Saturday, August 13, 2011

First Look: Le Métier de Beauté Empress Kaleidoscope Lip Kit for Fall 2011

Le Métier de Beauté's Empress Kaleidoscope Lip Kit ($95) from the Silk Road Collection for Fall 2011 gave me a "love at first sight" moment today. I wanted to show you this kit so that you could be on the lookout for it and purchase it the minute it arrives at your favorite Le Métier de Beauté counter. I purchased mine today at Neiman Marcus Mazza Gallerie. That means your store should have it soon.

It's raining on and off, and the sun hasn't made a steady appearance since yesterday. The photo at left shows the tester. It was taken in the store. I took some swatch photos in between raindrops; the sun made a very brief appearance. I'll do a better job and a full feature on this gorgeous kit as soon as the sun graces us with a full-time appearance. In the meantime, take a look at my photos. I'll bet you will want this masterpiece.

Here are the exquisite shades. I hope I've got these names right (from memory).
  • Imperial Silk - pale pink for a nude base (the top pull-out shade)
  • Silk Road - shimmering, sheer red
  • Empress Delicate - mauve mixed with soft champagne
  • Plum Satin - creamy plum for rich contrast (the bottom shade)
From the transparent pink gloss in Imperial Silk to one of the prettiest reds I've ever seen, this palette offers you many possibilities for creating a look. I am totally smitten with it - the reason I rushed to show it to you today. I promise I'll come back with a full feature and better photos.

I applied each shade to my arm with a lip brush. The shade at the top of my arm is the Plum Satin shade at the bottom of the kit, and I swatched in order, bottom to top in the kit, with Imperial Silk at the bottom of my arm photo.

I haven't had time to do much layering, but I did layer the three lightest shades, starting with the plum at the bottom, adding the mauve, and finishing with the pink glossy color. The result is my kind of lip color, shown just above left. That photo was taken with a cloudy sky.

I may need two of these lip kits. You know how hard it is to find the older Kaleidoscopes!

Photo at top courtesy of Le Métier de Beauté; other photos by Best Things in Beauty

10 comments:

Mamavalveeta03 said...

So beautiful...and it seems to have your name all over it!!! I don't think I could talk myself into springing for it at $95, though. There are some things I still just can't/won't do!!!

Charlestongirl said...

It's pricey, MamaVal, but when you consider that mixing and matching with it (what LMdB intends) gives you at least 16 colors, not just four, it will make sense.

Nemo said...

Love this! Charleston girl, what do you think of the LMDB Silk Road eye palette that is part of this collection? Will we see a review from you on this?

Charlestongirl said...

Hi Nemo!

I like to feature things I have, and I don't have the Silk Road Kaleidoscope Eye Kit. So, maybe not. There have already been plenty of blog features on it. I don't want to spend $95 to cover old news, even though I would like to add it to my makeup museum.

There are two gorgeous shades in it. Layered into one shade, it yields a complex, amazing color. I actually demonstrated it to another customer at NM the other day. She bought it. I think it will be amazing on her.

Nemo said...

What is her coloring? I have fair skin with rosy tones, blonde hair and blue-green eyes. I already have one LMDB eye palette and I love it. Bought it at BG after reading your review.

Charlestongirl said...

She was fair, same eyes, but had the most amazing chestnut hair I've seen in a long time. So full and bouncy with volume. A beautiful gal!

Nemo said...

You know, my hair is honey blonde, long, to the middle of my back, with highlights. That Silk Road may be jumping into MY bag soon!Thank you, dear lady!

lovethescents said...

I saw and tested this at BG's. I can't tell you how relieved I was that I didn't fall in love with this. I also swatched them on my friend's daughter's arm. They looked beautiful on her! She's only 8 so I didn't buy it for her either. More relief :-)

Charlestongirl said...

Hi Lovethescents!

You resisted this? What willpower!

lovethescents said...

Hi Charlestongirl, I resisted because it wasn't fantabulous on me...