Le Métier de Beauté Indian Summer Collection Lip Crèmes by Ken Downing for Summer 2012

Indian Summer, when summer and fall meet for a brief, but gorgeous, moment is the inspiration for Ken Downing's Indian Summer Haute Hues Summer 2012 Collection for Le Métier de Beauté. OK - we're all thinking months ahead now. I want to show you the beautiful new Lip Crème shades - live and in person.

“There is just something about the seasons mingling, when the nights begin to cool and the dog days of summer have gone to rest – bronzed skin lingers, but the shades of fall make their debut,” explains Ken Downing, Neiman Marcus’ Fashion Director.  “It always brings me back to that Bianca Jagger, 1970’s Halston moment. It wasn’t just the clothing, it wasn’t just the makeup, it was how it all came together, so carefree, bohemian, and easy.  That is Indian Summer.”

This sultry mix was the inspiration for Ken Downing’s summer collection with Le Métier de Beauté, Indian Summer.  “A summer dress with tawny, coral makeup – it’s so simple and perfect,” says Mr. Downing.  “Shades of bronze, orange, gold, they look gorgeous on every woman and every skin tone.”

Ken Downing’s Indian Summer hues evoke the warm, dreamy feel of the end of the season. Ginger Snap Lip Crème (the lighter of the two shades) holds the perfect amount of shimmer to make lips glisten in the sun, and when layered with the deeper bronze tones of Copper Leaf Lip Crème (the darker shade), the effect is pure summer.

I was limited in photo time today, so I tried something new. There I was at a client site, a government installation that is so secure, I have to badge in four times before I can get to my desk. I decided to go out at lunchtime and take photos. I suspect they frown on photo taking because of the antennae installation located at the site for intelligence purposes. I tried to make it obvious, for anyone who might have seen me, that my camera was pointed at the grass and my arm, with a lovely Juniper in the background. I know someone saw me, and I can only guess what they were thinking. Poor dear finds her arm interesting. We're paying her what?

I'm sorry my photo of the glosses in their Haute Hues floral cardboard "nest" is a bit dark. The sun was partially obscured by clouds when I took it. If you would like to see the Le Métier de Beauté press photos, just hop over to my coming attraction feature.

Ginger Snap is extremely light and transparent - much lighter than I anticipated when I checked it out in the tube. It's shown at the top of my arm in the swatch photos. It's a beautiful shade - just not very pigmented. Hopefully, you can see in the photo above that it shimmers.

On the other hand, Copper Leaf is very pigmented, a burnt orange-copper hybrid. It offers a serious pop of color and will look stunning on anyone who can carry off its extremely warm shade. I'm not sure about me yet. I may layer the two to tone down the bright orange shade. I'll admit I haven't had enough time to play with it.

What do you think? Is this limited-edition set in your future?  You cannot purchase these shades individually. The set costs $65, a discount over the normal price of two Lip Crèmes.

The Ken Downing for Le Métier de Beauté "capsule collections" (this is the most recent) are available at exclusively at Neiman Marcus, neimanmarcus.com, Bergdorf Goodman, and bergdorfgoodman.com. I purchased mine at Neiman Marcus. If you would like to call a product specialist, try Lisa Corsino at (703) 761-1600. Ask for the counter. When I was in New York on Saturday, the collection had not arrived at the Le Métier de Beauté counter.

Photos by Best Things in Beauty