“From the Oscars, and now the Seda hotel, let’s all welcome Janice Daoud, one of NARS’ lead makeup stylists; it’s a special position designed to communicate François Nars’ ideas and values,” says Rustan’s Sevrine Miailhe by way of introducing the beauty expert they flew in.

Daoud was here last week to show everyone how to use the Matte Multiple, NARS’ newest addition to its popular all-in-one beauty product that has a cult following among beauty junkies everywhere. To the uninitiated, the Multiple is a fat stick of creamy, shimmery color that can be used as an eyeshadow, blush and lip color. Sounds improbable, right? Not when Daoud  recounts the story of how the Multiple came to be.

“In 1996, François Nars was asked to do an editorial together with up-and-coming makeup artists like Kevyn Aucoin, Bobbi Brown and Laura Mercier (now big brand names themselves). There were seven makeup artists, and they were asked to recreate any look they wanted. What François did was to take one lipstick and—this was before NARS—took it and used it on the eyes, lips and cheeks,” Daoud  recalls.

She adds, “The editor at that time said, ‘François, you probably want to do more makeup than just taking one product and using it everywhere,’ and he replied, ‘I love the simplicity of the product, and it does the trick, so why not?’”

This desire for a foolproof, ultra-simple beauty product led him to create the Multiple when he launched his own cosmetic line. Today, there are 15 regular shades of the Multiple available, plus a few limited-edition shades that crop up with seasonal collections. It’s so popular that pop diva and actress Jennifer Lopez includes the Multiple in the shade “South Beach” as part of her “beauty juicing” routine, according to Daoud.

J. Lo’s glow

“J. Lo always has this gorgeous glow on her body; do you wanna know what that is?” Daoud  teases. “It’s actually our ‘South Beach’ Multiple stick; her makeup artist Scott Barnes, when he created that look for her, used to chop it up and put it in a blender, along with her favorite La Mer moisturizer and created this beautiful milky lotion that he would put all over her body,” she adds. Incidentally, the shade “Copacabana” is what. J. Lo uses on her face to get that ethereal luminescence.

This time around, the Multiple sheds its trademark shimmer in favor of more vibrant matte shades. “It’s the must-have product used backstage at New York and London Fashion Week

and also at the Oscars—all the celebrities love it,” says Daoud.

The Matte Multiple comes in seven different shades, four in shades ranging from a muted rose to an intense red-orange, plus three shades in the brown family best used for contouring the face.

“The difference between these and the regular Multiple sticks is that the regular ones can be used on the eyes, lips and cheeks while these can only be used on the cheeks and lips,” Daoud  explains.

It can be used two ways: wet or dry. Applying it straight from the stick onto the skin will allow the vibrancy of the color to appear undiluted, while dampening the stick with water will impart a watercolor-like sheer flush.

Daoud  advises, “The best way to use this is a combination of both; you want to contour the cheeks with these (brown shades), and add a little bit of the rosier ones, then you can take a brighter Multiple and do the highlight.” These can define and highlight the face quickly, so she recommends this for women on the go who don’t have much time in the morning to get dolled up.

For a contouring shade that suits most Filipino skin tones, Daoud  recommends going with “Altai,” a rosy bronze shade. She also shares a handy tip on how to find the spot to swipe on the Multiple to define cheekbones and slim the face.

Using your pointer finger, rest it against the hollow of the cheek opposite it, and puff up that part to feel where the cheekbone is; you will want to contour along that area where your finger rests. Extend the contour shade up to the temples (stop at the temples if you have a short forehead; continue contouring along the hairline and top of forehead if your forehead is extra broad).

For a pop of color on the cheeks, keep the color limited to the apples of the cheeks, i.e. the part of your cheeks which protrude when you smile. Daoud  says the shade “Exumas,” a pink apricot hue, is universally flattering for Filipino women.

Because François Nars wanted to imbue simplicity in the Multiple, you don’t need any special tools to use it—your fingers will do, both for application and for blending, making this the ideal product for women trying on makeup for the first time, or for those heading to the beach this summer.

NARS is available at Rustan’s The Beauty Source.