheekbones, the ears and the eyelids.

T&T from Monika :

Add some of this oil on the ears, because after all the makeup applied on the face you often find out that the ears don’t match anymore.


Pictures : Charles Legrand


In collaboration with La Mer and Monika Spisak


Find La Mer’s new Sheer Pressed Powder here


Shot at the President Wilson hotel in Geneva