Le Métier de Beauté is Back! The Brand is Rejuvenated!

So many changes, I don't know where to start! Let's start with Dustin Lujan, who has rejoined Le Métier de Beauté as its director of color development (or some such title). Dustin has so much in store for the brand over the next few months, you will be delighted. It's like a new brand, with the best from the past and a new approach to color.

He is reintroducing himself to Le Métier de Beauté customers by visiting some of its stores. Here we are at Neiman Marcus Mazza Gallerie a few weeks ago. That's Michael hiding in the back.

Erin Lockard has also returned (yippee!), and she is working at the Houston Neiman Marcus. Add Hyton Lea, the Global Director of Skin Care, and the winning team is taking shape - once again. I'm very excited.

There are two new Kaleidoscope Eye Kits branded by Ken Downing at Neiman Marcus. Paris ($95), shown above, is the one I purchased. The pink is actually nice and soft - not as vibrant as it appears in this photo. I'm wearing all four shades of Paris in the photo above. Dustin applied my makeup.

The other, London ($95), is shown below. I see them as one for us cool types and one for warmer skin tones, but Michael promises he can make either work for anyone. Just an FYI, these Kaleidoscopes were not designed by Dustin.

They are both available now during Camp Gorgeous at Neiman Marcus, where the Le Métier de Beauté gift with purchase (below) is stunning - and available with only a $175 purchase.

Le Métier de Beauté is well aware that they lost some of you along the way during the last few years. Trust me, they are going to rope you back in. I've already jumped back on board.

To order during Camp Gorgeous, call Michael Reinhardt or one of his colleagues at (202) 966-9700, extension 2258.

I'll bring you up to date on the blog's future later. I do have more knee surgery scheduled on July 29. I'll be publishing again, but I won't be able to publish the everyday post I had been writing. I hope you will return regardless. I've missed you!

Update: There is a step-up GWP with a purchase of $400. It is a brand new bronzer-blush combination, and the color is orchid. It's sheer and beautiful.

Photos courtesy of  Le Métier de Beauté

Le Métier de Beauté's Erin Lockard - A Makeup Artist Rock Star

One of the joys of my year was meeting Erin Lockard, Le Métier de Beauté makeup artist extraordinaire! Erin is one of the most delightful people on earth - and enormously talented. She is shown at right above with Lisa Lingis, our wonderful Le Métier de Beauté regional representative.

We've been very lucky this year. Erin has traveled east from her usual Southern California hang-outs to help us celebrate special occasions. Just in the last few months, she was here for Nordstrom's Trend Show at Montgomery Mall (and the launch of Come One, Come All); she helped Michael Reinhardt introduce his beautiful new Capitol Kaleidoscope at Neiman Marcus Mazza Gallerie; and most recently, she was making women gorgeous, using Jan's Jewel, of course, at Neiman Marcus Tysons Galleria (I left as she was working with Deborah Ourisman, a delightful gal). I have followed Erin around, like a groupie follows a rock star. At Mazza, Erin spent about an hour working meticulously on my makeup, and I loved the results. She's a perfectionist.

Erin is an artist. She knew it at age three. One day, her parents wouldn't let her watch Cinderella, so she got even. She took her crayons and drew a mural on her parents' bedroom wall! She studied art (trading her crayons for pastels) in school and painted before she became a makeup artist. She has always loved paining animals and eyes - even before she raised a makeup brush. If you watch Erin do someone's makeup, you'll see that she spends more time on the eyes (the windows to the soul) than any other part of the face.

She has promised to send me a photo of one of her animal pictures. She's a strong proponent for animal rights (e.g., whales and tigers), so Erin and I have something dear in common - besides a love for Le Métier de Beauté. We both wish we had been in those small boats challenging whalers.

Erin worked for other lines before she joined Le Métier de Beauté (thanks to Mikey's keen judge of talent). She was the manager for Giorgio Armani Beauty at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, California, and she was a manager for an agency for makeup artists. Over a couple of years, she also worked for several Estée Lauder companies and Fresh. Like other extremely successful makeup artists, Erin did makeup for weddings and magazines. She also went to nursing school, but her makeup artistry pulled her away. Will she go back some day? Maybe. She loves to help people, so she's be a perfect nurse.

You might not know that, more than anything else, Erin loves to brighten our days. She's a terrific people person, and she knows that when someone sits in her chair, she has an opportunity to make that woman's day special. That's the part of her work she loves the most - making us feel good about ourselves. No matter where you find Erin, you'll find big smiles.

Here's Erin above with Carol Schutte, a Best Things in Beauty reader. By the time I started taking photos of Erin and all of her new friends, it was dark outside, so I had to use my flash for these photos. Below, you'll see the finished look Erin perfected on Violet Lucas. Check out the eyes! Although I have smiling photos of Violet too, I wanted to show you her eyes - pretty before, but stunning after Erin's work.

Naturally, Erin and I chatted about Le Métier de Beauté color! Erin wants an eye shadow named for her. That sounds like a reasonable request, right? I asked her what the color would be like. She described a gold tone, somewhere in between Nutmeg and Sugar. I'll buy that. She also wants the company to bring back Bella Bronze, one of her favorite shades. See? Even company reps have wish lists!

If you get the opportunity to make an appointment with Erin Lockard, do it! I'm reminded of a local menswear advertisement on our local TV channel. "You'll love the way you look." More than that, you'll have a wonderful time.

Photos by Best Things in Beauty

Le Métier de Beauté Capitol Kaleidoscope - Swatched

Le Métier de Beauté's limited-edition Capitol Kaleidoscope ($95) will be officially unveiled this week at Neiman Marcus Mazza Gallerie during the InCircle event. The range of colors was selected to embody the array of styles, ideas, and personas that converge to make Washington, DC a unique force of energy. Michael Reinhardt, the Le Métier de Beauté representative at Mazza, collaborated with Mikey Castello, Le Métier de Beauté's Director of Makeup, to select the shades. The Kaleidoscope is exclusive to Neiman Marcus Mazza Gallerie. Last time I checked, which was Saturday, all but 10 of the 75 had been pre-sold.

Michael wanted the shades to be colors women could wear every day.

• Pink Tendre: a matte pink highlighter
• Peache Or: described as a rose champagne - I'd call it peach
• Taupe Satine: a subtly shimmering taupe - gorgeous!
• Prune Veloure: a deep matte aubergine that is very sheer and wearable

I had to take my photos in the store. It's extremely dark and cloudy outside (no chance of getting outdoor photos), so I moved the counter light to my arm and snapped away, hoping to get a few pictures that represented the shades fairly well. As soon as the sun re-emerges mid-week, I'll get a sunny photo for you.

I applied each shade heavily with a sponge-tipped applicator. I feel that the store lighting didn't show the colors as well as sunlight does. They lost some of their liveliness.

I wouldn't use the matte Pink Tendre as a highlighter. I prefer a shade with a little glow for highlighting. Pink Tendre is a perfect base shade on my skin. I hope you can see it at the top of my arm.

Peache Or glows in peach. It has a subtle gleam that's extremely flattering on the lids. It also coordinates perfectly with the shades below it in the Kaleidoscope.

Taupe Satine is described by Le Métier de Beauté as a satin-finish taupe. I see it as a subtly shimmering taupe with a touch of antique gold/bronze. It's definitely the jazziest shade in the Kaleidoscope - worth the entire price of admission to any taupe lover. Gorgeous!

Prune Veloure surprised me. It looks like a deep shade in the pan, but on the skin it's sheer, brown-toned mauve-aubergine - a color I can wear. Aubergine shades can be deadly on my skin and eyes, but this one is extremely muted and pretty. When applied properly - not globbed on like I did to get a decent store photo - it's a fabulous seasonal shade.

To celebrate the release of the Capitol Kaleidoscope, Erin Lockard will be working her magic at Neiman Marcus Mazza Gallerie on Wednesday, December 7. I can't wait! Call Michael or Sherry at (202) 966-9700, extension 2258, to place your pre-order if you want this Kaleidoscope. Do it today! If you are local to the DC area, you should also make an appointment for Wednesday. You are going to adore Erin Lockard.

Photos by Best Things in Beauty