Laura Mercier (born Michèle Mercier on 2 October 1960) is a French makeup artist and businesswoman.

Early life

Laura Mercier was born as Michèle Mercier in

Arles, France Arles (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Arle ; Classical la, Arelate) is a coastal city and commune in the South of France, a subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in the former province of ...

, on 2 October 1960, the youngest of three daughters. At 16, she enrolled as an art student at L'Ecole Supérieure d'Arts Appliqués Duperré, a design school in Paris, to pursue painting and drawing. Mercier later enrolled at the Carita Paris Institute, a combination beauty school and salon in Paris, France. Following her graduation, Mercier worked as a makeup artist at the school and adopted the name "Laura" to avoid confusion with the actress

Michèle Mercier Michèle Mercier (born 1 January 1939 as Jocelyne Yvonne Renée Mercier) is a French actress. In the course of her career she has worked with leading directors like François Truffaut, Jean-Pierre Melville, Jacques Deray, Dino Risi, Mario Monicel ...

, a client of the salon. After attending Carita Paris Institute, she moved to New York and worked for famous magazines such as ''

Elle ''Elle'' (stylized ''ELLE'') is a worldwide women's magazine of French origin that offers a mix of fashion and beauty content, together with culture, society and lifestyle. The title means "she" or "her" in French. ''Elle'' is considered the w ...

'', '' Allure'', '' Glamour'', and ''

InStyle ''InStyle'' was an American monthly women's fashion magazine founded in 1994. It was published in the United States by Dotdash Meredith. In February 2022, it was announced that InStyle would cease print publications and move to a digital-only f ...

''.

Career

Mercier moved from Paris to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in 1985 to work as a makeup artist at the American edition of ''

'' magazine. Mercier was hired as

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

's personal makeup artist, following a photo shoot featuring Madonna for ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

'' magazine. Mercier also worked on campaigns for magazines and clients including The Gap and

Chanel Chanel ( , ) is a French high-end luxury fashion house founded in 1910 by Coco Chanel in Paris. Chanel specializes in women's ready-to-wear, luxury goods, and accessories and licenses its name and branding to Luxottica for eyewear. Chane ...

. Other celebrity clients Mercier has worked with include

Julia Roberts Julia Fiona Roberts (born October 28, 1967) is an American actress. Known for her leading roles in films encompassing a variety of genres, she has received multiple accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and th ...

Mariah Carey Mariah Carey (; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Referred to as the " Songbird Supreme", she is noted for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style and signature use of the w ...

and

Sarah Jessica Parker Sarah Jessica Parker (born March 25, 1965) is an American actress and television producer. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including six Golden Globe Awards and two Primetime Emmy Awards. ''Time'' magazine named her one of the 100 ...

. In 1996, Janet Gurwitch, the former Executive Vice President of

Neiman Marcus Neiman Marcus Group, Inc. is an American integrated luxury retailer headquartered in Dallas, Texas, which owns Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman, Horchow, and Last Call. Since September 2021, NMG has been owned by a group of investment compani ...

, founded

Laura Mercier Cosmetics Laura Mercier Cosmetics is a French and American cosmetics and skin care line that was founded in 1996 by celebrity makeup artist Laura Mercier. Founder Mercier teamed up with Janet Gurwitch in 1996 to launch the cosmetics line. After 10 yea ...

with her partner, Gary Kusin. The company's philosophy focuses on what it calls the "flawless face", allegedly derived from Mercier's promotion of natural-looking makeup. The company asserts that this idea guides the development and presentation of its products. That year was the launching of Mercier's own cosmetics range. Mercier continues to work as a freelance makeup artist and is a published author. In 2006, she published ''The New Beauty Secrets: Your Ultimate Guide to a Flawless Face''. On 23 March 2014 she joined with Claudia Poccia for the

ovarian cancer Ovarian cancer is a cancerous tumor of an ovary. It may originate from the ovary itself or more commonly from communicating nearby structures such as fallopian tubes or the inner lining of the abdomen. The ovary is made up of three different ...

Awareness Month and donated some of her

saving Saving is income not spent, or deferred consumption. Methods of saving include putting money aside in, for example, a deposit account, a pension account, an investment fund, or as cash. Saving also involves reducing expenditures, such as recur ...

s to the

Ovarian Cancer Research Fund Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance (OCRA) is a not-for-profit organization focused on ovarian cancer research, advocacy and patient support. The organization was formed in January 2016 when the former not-for-profit organization Ovarian Cancer Res ...

. In April 2014 she launched a new collection called ''New Attitude''.

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mercier, Laura Living people French cosmetics businesspeople French expatriates in the United States French women writers People from Provence Place of birth missing (living people) Cosmetics people 1960 births