If Your Base Makeup Feels Basic, Laura Mercier Has You Covered

01.07.2026, 21:22 allure.com

Ever wonder what it’s like shopping with a beauty editor? Welcome to Counter Service, a new series where we visit our favorite beauty boutiques IRL. We’re visiting the curated spaces and places that make shopping in person oh-so worth it—and you’re coming with. On a recent commute to the Allure office, commerce market editor Sarah Hoffmann picked up a new base routine from Laura Mercier and rediscovered the joys of loitering in a Sephora.

Ever since I started working at Allure, my time spent browsing for beauty in person has significantly dropped. Instead of methodically examining store testers, I comb through my email for exciting launches and take notes from fellow editors, who are basically walking beauty encyclopedias. But when I was younger, I was a Sephora tween before the phenomenon even had a name (or press coverage). I lived to wander the colorful aisles of my suburban mall Sephora location, making a thrilling (and typically travel-size) purchase once I had stashed up enough hard-earned babysitting money.

A recent flare of unhappy skin brought me back to my mall-dwelling roots. An uncouth mix of stress and chlorine exposure recently left my skin simultaneously drier and more breakout-prone than it's been in quite a long time, and my usual routine of a quarter-size drop of skin tint just wasn’t cutting it anymore. I knew I needed a head-to-toe revamp of my base routine, and that there was only one brand for the job: Laura Mercier. Shade matching is key when buying complexion products, so it only made sense to do my swatching IRL, which is how I ended up in a physical Sephora store for the first time in maybe years. It felt like returning home.

Happy to be home.

In complexion heaven.

The core of Laura Mercier’s line is to help you create the “The Flawless Face” look, which is her natural, skin-forward approach to base makeup. Her philosophy is reflected as soon as you step up to her Sephora display. As you walk up to the brand’s gondola, the first two shelves you see are wall-to-wall complexion, but not the traditional foundation and concealer you’d expect. Laura Mercier is one of the brands that put tinted moisturizer on the map, and the Natural Dewy version is exactly what my angry skin ordered. The coverage is just enough to mask minor discoloration and minimize the look of blemishes, but unlike traditional foundation, your real skin peeks through.

Ready to be swatched.

The ideal setup for shade matching.

After sampling a few shades on my jawline to pick my perfect shade (the line includes warm, cool, and neutral tones), I shifted down the display to the Ultra-Blur Translucent Loose Setting Powder. This powder was in my top three most-coveted products from when I was a budding beauty devotee. It came recommended over and over again by the beauty YouTubers I trusted like older sisters, and from the occasional copy of Allure magazine (hehe) that I managed to convince my mom to buy me at the grocery store checkout.

I don’t normally use a lot of powder products in my makeup routine, but something as dewy as the tinted moisturizer I’d just picked up needs a little bit of help toughing out New York’s sickeningly humid summers. If you’re afraid of cake face, let Ultra-Blur be the powder that you face your fears with. Sampling in store will show you how fine and soft the texture is—it’s genuinely difficult to apply enough to look flat and dry. Laura Mercier recently added a few shade options to the line, like a brightening Rose shade and a redness-neutralizing Mint, but I opted for the lightest shade, Translucent.

The cutest little jar.

I'll take one of each, please!

The newest-to-me product I wanted to get my hands on was the Secret Camouflage Complexion Perfector. A re-release of the brand’s beloved ‘90s concealer, this iteration is creamier, easier to blend, and even more flexible than the original, which only had two shades. The new edition has a base shade, plus smaller pans of complementary warm and cool shades that you can mix with the base to adjust the tone. I feel like my skin tone varies across my face, so I really enjoy how much control I have with this palette—plus, I don’t feel like I’m one-day-at-the-beach-away from not being able to use my concealer for a month. It could seem a little intimidating to mix your own shade, but if you pick a palette with the base closest to your skin tone, you only need small taps into the other pans to customize it. I’ve got some hyperpigmentation left over from recent breakouts that the Tinted Moisturizer won’t cover, but this will definitely do the trick.

Secret Camouflage is back and better than ever.

How do I take this vanity setup home with me too?

Laura Mercier

Sephora

Allure commerce market editor Sarah Hoffmann applying the Laura Mercier Pure Canvas Illuminating Primer

Part of taking my base routine more seriously includes actually doing the prep steps, including proper skin care beforehand (SPF always) and a face primer to set my makeup up for success. This one has a satin texture and layers beautifully under the tinted moisturizer. It adds a nongreasy, brightening finish that subtly evens out texture, so I actually feel like I have the best possible canvas to apply the rest of the routine.

Laura Mercier

Sephora

Hoffmann applying the Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer Natural Dewy

I recently went to a masterclass hosted by the Laura Mercier team, and they recommended using your fingers to apply the Tinted Moisturizer Natural Dewy. I’m normally a brush girl, but after seeing how the warmth from my hands helped it melt in seamlessly, I’m sold on the DIY approach. Plus, fewer brushes for me to clean is always a bonus.

Laura Mercier

Sephora

Hoffmann applying the Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage Complexion Perfector

Remember what I just said about quitting brushes? Not totally true. The Secret Camouflage Brush is a gorgeous detailer brush that I can’t recommend enough for this concealer palette. I added a bit of the Cool shade to the base, then applied it over a few spots of hyperpigmentation that are slowly fading after a recent breakout.

Laura Mercier

Sephora

Hoffmann applying the Laura Mercier Secret Brightening Under Eye Powder

I don’t often conceal my undereyes (I don’t have super prominent dark circles, and I think they look kind of cool…) but this powder is a great option for when the darkness around my eyes goes from chic to genuinely concerning. I have the Soft Pink shade, and it really lights up my eye area when applied over a bit of Secret Camouflage.

Laura Mercier

Sephora

Hoffmann applying the Laura Mercier Ultra-Blur Translucent Loose Setting Powder

And finally, I finish with a layer of the Ultra-Blur Translucent Loose Setting Powder to lock it all in. At the masterclass, the artist recommended using a gentle roll-and-press motion to apply the product. It helps distribute a thin, even layer of product, instead of haphazardly sweeping it across your face. I like to gently press into my forehead, chin, and around my nose, avoiding my cheeks and areas I want to stay extra glowy.

Hoffmann before applying her Laura Mercier routine

Hoffmann after applying her Laura Mercier routine

I could’ve spent the entire day sampling, swatching, and admiring the layout. There’s something about a well-assembled display that makes the in-person shopping experience so seamless; I wonder why I skipped out on it for so long. Laura Mercier, which just celebrated its 30th year, has always had a very specific philosophy at the core of its product line, and it’s clear that every product was created with the intention of making this look achievable for everyone.

The Tinted Moisturizer Natural Dewy, the Ultra-Blur powders, and the other base products all fit together perfectly in a routine that highlights your real skin and natural features. It’s a smooth experience going down the line of the display and simply choosing your shade of each product, knowing that a professional makeup artist—Mercier herself—has already ideated how everything works together in a cohesive routine.

Have you ever seen a more flawless shopping cart?

Goods secured.

Plus, it made shade matching a breeze compared to shopping online. Having a wide array of Tinted Moisturizer and Secret Camouflage shades right at my fingertips completely took the guesswork out of putting together this routine. Online, I would’ve pondered for 30 minutes over whether I needed the Fair or Light concealer palette, but under the bright lights and in front of the large Sephora mirrors, it was immediately obvious that Fair was the best fit.

As I set off to the Allure office with my haul in tow, I felt confident that this new base routine could handle whatever attitude my skin decides to throw my way, and reminded that if I ever need to feel a kid again, there’s a Sephora around every corner—not actually, but don’t we wish!

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