What's unique at Francis Jerome? "Everything," Michele Batta, owner, and Sean Kaplan, makeup artist, chorus in unison. From futuristic foundations, spa-quality facials and skin treatments to specialized scents - what one finds at this upscale make-up boutique is anything but ordinary. Since opening the store three years ago, Batta has supplied cosmetics to the Philadelphia area, which were previously only available in New York or select department stores. Without Batta, make-up lines like Paula Dorf, Three Custom Color Specialists, and Pretty Pretty are difficult to come by in Philly. Now local women with hard-to-match skin tones can benefit from the variety of foundation and concealer shades offered by Paula Dorf or Skin Alison Raffaele. For the adventurous, Francis Jerome carries the Era Face line by Classified Cosmetics. This foundation, which claims to be "the make-up of the future," is sprayed directly on the face. The combination foundation/concealer finishes to a powder with SPF 20, and each bottle comes with a protective headwrap and cosmetic puff. When adding this foundation to your collection of favorite sprayable products (like Lysol, Pam, Off!, Afrin and Tilex), don't forget your wallet -- a spray paint sized bottle will set you back $55.
If you hate the idea of spritzing chemicals on your skin, but still love smelling nice, Francis Jerome has a custom perfume bar. This galleria of fragrances began last November and is launching internationally in May at Cannes. From an assortment of aromas, including ginger, lemon, pink grapefruit, fig and green tea, they will mix one especially for you. The initial consultation is $20, plus $55 for 1.7 ounces of eau de parfum. Batta also plans to release a bath and body line later this year. In the spirit of fresh, fruity scents, it's time to get prepped for spring. With new arrivals from the Lippmann nail polish collection, you can help fulfill the Francis Jerome in-store prophecy that this season's trendiest colors will be orange and pink. "Constant Craving" is an '80s-throwback hot pink (think Barbie's convertible) and "Love Shack" is an electric peach, each $15. To further expand your color palette, an adorable miniature gift bag is available for purchase complete with five of Lippmann's other top-selling nail shades. Take a note from Batta's book and think experimentation. Painting her thumbnail with Love Shack, she holds it out for examination. "More of a toe color," Kaplan concludes with a rueful sigh. So if you're fed up with winter blues but not angry enough at the French to boycott their exports, then you can spend that $100 burning a hole in your pocket in one short trip to Francis Jerome.
