Le Métier de Beauté Melange de Colour Fashion Eye Palette for Spring 2013 - Swatched

Le Métier de Beauté's Melange de Colour Fashion Eye Palette for Spring 2013 ($95) is a must-have for Le Métier de Beauté collectors. I finally got swatch photos today, although it wasn't easy. My photos don't please me. I was promised a sunny day, but there are more clouds than sunshine (at this point in the day), and I wasn't going to take any chances that the cloud cover would increase.

When I guessed the size of each color last week, I used a nickle as my measure. Today, with the palette in my hand, I think each is closer to a "dime plus" in size. It does look like the manufacturer rushed a bit in slipping the color pans into the palette because some of them are tilted.That can be remedied by pushing them down with your finger. That's a small inconvenience for a palette that's an extraordinary value at $95.

I took my photos in full or nearly full sunshine. I would get the shadows aligned on my arm and then watch for the sun to peek out. Then, I would dash outdoors as fast as I can move to snap a few photos, shivering all the while. As soon as I came back in to swatch a few more rows, the sun would come out. I'm feeling like there's a heavenly conspiracy against me today.

Here are the colors, starting on the top row left in the photo above, moving down the left side, jumping to the top of the middle row, moving down again, and finally repeating on the third row.

• Deepest Noir
• Dark Chocolate
• Cinnamon Gold
• Amethyst
• Lilac
• Black Emerald
• Gunmetal
• Tannish Brown
• Gold
• Mauve
• Sapphire
• Pistachio
• Silver Foil
• Beige
• Nylon Stocking
• Rose
• Cyan
• Glass

This is not the order in which I swatched. I applied each row, left to right, with a sponge-tipped applicator (thinner than I usually do in order to fit two rows in each photo. For better or worse, here are my photos.

The top two rows present black, charcoal, silver, and brown shades. Remember, I did not swatch in the order of this list. These shades start at the top of my arm with Deepest Noir and continue down with Gunmetal, Silver Foil, Dark Chocolate, Tannish Brown, and Beige, an odd name for such a pretty, shimmering shade.

In this set, Cinnamon Gold is at the top of my arm. Moving down below it are Gold, Nylon Stocking, Amethyst, Mauve (which is much prettier than it looks here), and Rose. This second set wasn't graced with totally full sun, which dampened the shades a bit.

Lilac (really periwinkle) shows off at the top of my arm in this set, with stunning blues and greens under it. In order below Lilac, from top to bottom, you'll see Sapphire, Cyan, Black Emerald, Pistachio, and Glass (the white shade).

Mikey Castillo created a few looks using the palette, and I was able to get the diagrams from Le Métier de Beauté. I will post them in a few hours.

Le Métier de Beauté's Melange de Colour Fashion Eye Palette is available now, just in time for the Neiman Marcus Beauty Week. If you plan to order by phone, you should order from Michael Reinhardt at Mazza Gallerie. You will be pleased if you do. Scroll down to see Michael's step-up gift and give him a call at (202) 966-9700, extension 2258 or 2236. Make sure to ask for Michael and mention Best Things in Beauty. Ask about the step-up GWP.

Update 2/22: Here is word from Le Métier de Beauté on availability. Nordstrom (select stores) and Nordstrom.com will have the palette. Also for international, it will be available on BeautyBay.com.

Photos by Best Things in Beauty