Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Le Métier de Beauté Golden Beauty Dual Kaleidoscope

This month, Messy Wands alerted us to generally unavailable Le Métier de Beauté Kaleidoscopes and Nail Lacquers. The treasure trove is/was available at the John Barrett Salon in New York City. Naturally, I called and ordered a few things I didn't have. One of them was this Golden Beauty Dual Kaleidoscope ($125) - dual because it includes three eye shades and one lip color.

Golden Beauty was carefully selected to bring together warm, saturated colors to create a chic and timeless holiday look. I received it at a perfect time of year. It's not the only Kaleidoscope I purchased when I called. As soon as our sunshine returns, I'll get photos of the other.

I knew the moment I swiveled out the pans that I was going to love Golden Beauty, and I do. The top pan features a rosy red lip color - one that offers sheer, shiny color that looks great on me. The three coordinating eye shades are beautiful, whether layered or worn alone. How could I have missed Golden Beauty when it was first introduced?

My swatch photos were taken in full sun. I applied each shade, even the lip color, with a sponge-tipped applicator.

The lip color at the top is drop-dead gorgeous. If you are like me and like a rose lip that isn't quite red-red, this is your color. The first eye color - and second shade down in the Kaleidoscope and on my arm - is shimmering gold. It is nicely pigmented, so I see gold when I apply it - not simply sparkles, which has been a complaint of mine with other brands and other palettes.

The third shade is what I call antique gold. Others might call it camel. It's a great shade for me when mixed with the other eye colors in the kit. The bottom shade is a taupe brown that couldn't be prettier - or a better complement to the golds. The antique gold and taupe brown offer a lively, gleaming finish (not satin and definitely not matte, but somewhere in between shimmering and satin). I drew in my breath when I first saw the brown. It's as perfect as it gets for us fair-skinned gals.

Golden Beauty was a "find"! You can find one too by calling Heather at the Le Métier de Beauté counter at (212) 872-2700, extension 2714. There are other "older" Kaleidoscopes available, along with many gorgeous nail lacquers. Those who wanted a Kaleidoscope for the holidays can find one they may not have at the John Barrett Salon. Happy days!

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

9 comments:

toughdoc said...

Beautiful pictures and product. Your glowing reviews of LmdB are something else, but I really want to see the stuff before I buy it and this brand is nowhere to be found where I live (SW FL). I love your blog and I appreciate your saga trying to find these products(like Dolce and Gabbana too) that seem amazing but are only in NYC (sigh).

Charlestongirl said...

Hi Toughdoc!

In the best possible world, we could all see before we buy. Unfortunately, some things just aren't available here in the DC area (like D&G), so I've trained my eye to know what will work for me and what won't. I'm pretty good at it now, with only a few disappointments.

Once you learn a line, it's easier to predict how the products will look. Is there anyplace in Florida (where you visit) that carries LMdB? That wouldn't have helped with these older Kaleidoscopes, but it might help in the future if you could get to know the line.

Thanks for the kind words! Hope you enjoy all that lovely sunshine. :)

CGstrein said...

Hi Toughdoc and Charlestongirl,
LmdB is available at the NMs at Boca Raton, Ft. Lauderdale, and Bal Harbour. These are all SE FL but could be a nice day trip from SW, depending on your exact location.

Good thing about Bal Harbour is the Saks there carrys D&G so you have 2 fabulous brands at one mall. Meghan, the amazing MUA and salesperson there, takes great care of you. She will swatch anything on a card and send it to you if you are out of town.

Charlestongirl said...

Thanks, CGstrein! A reader to the rescue. :)

Anonymous said...

I just started shopping for LMDB products, I love the ones I have purchased so far, but do you know when the spring/summer 2012 products will be released? Will there be any kaleidoscopes? Any word on the lipglosses for resort 2012-will these be at neiman marcus, nordstrom or berdorf goodman or all three?

Charlestongirl said...

Hi Anonymous,

I don't have the release dates yet for spring. I don't want to spread rumor, so I'll refrain for now on commenting on the line-up's piece-parts.

The Jet Set resort collection is exclusive to Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman. I posted swatches last week. It's bright and colorful! :)

toughdoc said...

OOOOOh, thank you CGstrein and Charelstongirl for the advice, I'll have to take a roadtrip over to the FL East Coast for a makeup shopping mini vacation! The best kind of trip on earth!!lol!!

tovy said...

yours and messy wands' blogs are too dangerously tempting for me! i am currently on a le metier binge which is a beautiful pain for my pocketbook! thanks for the swatches as i've been going by them without seeing things in person and have not yet been disappointed :)

Charlestongirl said...

Hi Tovy!

Join the club. I think we're all binging on LMdB! It's an exclusive club. :)