The distinction between skincare and foundation is blurring. We head to New York to discover La Mer’s latest innovation that offers the best of both worlds.
There once was a time when all we expected from foundation was to cover imperfections and even skin tone. But those days are long gone, as La Mer reminded us with its innovative colour launch, Skincolor de la Mer. “We wanted to create something that provides an amazing texture but wanted to give woman that unmistakable look of La Mer,” explains Robin Shandler, global brand product development vice-president for La Mer. Shandler and the team wished to create a product to transcend the role of a traditional formula to enhance luminosity, keep skin deeply hydrated and combat signs of ageing. So La Mer harnessed the power of the ocean. The beauty house’s iconic Miracle Broth – a restorative blend nutrient-rich sea kelp with natural ingredients – makes an unsurprising appearance but the colour collection introduces two new marine-derived ferments – regenerating and velvet.
Together they fend off signs of ageing, plump and hydrate skin, and improve texture. The skin tone-true component was inspired by an art movement. Shandler explains that La Mer turned to pointillism to create its novel colour capsule technology. “We looked at all the colours of skin. Red, yellow, brown and white pigments,” she explains. Each pigment in Skincolour de la Mer is encapsulated in a transparent gel so they remain as individual colours. “This allows colour to look natural while staying colour true.” The end result is a silky-smooth formulation that feels barely there, evens skin tone and gives skin an ethereal luminosity. “We wanted to give women healthy, luminous, flawless complexions. Women want to look like themselves, but just better,” says Shandler.
Why we love it: While we can’t deny that $200 is a hefty amount to shell out for a foundation, if you decide on investing on one piece it your make-up bag it makes sense to make it foundation. The biggest selling point of La Mer’s The Soft Fluid Long Wear Foundation is that it really does combine the best of both worlds: it’s much more than a foundation; it’s the best of La Mer’s coveted skincare too.
