Laura Mercier launched in 1996 with four products, among them a setting powder and a concealer she had been mixing by hand on shoots. This edit gathers those originals, the Caviar eye sticks, two lip formulas and the Honey Bath.
Laura Mercier Built a Brand on Makeup That Lets Skin Look Like Skin
Laura Mercier studied painting before she trained as a makeup artist at the Carita institute in Paris, and she spent years on shoots in Paris and New York mixing her own formulas by hand because what she needed did not exist yet. The line that carries her name launched in March 1996 at Neiman Marcus and Henri Bendel with four products, and two of them are in the first rows of this edit. The Translucent Loose Setting Powder is the one people mean when they say 'the Laura Mercier powder', and the Ultra-Blur version is its talc-free sibling. Her approach, in her own words, is makeup that enhances rather than masks, so skin still looks like skin. You can feel that idea in the Tinted Moisturizer, which she made after moving to the United States and noticing how many women hid their skin under heavy foundation. The Real Flawless foundation is the medium coverage, waterproof option for days when you want more. Press the powder in with a puff rather than sweeping it, and it lasts far longer.
Concealer first, then the Caviar sticks
Secret Camouflage was one of the first products Mercier created, and it still comes as a little palette of cream shades you mix to match. It is the one for spots and redness. The Real Flawless serum concealer is the newer, lighter option for under the eyes, where the palette can feel too dense. The Caviar Stick is a cream eyeshadow that blends with a fingertip and wears for hours, and the Tightline eyeliner is made for the lash line and waterline. I keep one Caviar Stick in my bag for touchups. Together they are ten minutes of makeup that looks like none.
The softer side of the line
The lip formulas are softer than the brand gets credit for. Petal Soft is a crayon with a sheer, soft matte finish that stays comfortable, and the Caviar Smoothing Matte lipstick smooths and blurs, so it reads polished without looking dry. Then there is the body side, which I think is underrated. The Ambre Vanille body cream has a serum texture and a warm vanilla scent, and the Honey Bath is a honey-textured foaming bath I refill without thinking. What I would skip is heavy powder under the eyes. A little on the lids and around the nose is enough.
Where I would begin
Begin with the loose powder and Secret Camouflage, two of the four products the brand launched with. Add the Tinted Moisturizer if you want less coverage, or the foundation if you want more. After that it is personal, a Caviar Stick in the shade you like best and the Honey Bath for Sunday nights. The brand has changed owners since 1996, most recently in 2021, but Mercier's original idea still runs through every row.
If powder is the part you care about most, I wrote a separate piece on Laura Mercier setting powder, the 1996 powder made for close-ups.
