Laura Mercier at Nordstrom

This review is for Christine, the makeup artist at Nordstrom San Francisco. Christine has a strong intuitive understanding about makeup. When I first met her I was confused about my eyeliner, and the under eye concealer. She totally nailed what I was doing wrong about both of these items, and now this great product line is working for me, rather than against me.

This review is for Cindy at the Laura Mercier counter. I was looking to have someone who knew how to do asian makeup and found her through a friend. She is absolutely great. I told her I didn’t want to look like Connie Chung, she knew exactly what I meant. Cindy listened to what I wanted and made good recommendations. She did my make up and my Mom’s make up for a wedding. My Mom is super picky and she had nothing but nice things to say. Laura Mercier carries a lot of great products and colors that compliment any skin tone.

This is not a review of Laura Mercier cosmetics in general, but of the Laura Mercier cosmetics counter at Nordstrom@ Stonestown and the genius counter manager Norman specifically.
First, Laura Mercier cosmetics. They are the only department store quality brand that I know of that doesn’t test on animals (though they do use lanolin and beeswax in some of their products). Of course there is Aveda and the Body Shop, but since they have their own stores I keep them in a separate category. I buy LM products exclusively, even though it would be much easier and cheaper to pick up a $ 7 mascara at Target. The best product, by far, is their tinted moisturizer, which is light and doesn’t feel greasy and takes 5 seconds to apply in the morning. The lip stains are great, too, especially for us teacher folk who spend most of our day talking and none of our day reapplying makeup.
I’ve been to other Laura Mercier counters at other malls, most recently the one at Hillsdale, and in general, I always feel a little awkward asking for a consultation. That’s probably because counter folk (at all brands) can come of as superior and indifferent, as if there job is to stand there and look pretty, and occasionally deign to ring you up.
Not so with LM at this Nordstrom. Every time I have gone to get a new bottle of moisturizer, they’ve been very gracious and each time have asked if I wanted them to «do my face» for me. Clearly, this is how makeup counters make money, so why I’ve had the opposite experience at so many places baffles me.
Anyway, I’ve had the manager, Norman, do two different «faces» for me, and not only is he super fun to chat with, but he does amazing work. I’m fair with red hair, so too much makeup makes me look scary, but Norman always picks out the right combinations so that I look like me, only me with two asterisks. *me*. Yay!
So, I highly recommend both LM products (esp. if you have a pale complexion like mine) and also the LM counter at Nordstrom at Stonestown. Ask for Norman!

So my mom is basically a sorority girl. She loves shopping, gossiping, binging and purging. But most of all, my mom loves make up. And she loves to drag her ugly duckling daughter to makeup counters during promotional events to see if they can, «just update her look, you know. she’s so… well, you know…» this is when her gaze invariably drifts to me and the sales girls, i mean make up artists, all look up to see me, using a Q-​tip dipped in red lipstick to make a smiley face on my cheek or taste testing the lip glosses that smell like delicious watermelon or delicious baby powder. it’s like shopping with Nell. Anyway, the ladies descend upon me, force me into one of those uncomfortable bar stools and put me under a super magnifying glass to examine my pores. At which time they ask me, «GASP! what skin treatment régime do you use?!» and i’m all, «SOAP!» (which is not the truth but i love the shock on the face so i can’t resist) and then they are like, «Honey, NO!» and start to cleanse, tone and moisturize and god knows what else. It’s always a fucking scene.
During this particular event at Laura Mercier, there were special make up artists visiting from all over the nation (okay, LA) and they brought in this one super fey guy, Paul. He is a make up artist to the stars… or at least the ladies in commercials. He takes one look at me and is like, «For you, I do the Peacock!» I’m like, «WHOA! HELLZ NO!» and my mom is like, «AH! I love peacocks! They are such marvelous creatures! Laura, do this for your mother!» And then Paul gives me that condescending gay man thing… you know, the disdain they have for women who don’t «try» and he’s all, «Honey, please, let ME help YOU.» My mom beamed at him as if he were the daughter she never had.
So, I let Paul help him help me but I couldn’t look at the damage. I just couldn’t. I seriously had to blur my eyes when he showed me his masterpiece. All I could see was my mom tearing up with happiness and beyond that, my face, a mess of blue and green that encompassed my eyes and the surrounding three inches. I knew I looked like a fat show girl. I knew I looked like a working girl, and i’m not talking tori spelling co-​ed call girl, i’m talking the older might-​be-​ladies down by the DOCKS. I didn’t have to look. I knew. I further knew when I walked past these two hipsters on the way out and the dude just straight out STARED at me, hit his girlfriend on the side, nodded to me, she looked up, mouth opened in abject terror. It was as if these tools were in the opening minutes of a Law and Order SVU and I was the dead hooker. They start giggling and I don’t know how and i don’t know why but a voice rose up inside of me that screamed, «I JUST GOT A MAKE OVER, OKAY?!» which, in retrospect, i realize didn’t help my case but you know. I was embarrassed and oddly exposed, even though I was painted in the image of a bird of paradise. And you know what, I didn’t wash that shit off all day. Furthermore, I wore it to a party that night. People stared. People judged. People laughed. But I kept that shit on all night. I have no idea what I was proving to anyone but it felt important. Also, it would have taken me hours to get it all off, I didn’t have time. Maybe I knew my mom would like it and god knows, none of my real accomplishments give her that same sense of pride. This is obviously a deeper conversation (with myself) than that which is fit for Unilocal.
Anyway, Laura Mercier. Great make up… I love the tinted moisturizer with SPF. i mix it even further with more SPF as I’m hella white and burn/​freckle very easily and that ain’t a cute look, yo. Nothing is tested on animals and many of the products don’t contain Animal By-​products (you can write in and ask).
Plus, they can make you look like you can fly. Without wings. R. Kelly! Holla!

Laura Mericer has cornered the market on flawless yet sophisticated makeup. I love the colors, techniques (ditto on the tightlining), and the makeup artists that come every so often for Laura Mercier special events are fantastic.

#1 product — foundation primer. Even if you don’t wear foundation, you can wear this on your bare skin and it makes it feel like velvet. WOW.

I am now a huge fan of Laura Mercier cosmetics. And I’ve been through all sorts of brands– MAC, Stila, Clinique, Nars… My favorite is Laura’s body crème, you’ve gotta try their Tarte Citron, it smells fresh and clean. Also love their eyeliner pans in Emerald & Black. Good tip for all you brown eyed chics– use a eyeliner color other than brown. I use Emerald Green everyday now and it makes your eyes pop! I wish I had known that in the 10 years that I’ve been wearing brown eyeliner… If you’re ever at Nordstrom’s Stonestown, go and see Lauren, she does the best makeup!