Estée Lauder just launched a reformulated version of its hero Double Wear Stay-in-Place Foundation, and Giorgio Armani released an updated version of its hero complexion product — the Luminous Silk Natural Glow Blurring Liquid Foundation.
Celebrity makeup artist Mary Phillips’ makeup brand, m.ph by Mary Phillips, launched its version of the staple on Thursday — with ambitions to become Sephora’s No. 1 in the category, according to newly appointed CEO Hannah Beals. To do so, it would have to unseat Haus Labs Triclone Skin Tech Medium Coverage Foundation, according to an off-the-record source.
The collection first debuted at Sephora in August with a tight edit of lip liners, lip “ciggies” (a sheer, balmy lipstick) and Phillips’ hero product: the $64 Underpainting Face Highlight & Contour Palette, which is best paired with the $38 Underpainting Dual-Ended Sculpting Brush. The best-selling palette is based on Phillips’ viral underpainting makeup technique, which involves applying contour, color correction and highlight products before foundation, rather than on top of it. As it doesn’t include foundation, the most commonly asked question about the palette, according to Beals, is “What do I layer on top?”
This week, the brand answered that question with the launch of Le Skin Weightless Serum Foundation ($49), available in 35 shades, alongside The Foundation Brush ($48). “This foundation is medium coverage, but it can be buildable for people who do want more coverage,” Phillips said. “I wanted it to look and feel like skin.” The foundation features 2% niacinamide for added skin-care benefits. According to Phillips, feedback from the models who tested the formula reassured her that it was working as intended. “[They said] ‘I don’t feel this on my face,’” she said.
Because Phillips underpaints before applying foundation, it was important to her that the formula be sheer enough not to erase the structure already built on the skin; she designed the foundation to meet her own needs. “There were skin tints that were close, but I don’t need to put on SPF [every time], even though I love sunscreen,” she said. Phillips noted that the foundation had been in development for roughly three years, with work beginning around the same time as the Underpainting Palette.
The Foundation Brush was similarly designed to support Phillips’ application process. “I always apply foundation with a fluffy brush,” she said. “And [this one] has no hard edges; it’s just perfectly soft and round — and it just diffuses and perfectly applies the foundation, but also blends the underpainting out perfectly.”
Phillips’ artist-led approach to product development is valuable, said Amy Abrams, svp of makeup merchandising at Sephora. “Driven by decades of professional artistry, Mary Phillips continues to bring her expert knowledge and signature techniques to life with performance-driven formulas that make pro-level results achievable for all, which has resonated with our Sephora community,” she said.
The retailer has increasingly supported makeup artist–founded brands: Less than a month after m.ph’s debut, Sephora launched Hung Vanngo’s eponymous color cosmetics line in its stores.
To support the launch, the brand will rely heavily on social media. Phillips regularly works with clients including Hailey Bieber and Kendall Jenner, while she personally has 2.2 million Instagram followers and 358,000 TikTok followers. “We have a ton of content planned for both TikTok and Instagram, and we’ll also be relying on our creator and artist communities that we’ve been building to help us educate and story-tell,” Beals said. The brand increased its seeding to influencers by 50% to promote the launch of Le Skin, Beals said, though she declined to elaborate. She estimates that, in 2026, the Underpainting Palette and Le Skin Foundation will account for roughly 50% of the brand’s business.
M.ph is also investing in its first-ever out-of-home campaign, spanning billboards in New York and Los Angeles — including placements on Sunset Boulevard and Abbot Kinney, as well as taxi-top advertisements in New York City. Shot at Fouquet’s, the Parisian-inspired Tribeca hotel, the campaign is “very sexy,” Phillips said, with images featuring models in the bathtub, drinking wine. The tagline is “Get on top.” Overall, it was inspired by the experience of girls getting ready together — something Phillips said she feels nostalgic for. “It’s called Le Skin, so we wanted to show a lot of skin,” she said.
Foundation is a fundamental category for any beauty brand, and Le Skin’s sheer, skin-like finish aligns with current consumer preferences. As Phillips put it, “The younger TikTok generation likes seeing skin. They like seeing their freckles. It’s not about covering up so much anymore.”
And skin that looks good, she added, sets the stage for everything that follows. “If the structure looks good, and the skin looks beautiful, hydrated and fresh, that’s what’s important.”
