Summer Lip Gloss Love

Lip glosses are my go-to easy outfit change and pick-me-up and that's why Lune+Aster, the easy-to-use, healthy and mainly vegan makeup line I created, has so many! They are all named after aspirational roles - partially to inspire my daughters and you - and partially because we all play different roles on different days. My two favorites are CEO and Entrepreneur, my best friends love Poet and Ph.D, and I always give Teacher to my kids' teachers!

Now we have added two more shades to the Vitamin C+E Lip Gloss collection. I created President - a completely wearable red - for this election year! One coat is nice and sheer, or you can layer on for added drama. I love to pair it with Laura Mercier's Defining Lip Pencil in True Red for a deep Parisian red lip. So easy!

And then of course there's Rockstar - inspired by summer festivals and concerts. Barry and I love taking time to see amazing musicians during the summertime. We just went to see John Mayer and the Grateful Dead, and John Mayer's guitar skills are at their peak right now! Rockstar is a sheer, glimmery gold that can be worn alone or over top of any lipstick color. I love summer and I love lip gloss!

7 Things I Love Right Now

The Family Sunscreen

I just restocked our SkinCeuticals Sheer Physical UV Defense SPF 50. I make my kids carry it in their soccer bags and I use it pre-tennis. None of us will step foot at the pool or the beach without it slathered on our skin.

Spring Cheeks

Hourglass Illume Sheer Color Trio – it’s the  perfect highlighting kit for a bronzed, sunkissed glow. I also love the fun new Laura Mercier Colour Dots Lip & Cheek Sheers. My favorite color is Fruit Punch – a sheer pop of pink happiness.

Cake for Breakfast

We are cake junkies in our family. Our all-time family favorite is an apple spice cake from Moosewood’s Low Fat Favorites book. It’s the most natural we can find, and sometimes we make it gluten free with King Arthur’s Gluten Free Flour Blend. You can find the recipe here.

Time Out

Loving Yogi’s Relaxed Mind Tea (a new discovery) and This Works Deep Sleep Pillow Spray. My kids keep stealing mine to use on their pillows!

Tina Seelig, What I Wish I Knew When I Was 20

My favorite graduation gift and the author of my favorite saying of all time: “Never miss an opportunity to be fabulous.” Our whole family talks about this - when you are doing anything, big or small, you should step up and do great work.  

P.S.  I’m working on my Instagram agility – please follow me! @marla.beck

New + Notable: Spring Eye Palette Love

I love a good palette. They just make life easier. Compact, easy to travel with, and beautiful to look at - here are three of my newest favorites:

1. The By Terry Sun Designer Palettes in No. 1 and No. 2 are very Missoni.

2. The NARS Laguna Tiare Bronzer actually smells like Tahitian Manoi, so you get bronzed and feel like you’re on a tropical island at the same time.

3. The Laura Mercier Extreme Neutrals Eye Palette is full of neutrals but also has the beautiful lavenders – which wear well with ethereal white for summer time.

 I love spring!! Share your spring looks with me on Instagram: @marla.beck

Truth in Aging: Have you seen my brows?

Big, strong, bold brows are hot – as evidenced by my trip to the Marchesa show with Bobbi Brown two weeks ago.  

Beautiful brows at the Marchesa Show by Bobbi Brown

I used to have dark prominent brows, but recently I’ve been looking in the mirror and they seem to have disappeared. No, my hair is not falling out – my brows are sprouting grey hairs which makes it look like I am losing my brows. 

Thank goodness there is a quick fix to this – the trusty brow pencil. Over the years I have owned many brow pencils and thought of them as a superfluous step in my busy schedule. Now, they are a necessity! Here are some of my favorites (pictured above). 

1. Chanel Sculpting Eyebrow Pencil (in select stores only)
2. Trish McEvoy Precision Brow Shaper 
3. Hourglass Brow Sculpting Pencil
4. Bobbi Brown Natural Browl Shaper & Hair Touch Up
5. Laura Mercier Eye Brow Gel 

 So many things that no one tells us about aging...

Oldies but Goodies - Fall Makeup

I felt like I was stuck in an August makeup rut so I rummaged through my makeup drawers for some fall colors. Here are my new addictions to old products for fall:

1. Laura Mercier Chestnut Lip Pencil. This goes with any fall neutral - it's the only lip pencil I am gravitating towards right now.

2. Nars Belize Lip Gloss. The perfect light nude to go with high drama eyes, which I love.

3. Bobbi Brown Caviar Eye Shadow + Trish McEvoy Brush 11 Precise Eye Lining. This is the perfect fall eyeliner. The color is the deepest chocolate with a hint of amethyst but looks almost black. Perfect for day to night and is striking with leather - which is everywhere!

4. Nars Orgasm Multiple mixed with Nars Laguna Multiple. My skin color is so blah as we transition from summer to fall - orgasm brightens while the depth comes from bronzy Laguna.

I feel much better with my new old colors!

Cat Eyes for All

This cover of the New York Times Fashion Magazine this past Sunday epitomizes fall to me. Dramatic cat eyes go with all of the deep, rich hues of fall. Burgundy dresses, high chic leather boots, furs and shearlings, the glamour of fall demands smoky and daring eyes. It used to be hard to get this look, requiring the perfect steady hands plus the perfect mix of water and eyeliner. No more – there are so many new, one-step, easy to use products. From Laura Mercier’s Caviar Stick Eye Colour to NARS’ Larger than Life Long-Wear Eyeliner, drama and glamour is right around the corner for all of us. This look reminds me of the trademark makeup of one of my all time favorite fashion icon,
Carine Roitfeld, the former editor of Paris Vogue.


P.S. Need help with this – the bluemercury makeup artistry team is unbelievable at teaching tips and tricks!

Got Laura?

I was doing a little spring cleaning of my makeup and skincare drawers and realized that I am a Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer in nude addict. I had seven tubes that were 90% used up, what is it about that last 10%? Hydrating and light, I love this tint. It evens out my skin tone, without feeling like I have caked on foundation. The proof is in the picture.

Yearround Lip: The Perfect Nude

Our Marlton team showed me a lip combo that I just can’t seem to stop wearing. Laura Mercier Lip Pencil in Chestnut with Bobbi Brown Creamy Lip Color in Baby. A warm, light-brown nude – this goes with every outfit from summer through winter. It’s just a hint of color so I don’t look dead, without being a color. At night, I can put any sort of mauve lipgloss over this to pop up the glamour. (Laura Mercier Lip Glace in Blush is perfect) With all of the nude lips showing on the runways for spring – this one is tailor-made and easy. (By the way – I keep this combo at home and a separate set in my purse – that’ s how much I love it!)

Secret Cure for Winter Time Skin Blahs

My skin definitely has the winter time blahs: pale, pigmented, dull. The team at our Wildwood, Bethesda location (5 min from my house) recommended that I try Laura Mercier’s new Crème Smooth Foundation in Warm Ivory. It is a beautiful whipped foundation that comes in a jar and gives the most amazing coverage and moisture without looking pasty. It is so easy to put on – I use my fingers, just like putting on a moisturizer. My skin looks perfectly even and flawless – who doesn’t want that? This is my new secret weapon pre-work and pre-going out at night. With the dreary weather we all need a pick me up like this!

Sometimes You Just Need a Pro

Last Saturday was my 40th birthday party. I honestly usually do my makeup myself for all events, but decided that I would go to bluemercury and have it professionally done. I know it sounds funny since I own bluemercury, but honestly, I usually do not have time to have someone do it.

I must say, there is nothing like having a great makeup artist do your makeup. I wanted a heavy smoky eye and nice, clear, even skin that lasted all night. I raced into our Bethesda location at 4:30 and Kate went to work. I was out in 30 minutes with a dramatic eye and even skin – it was perfect. Here is what she used:







Trish McEvoy Eye Base in Demure over the entire lid. Trish McEvoy Midnight Diamond Eye Powder Definer in the crease with Trish McEvoy Arabian Nights Eye Powder Definer blended all over the lid and in the crease with a heavy hand on the corners. Eyes were finished off with Trish McEvoy Lash Curling Mascara.















Bobbi Brown Vitamin Enriched Face Base as a face primer, followed by Bobbi Brown Moisturizing Foundation Compact in beige and Laura Mercier Secret Concealer #2. This was set with Laura Mercier's Secret Brightening Powder. This was finished off with Laura Mercier Bronzing Pressed Powder in Golden Bronze and Bobbi Brown Illuminating Bronzing Powder in Maui as a blush.

The Trish McEvoy Essential Pencil was used all over the lip with Trish McEvoy Beauty Booster SPF 15 Lip Gloss in Pretty Pink.


My makeup lasted all night, looked great in photos, and I felt great. A pro is a pro is a pro, no substitute.

My Bluemercury Haul

I went shopping at bluemercury in Bethesda the other day. Yes, I know it sounds odd. Although I have closets and closets full of beauty products, sometimes there I things I use in large quantities that the vendors do not regularly send me. So I have to shop just like everybody else. So what did I get?

1. Laura Mercier Hydrating Primer. I have been using Laura Mercier Primer for almost 9 years. I would never put on foundation without it. Primer helps the foundation sit on top of the skin, rather than absorb into the lines and pores. 2 years ago, she introduced her hydrating primer, and as I am bone dry, this is a great upgrade. I bought 2.

2. Trish McEvoy High Volume Mascara. My “go to” mascara. Gives me the fullest lashes, doesn’t flake. I have been using this since it came out. It is a Japanese formulation tube mascara that washes off with water only – no eye makeup remover necessary.

3. Acqua di Parma Colonia. I have been wearing this for 11 years, since I started bluemercury. Created in the 1930s, a light, sophisticated citrus, this fragrance is mine, mine, mine. I have gone through bottles of the fragrance and tubes of the lotion. I can’t live without it. I bought the fragrance in 2 sizes and the body lotion in the tube. A dream.

Swiping Lab Samples

How do I know I love a product? When I try to swipe lab samples from our brands' creative teams.

I just scrambled through two days of meetings in NYC with some of my favorite brands. This is one of the most fun things about bluemercury: my job is to play with new beauty products that are not yet on the market.

So here is a sneak peek at the lab samples I tried to swipe:

1. Laura Mercier's new foundation launching this fall.

2. Darphin's organic and unbelievably heavenly facial treatment oils. I wanted all. These will be my summer sun damage salvation.

3. One of the NARS duo eyeshadow combos. Had the perfect green/blue grey for a fall sultry eye.

4. Remede's new antiaging serum with crazy new cell oxygenating technology.

5. Every single thing from Tocca's holiday collection and a very Jackie O./Michelle Obama dress from Tocca's fall fashion lineup. I am in love with their showroom.

6. Fresh's new fragrance which is the best ever, created by Lev, the founder of fresh who I have known for 11 years.

7. And hurray - Molton Brown actually gave me two of their new shower gels - think pink peppercorn!

I am purposely being a little cryptic. I need to keep my access, right?

My Travel Must-Haves

I am traveling almost the entire month of February. Tonight, I organized all of my cosmetics so I could pack efficiently and zip in and out of the airport without checking my bags. I thought I would list out 10 things I can't live without and will be traveling with:

1. Trish McEvoy Beauty Booster Serum. Hydrating treatment I am currently using every morning under primer.
2. Laura Mercier Hydrating Primer. A must use every day before foundation.


3. NARS Sheer Glow Foundation in Fiji and/or Bobbi Brown Skin SPF 15 Foundation. NARS has fuller coverage than Bobbi, but love both. During the dead of winter I am a little more addicted to NARS.


4. Penny Lane Cream Blush by NARS. Almost had a panic attack when I couldn't find it tonight.
5. Bobbi Brown Bone Eye Shadow. The perfect all over lid color.



6. Trish High Volume Mascara. My all-time favorite.
7. Fresh Soy Face Cleanser. They just sent me two travel size ones. Generally, for face cleansers I alternate between whatever I have in travel size.


8. MD Skincare All-in-One Facial Cleanser with Toner. Use as a toner/slash peel. Stronger than a cleanser, lighter than a peel. Gets the day's travel off my skin.
9. Skinceuticals C E Ferulic Serum. My one stop night treatment for an overnight trip. This really does it all for me. The best glow ever.

10. Sample moisturizers and eye creams. Sounds awful, but I generally only pack a moisturizer and eye cream for an emergency and when I do, it's only what I have in travel size. Right now, I am travel with a lab sample Bobbi Brown's new Brightening Moisturize Cream coming out this March or April. I love the texture and it is fine for day or night. If I go on a longer trip, I always pack a moisturizer and eye cream. Anything to not have to check a bag!

Currently also toting: "Caesar" by Colleen McCollough, WWD Dailies to catch up on, and debating whether I am ready for a kindle!