Prestige makeup brand, Laura Mercier, is entering a multi-faceted restage as it accelerates global expansion plans to achieve its goal of becoming a Top 10 global makeup brand.

Laura Mercier is in the midst of a broad restage as it gears up to expand in the U.S.—its largest market—as well as globally.

“I like to talk about brand revitalization, as Laura Mercier will remain true to its DNA and core mission,” said Alexandra Papazian, Global General Manger, Laura Mercier. “The DNA of the brand is deeply rooted in authentic makeup artistry and craftsmanship, high performance and innovative products developed through the unique vision of our founder. What has evolved is mostly the execution.”

Laura Mercier is of course the French makeup artist who brought her vision of French beauty to America decades ago. The brand she founded has since straddled both cultures.

“Over 20 years ago, Laura Mercier emerged as a makeup artist brand, something at the time was considered breakthrough in the industry. The brand has stayed true to these roots, earning a name synonymous with signature makeup artistry techniques and cult products, such as Translucent Loose Setting Powder and Tinted Moisturizer,” said Alexandra. “Under the Shiseido umbrella, the brand is moving forward with a renewed brand identity that embraces its French heritage while further incorporating the spirit and energy of New York,” she said.

The brand’s new logo, capturing the classic romanticism of Paris and the modernity of New York, will be seen on all new product launches beginning January 2019, together with new packaging on new launches, with a gradual rollout to existing SKU’s through the first half of the year.

“We are also evolving the brand image to portray highly aspirational women, more modern, more feminine, very sophisticated yet accessible, with a touch of the French je ne sais quoi that is globally aspirational to many women around the world,” she said.

Laura Mercier’s new website debuted in early October, with innovative new features such as Apple business chat. “This provides personalized advice at any point in time with one of our trained makeup artists directly from a mobile device. This service is at the heart of our founder’s philosophy that there is no set beauty recipe at Laura Mercier, but rather a highly personalized approach that respects the uniqueness of each client. Personal chat is a great way to achieve this digitally.”

“Our new store design is a modern and sensorial framework in which to tell our brand story and illustrate the spirit of Paris and New York, the two cities in which the brand’s DNA is anchored. We balance a tension between these two cities, highlighting the craftsmanship and artistry of Paris in contrast to the modernity, energy and reflection of New York. Every detail, from the floors to the lighting, highlights the design balance between these two destinations.”

“We strongly believe that makeup artistry should be approachable. Therefore, we created a store where our customers feel welcome to engage with our products.Our beauty social club provides an inspiring space to experience the brand and learn through digitally enhanced experiences and unique points of interaction”.

Laura Mercier was the first acquisition under Shiseido President and CEO, Masahiko Uotani’s, leadership and, as such, bears special strategic importance.

“We have a very large opportunity to accelerate the brand on a global scale and plan to do so by continuing to emphasize artistry, while innovating further, not only in the face category, but also in lip and eye,” said Alexandra.

“The global expansion of the brand is impacting our ways of working in many areas such as creative, product development and social media, as we shift the mindset from being US-centric to becoming a global force. There will be a large push to distinguish the brand amongst competitors as we expand through Asia, Europe and the Middle East, as well as Travel Retail. Under the Shiseido umbrella, Laura Mercier will leverage the company’s robust global platform to accelerate growth in these high-potential markets”.

Laura Mercier is currently working with makeup artist Mario Dedivanovic as Brand Ambassador (Mario has 5.5 million Instagram followers), and the brand is also fostering relationships with authentic brand advocates and loyalists.

“We do not work with any partner agencies, as all influencer work is done in-house; investing in the team and internal resources to further those relationships and to foster organic, personal relationships. As a brand, we see importance in engaging influencers at all tiers who have a passion for Laura Mercier and showcase their own unique artistry in the content they create,” said Alexandra.

“The brand has achieved great success in its core markets – it is still growing double digits in the U.S., for example, and we believe that what made it successful is still very relevant. With the right execution, focus and investment, I am confident we will achieve even greater success on a global scale as the brand message becomes available to a broader group of women looking for authenticity and quality.”