The New Beauty Secrets: Your Ultimate Guide to a Flawless Face [Hardcover]

Laura Mercier (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 24, 2006

Laura Mercier came to be an authority on cosmetics naturally. First aspiring to be a painter and art teacher, fate intervened and brought her to a legendary Parisian beauty institute. There, she was able to apply her artistic skills in a completely new way. Her knack for bringing out the inner radiance in women, epitomized by her signature 'Flawless Face', has escalated Laura Mercier to one of the top makeup artists in the world. In 2006, Laura Mercier's cosmetics line will celebrate its tenth anniversary, and it is still going strong. In THE NEW BEAUTY SECRETS readers will get the inside scoop on the philosophy and practices that have made Laura Mercier such a phenomenon. Having worked with thousands of women over the years - stay-at-home mums as well as international superstars - Laura sees that all women have the same insecurities about how they look. THE NEW BEAUTY SECRETS offers nine chapters of beauty techniques to help women look their best. From illuminating the eyes, to finding the right lip colour, readers learn how to capture their own je ne sais quoi.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

A Beauty Junkie at Heart: Laura Mercier's Personal "Must Have" Cosmetic Items

I am one of the biggest beauty junkies I know. I have hundreds of products in my makeup case—anything I could possibly need for a shoot, including bags of false eyelashes and glitter. I’ll pick up things that seem interesting or unusual, products that have been recommended by someone, or an item that features new technology. Japan is a fabulous place to find the latest products. They even have colors you can’t find in the U.S. I used to be neurotic about having the latest things and the best products. Since I have my own line and I’ve been able to work with my labs on getting the best textures, the finest powders, etc., I’m much less neurotic. If I can’t find the exact thing I want, I can create it.

When it comes to products I personally use at home--not just photo shoot stuff--I’m equally obsessed. I love visiting new boutiques when I travel, whether it’s Paris or London, and discovering items I never had heard of before. I also read a lot of European magazines and check out the items recommended by the beauty editors, since they see every product that hits the market.

I’ve browsed through my bathroom and my linen closet to put together a list of my current favorites, which includes products in my Laura Mercier line and other brands. I think you’ll enjoy them as much as I do.--Laura Mercier

Spa Cinq Mondes Huile Somptueuse. This body oil is from small company that does organic products. It’s especially good for your skin after a sauna or a steam.

Carita Fluide de Beauté 14. I use this oil for everything—body, face and hair. You can do whatever you want with it. After-sun, bath, spa, anything. It smells like verbena and is just incredible.

Decleor face oils. These come in small glass bottles. My favorite one is neroli because I love the scent of it. You can apply the oil when you go to a sauna or steam room. It stops the face from being too dehydrated from the heat and all the warmth opens your pores and helps it penetrate better. I also massage it on the face before I do a scrub. Don’t use this before you put on makeup because it’s not a good base for cosmetics.

Laura Mercier Mega Moisturizer. This is richer than my regular moisturizer, but it’s not heavy thanks to the emu oil in the formula. It’s extremely calming and very compatible with makeup. I wear it in the winter when my skin is dry. During the rest of the year when my skin is normal, I do the regular moisturizer.

Laura Mercier Perfecting Water and Purifying Oil. These are new favorites of mine. I remove my makeup with the cleansing oil, following with a foaming cleanser and then apply the hydrating water with a cotton pad. In the middle of the summer, when we had the heat wave, I only used the hydrating water at night, no moisturizer, so I wouldn’t feel any greasiness on my face.

Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream. I use this on my lips in the winter when I need a heavy duty blanket of moisture at night. I’ve also used when my lips have burned in the sun.

Christophe Robin Lemon Cream Cleanser. Christophe is a great French hair colorist. He gave this shampoo to me and I love it because it smells so fantastic.

Nylon scrub gloves. I love scrubbing with these from my shoulders to my feet because it gives you a friction that helps your blood really circulate. It’s very active and deeper than a scrub product. Usually I use these in the shower in the morning. These gloves are great if you’re prone to ingrown hairs.

Laura Mercier Face Polish. I’m absolutely hooked on my gommage. It’s a violet-scented exfoliant and I use it every other day in the shower. It’s amazing for my pores.

Laura Mercier Lip Colour Sheer in Just Lips and Sexy Lips. I made these two for myself because I’ve always been in love with that perfect, sheer lip.

Laura Mercier Thickening & Building Black Mascara. This holds my lashes in place, thickening them without clumping. It doesn’t make them heavy or weigh them down.

Laura Mercier Bleu Marine Eyeliner. This cake liner is navy blue, almost black, and it makes the whites of the eyes really clean because of the color. If you apply between your lashes and close to your lash line, it thickens the appearance of your lash line.

Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage. This would be my desert island product. Even though I have fairly good skin these days, the camouflage brightens the shadows on my face and makes me look less sad. It immediately makes me look a little younger.

---

Review

"Laura taught me so much about applying makeup that honestly, after years of working with her, I can recreate it myself."

-- Isabella Rossellini

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Atria Books (October 24, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743296311
• ISBN-13: 978-0743296311
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 9.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #517,231 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

162 of 172 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Extremely disappointing, November 1, 2006

By 

D. Gaede "dcalypso" (Sultan, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The New Beauty Secrets: Your Ultimate Guide to a Flawless Face (Hardcover)

When I found out that Laura Mericer wrote a book I rushed out the door to find a copy. Well I was unpleasantly surprised to find a lack of..........well......Beauty Secrets. Very few photographs are included except for celebrities. There are line/charcoal drawings that are cute but not particularily helpful for putting on my makeup in the morning. There are no before and after photos, no interesting color combinations of eyeshadows or lip color, no pictures of the correct brush/tool to use for a specific application.....there is nothing unique about this book. I have been a customer of her products for going on 6 years and I know her cosmetic line is full of interesting products but none get showcased here. This book should be titled "Laura Mercier's musings on the Philosophy of Beauty with all my celebrity friends".

If you are seeking a book on how to apply makeup then go with Robert Jones, Kevyn Aucoin, Linda Mason etc. These book have BEAUTIFUL full page color photos. In these other books there are models and celebrities shown but also moms, sisters, lovers and friends with lots of information on how to apply makeup.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Buy the Laura Mercier video instead, April 25, 2007

By 

Joan Reynlds "joanre" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The New Beauty Secrets: Your Ultimate Guide to a Flawless Face (Hardcover)

I have enjoyed Laura Mercier's products over the years. Her makeup is top notch. This book, though, is just fluff. I would suggest you buy the Laura Mercier "Flawless Face" videotape instead. The tape costs less than the book and is a lot more useful. The tape demonstrates Mercier's application techniques. The book is just a lof of pretty pictures of celebrities.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Helpful, February 17, 2007

By 

Lucy - See all my reviews

This review is from: The New Beauty Secrets: Your Ultimate Guide to a Flawless Face (Hardcover)

I probably wouldn't suggest this book to someone who is new to makeup and needs to look at step by step instructions. There are lots of online tutorials that are good for that.

This book offers techniques for corrective makeup applications, color suggestions, and yes, lots of photos of celebs wearing Laura's makeup. I think these photos can be used for insiration, or to identify with the celeb's features (provided said features are not bolted on-ha ha).

If you are pretty comfortable with makeup application but want to fine tune your routine, this is a decent book. Even better if you can find it at a discounted price...more money for makeup!