Le Métier de Beauté Red Rapture Kaleidoscope

Le Métier de Beauté's Red Rapture Kaleidoscope Lip Kit ($95) blended tradition and vision, creativity and innovation. The limited-edition Red Rapture combined four irresistible shades of luminous lip color to create the perfect red lip. The colors, Leeds, Monaco, Castelo, and Tremezzo, were universal. I say "were" because I don't know where you might buy Red Rapture today.

I purchased mine early this fall from Fred Segal in California (perhaps there are some left?). Every so often, Le Métier de Beauté posts Kaleidoscope "finds" on their Facebook page, so you really should go "like" them. You never know what treasures they may find. Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman used to have Red Rapture available, but I don't know whether it still exists in any store's inventory.

The Le Métier de Beauté Red Rapture lip colors offer:

• A unique, ultra-lightweight formula enriched with emollients to hydrate and antioxidants (vitamins A, C, and E) for beautiful, supple lips (I really like the creamy Kaleidoscope formula);
  
• Smoothing and shaping boosters;
  
• Long-wearing color;
  
• Reds that are universal - beautiful for all skin tones.

I'm not a red lipstick fan. I still feel like I'm "playing grown-up" when I wear it. Actually, only two of these four shades are actually red-red. The other shades are bold, but they are variations on red. I like to wear these four shades as stains - the way Dustin Lujan taught me to wear bold lip colors. I apply them, then blot with a Kleenex, removing some of the in-your-face oomph. Then I apply a lip gloss over them. The combination of the "lip stain" and lip gloss is extremely long-lasting.

I swatched each of the shades, starting at the top of the Kaleidoscope at the top of my arm and working down both. I used a concealer brush to ensure broad swatches, applying them "moderately." I took my photos in full, late-afternoon sun. I hope you can see that the shades are beautifully vibrant and leap off my arm (lips too).

Why am I showing you something you may not be able to find? 'Tis the season for red lips, so I pulled out Red Rapture to use it. Also, as Le Métier de Beauté has shown us before, they do listen to their customers. If you want the whole Kaleidoscope re-issued, or if you'd love to see one of these shades included in a future Kaleidoscope, please comment here. I'll make sure your comments are passed along. The Non-Blonde found that one of the shades in the 2010 Le Petit Poudrier Lip Crème Palette was very close to vibrant red in Red Rapture. What some would call "dupes" made Gaia a happy gal!

I'm hoping Le Métier de Beauté brings back the third shade down - is it Castelo? The kit itself doesn't tell me. It's simply perfect on my lips, with its touch of brown/mauve on my skin! I'll check with Le Métier de Beauté when it's not a weekend.

I have one more "unavailable" Kaleidoscope" to show you. You just never know. One day I was talking to Dustin Lujan, and he "confessed" that he had an eye Kaleidoscope with green tones. It had to be mine - and now it is. Speaking of Dustin, his new Antiquité Poupée Kaleidoscope Eye Kit was released a few days early, and it's now sold out (unless LMdB produces a few more).

What do you think? Are you sorry you missed Red Rapture, or are you lucky enough to own it?

Photo at top courtesy of Neiman Marcus; other photos by Best Things in Beauty