Friday, August 15, 2014

The Friday Forum - August 15 - Le Métier de Beauté Kaleidoscope Lip Kits

It's hard to believe it's already mid-August, until you remember that the days are growing shorter and the mornings cooler. Today, it's beautiful outside - a morning perfect for hanging out on the screened porch.

I am bracing myself for the inevitable I-wants that will come as the new fall and winter beauty collections hit the counters en masse. Fall turns into an expensive season. Like the rest of you, I am on the prowl for that Tom Ford eye palette, new Chanel, and more to come from Le Métier de Beauté.

During the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale, I purchased a hand cream I'm loving: Antica Farmacista's Bergamot & Ocean Aria ($18). It was one of those little extras I often throw into my shopping cart, not a planned purchase. I love it! Built on the allure of the ocean, ozonic saltwater notes blend with jasmine and lavender, while crisp bergamot adds sparkle. Warm notes of oakmoss captivate the lush scent. This beauty needs to be better known, so give it a whiff next time you are at Nordstrom.

Antica's hand creams include luxurious botanicals to nourish and moisturize. Shea butter and vitamin E produce a silky formulation that is restorative and beautifully fragranced. I'm using it so quickly that I'm going to have to purchase another - or maybe one Bergamot & Ocean and another in a different scent. I know I love Ala Moana.

Do you spend much time on Facebook? There is a growing and disgusting trend there - one that Facebook seems disinclined to stop. Haters - aka trolls - are attacking all of the animal rescue and related sites trying to raise money, most often for vet bills and all of the expenses of caring for abused and abandoned animals. They are also going after people down on their luck who are using sites like GoFundMe to try to get help from readers who donate voluntarily. I guess the haters don't believe in charity.

Each week, I am reading anguished posts by good people - no, great people - who are sacrificing their lives to save animals, but are being attacked as frauds by the haters. It must be some kind of game for bullies. Facebook has an anti-bullying policy, but they will do nothing about the trolls. I have reported them. Hundreds of people have reported them, with no results. No wonder there are predictions that Facebook is old school and will be replaced by an as-yet-known competitor. I hope it will be a company with a conscience - one that will realize that words are being used as weapons.

Trolls exist everywhere. That's why most beauty bloggers moderate comments. You would not believe the comments that come in to BTiB for moderation. My friend Gaia gets them too. It's hard to believe that there are so many women who love makeup, a community I would hope, who think nothing of attacking me or my readers. I had to add a notice to the comments page stating that I will not publish comments attacking my readers. It's no surprise that these comments are always anonymous.

I did not write an obituary for Lauren Bacall. I wanted to, but her death came too close on the gut-wrenching news of Robin Williams' suicide. Instead, to remember her, take a close look at this photo and her makeup. What an extraordinary photo of an extraordinary woman! I would love to know what lip color she was wearing. The lipstick, the blush, the eye shadow - everything was perfect. Her makeup enhanced her features. It's a good lesson to remember. That should be why we wear makeup.

It's time for our weekend sharing, the Friday Forum. I love this part of our week. What new products did you discover this week? We have all seen the upcoming Tom Ford collection, so I think we can skip that this week. Did you find any deals you couldn't resist? Are you using a fabulous product and want to sing its praises? Did you find a beauty product disappointing? Do you have a question others might be able to answer? Want to talk about skin care? What's new in your life? Just use the comments. Don't be shy. Just make sure to ask any question you might have over the weekend. By early the next week, most (not all) readers will have moved on.

Update: I wanted to show you a photo of Le Métier de Beauté's new Gemini Kiss Kaleidoscope Lip Kit ($125). It is exclusive to Neiman Marcus stores. It is much like the V.I.B. program Gemini Rising Kaleidoscope, with the dual pans, one including a reformulated Hydra-Crème Lipstick, and the other side with a Lip Crème Lip Gloss. The colors are intended to be layered.

I was not going to show you Gemini Rising because you couldn't buy it. I did take photos and swatch it this morning. I want to warn you not to leave this Kaleidoscope in your purse in a hot car. I had it outside for photos this morning, and the Lip Crème Lip Glosses turned to mush. This is definitely a keep-indoors product.

The photo directly above is Gemini Rising. It was hard to get all of the colors in my photo without taking the Kaleidoscope apart, and I wasn't up for it. A swatch photo is below, starting at the top level, applied as directed, with the matte shade applied first, topped by the gloss. My photos were taken in full, mid-day sun.

It looks like my Gemini Rising has more pink in it, and that Gemini Kiss has more coral and nude. You never know, though. Press photos can we way off. I'll report back after I see Gemini Kiss in person. If you would like to order one, give Michael Reinhardt at call at (202) 966-9700, extension 2258.

Update #2: You have to read this

Happy weekend!

Photos by Best Things in Beauty and courtesy of NBC

15 comments:

Victoria said...

I have the Antica Farmacista Bergamot & Ocean Aria spray. Sometimes if I am having trouble falling asleep, I will spray it on my sheets, and it will send me into sweet dreams in no time. It's definitely a lovely scent.

I would love recommendations for a lip gloss that is moisturizing and long-lasting. I typically use Chanel Glossimer, but recently I was in Vegas and found myself having to reapply lip gloss every few hours. Clearly the Glossimer was no match for the hot, dry climate down there, in combination with my own naturally dry lips.

Anonymous said...

Fran says: Lauren Bacall, a great beauty and style icon. She resisted the film studio tinkering with her looks and was a skilled makeup artist herself. Having started out as a model she obviously had a good sense of what did and did not work. That pink lipstick just suits her so perfectly and is a shade that a lot of women today would wear.

ame said...

The haters are all over the Ferguson thing. I LIVE HERE, I am WHERE IT IS HAPPENING, and this is a city divided. It's already horrifically segregated, but it's absolutely insane. I am so sick of it. I am so sick of hearing and seeing people say that anyone "deserves" anything. Not enough people are angry about the right things. We the people of St. Louis did not deserve a police state in response to a PEACEFUL protest.

Eileen said...

Hater's gonna hate! Before things like Facebook, Instagram, etc., it was easy to avoid people like that. They've always been there with their distorted reasoning, twisted rhetoric, and gratuitous hate mongering, but at least they were seldom encountered because going public with their vitriol meant exposing themselves. That had a moderating effect on many of these cowards because the last thing they wanted was to be openly confronted by someone who was willing and able to expose their irrational rants and twisted minds. But, now we have the Internet with its protective clock of anonymity and the trolls are thriving. I honestly believe that people should not be able to post anonymously and that a valid email address should be required. As for moderating comments, that has become a necessity. No moderation is like hanging out a great big welcome sign to the trolls.

Éstee Lauder cookies? That is too funny! But, I guess if we can have fragrance products that smell like cookies, candies, and cakes; we should be able to have a cookie that smells like Éstee. :-)

The beautiful KissKiss lipsticks arrived at the local counter at the beginning of the week and I picked up Peach Fizz and Baby Rose. I am very pleased with both of them; especially since I like a bit of sheerness as opposed to full on opaque colors. When the weather cools down a bit, I'll take a look at some of the deeper shades for fall. There are some rich jewel tone shades that are begging to be swatched :-) Just a heads up: Some of these contain micro-glitter and some do not. So, if you're ordering online, be sure you know which finish you're getting.

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone.

Anonymous said...

I am really looking forward to TF eyeshadow quad and mascara and Terrebly Rose De Rose all over powder/blush from By Terry Rose Infernalle Fall 2014 collection. OMG, that powder is Gorgeous!!!

Charlestongirl said...

Thank you, Teri. Make sure to go see Michael! I've never heard of Immortal Beloved, but it's on the other side of the river, so that's not unusual.

I love IT Cosmetics. I also love Dermablend, which I think is the only true concealer, meaning it covers anything. Cosmetic surgeons swear by it.

Charlestongirl said...

Anonymous, pre-order that Tom Ford now. It will blow out of stores.

Charlestongirl said...

Jo, I had not seen that. Thank you.

Charlestongirl said...

Eileen, the idea of perfume-scented cookies creeps me out. :)

Nemo said...

LMDB eye and lip kits used to be $95 each. Now they are $125; $125 for the same 4 pans, albeit the new ones are divided. They are not worth $30 bucks more. I am sticking with CHANEL. I see no hope for LMDB. They didn't make it at $95 a kit, and they won't make it now with $125. How sad.

Charlestongirl said...

Only the divided pans, Nemo. No proof, as you said, that all prices have risen. Twice the color for a small increase seems fair to me.

Sara said...

Hi CG! I received my first LMDB subscription box and I love it! Did yours arrive? Also, do you have someone you pre-order Tom Ford from? I don't have a counter near me and it is hard to keep up on when the online sites put items up. -Sara

Charlestongirl said...

Sara, I got mine too. Very nice!

I ordered from the Tom Ford counter at Neiman Marcus Tysons Galleria. They say Saks is taking pre-orders online, but the links I found were dead.

Charlestongirl said...

Hey Teri, what prescription meds does your doc recommend for your condition, if I may be bold and ask? I'm curious.

BTW, I hope we can talk when you are here. Let me know.

Mamavalveeta03 said...

Teri, I've heard of Immortal Beloved salon, I think because of a "Best of the City" feature in Allure. Maybe. But I know I've heard of it. Sorry about your Psoriatic Arthritis. Meds get better, but not fast enough.
And at the risk of turning this into a post about my aches and pains, I'm dealing with another flare up of my herniated disc (L4/5) and I am flying out to Chicago for my eldest daughter's bridal shower, regardless of the pain! I had my third epidural, to no avail, and so we are scheduling surgery upon my return.
I ordered the 15th Anniversary Chantecaille palette, and it is gorgeous, no doubt, but it's going back to Nordstrom, untouched. When it's a choice between paying for surgery or treating myself (Don't feel sorry for me...I treat myself quite often!), I've got to be sensible.
I am such a trusting soul, that it always knocks me off my feet when the "trolls" say mean things. I'm sitting here thinking, WHY would anyone have anything mean to say on a beauty blog? But I know you're right, ladies. And it is most certainly the anonymity. I'm done with Facebook, too, and mostly for that reason. It's too bad, because I reconnected with some old HS friends, but I guess where there's a will, there's a way!
Have a nice weekend!