My Z Palette and Depotting LMdB Kaleidoscopes

Last night I suddenly got an urge to try depotting my Le Métier de Beauté Kaleidoscopes. So, whilst most people were watching the England match go to penalities, I took a small screwdriver to my makeup and hoped I wouldn't live to regret this rash decision.

The Le Métier de Beauté Kaleidoscopes come with a small hole in the back of each layer which allow you to free the eyeshadow pans without the need for a heat. Hopefully you can see from the pictures that the hole is very close to the edge of the pan. It is important to angle the tool you are using towards the centre of the pan, rather than straight up, as it is possible for it to slip straight past the edge of the pan otherwise. I first of all tried using a needle but this didn't enable me to apply enough pressure, so I switched to a thin screwdriver which was more successful.

The pans came out relatively easily and I found it best to cup my hand over the pan whilst pressing from behind, so that I could catch the eyeshadow as it popped out. Freeing the eyeshadows in this way causes no damage to the packaging and I intend to keep the kaleidoscope casing just in case I change my mind about storing the eyeshadows in a free palette.

I depotted three eyeshadow kits: Silk Road, Penelope and Le Cirque. I would have depotted Come One, Come All if I hadn't run out of space in my Z palette. The fact that the Z palette was filled so quickly made me realise just how big the Le Métier pans are. I probably should have compared them to a MAC pan for reference but the RBR refill pan that you can see on the right hand side is a very similar to a MAC pan. The square pan that you can also see on the right hand side is a depotted Shu Uemura eyeshadow.

The Z palettes have a magnetised base so there is no need to add magnetic stickers to underside of pans and refills. Sometimes you will find that eyeshadow pans are made from a non-magnetic material. I discovered that both the Shu and the pans from Le Cirque were non-magnetic so I applied the 'metal stickers' that came with the Z palette to these pans. This is where I feel the need to have a little whinge. I think it's a shame that the free palettes haven't settled on a universal system. I would like to be able to swap and change pans around across all of my palettes (MAC, Z palette and Unii palette) but this isn't possible as about a third of my pans have magnets on their base. I have no desire to start removing stickers that I have carefully applied just so that I can put them in my Z palette.

I'm still not sure how I feel about the Z palette. I don't think it is as attractive as a Unii palette and although the cardboard is sturdy, I'm not sure I'd feel safe using it for travel. Of course, the Pro Z palette does have size on its side, you can see how it compares to the MAC 15 pan palette above. The old style Unii palette remains my personal favourite. You can find an excellent comparison of the old and new style Unii palettes on Everyday Beauty.

I purchased my Pro Z palette from Cocktail Cosmetics where they cost £19.95.

Eye Look with Funky Violet and Le Cirque

I had a question from Kenneth Soh about the GOSH pencil I posted about a couple of days ago. Kenneth wondered whether there was enough 'play time' before it sets to allow this pencil to be used as an eyeshadow base. I mentioned in my review post that the shade Funky Violet is not as creamy to apply as Truly Brown, so I was intrigued to see whether it would be possible to smudge it at all.

My first attempt didn't go well. I applied the liner to primed eyes and tried to smudge with a brush. All it did was soften the line slightly. So today, I applied straight on to lid without using an eye primer. My lids tend towards a little oiliness, so this helped a little with movement (too much information I am sure). I slapped the pencil on quickly and smudged with my finger. I found I had to layer to get the desired amount of colour and this became harder to do as the lower layers began to set. As you can see the effect is a little patchy. I did find it acted a little like a primer as it removed natural oiliness.

I wonder if an experienced makeup artist like Kenneth might get better results than I did. However, I suspect it would be tricky to use this as a base if you have naturally dry lids. It's a shame the formulas aren't true across the shades as the brown is much easier to work with as a base.

Although I had limited success with smudging the pencil, I discovered it makes the most amazing base for the purple eyeshadow (Dynamique) in my Le Metier Le Cirque Kaleidoscope. Without a base this colour can seem quite muted but over Funky Violet it stands out beautifully. The coverage isn't perfect because the base underneath isn't even, however this is only visible in close up. Hopefully I can work on making the pencil less patchy underneath as I love the combined effect.

I used the taupe (Spectacle) shade in the crease to blend out the purple and the oyster shade (Flamboyantes) above the taupe. I've included photographs with flash as it shows up the pretty iridescence in these eyeshadows.

The colours used in the eye look. From the top of the Kaleidoscope down: Flamboyantes, Spectacle and Dynamique

Thank you for posing the question Kenneth, I'm not sure I would have tried this combination otherwise and I'm very pleased with how it turned out. If you're not already following Kenneth's blog Musings of A MakeUp Artist I urge you to go and have a read. He has such great insider knowledge and his posts are very well written. His work on models is spectacular to look at too.

Some Turkish Smoke

I'm having the most rubbish week at home. Having failed to put a proper face on yesterday, I thought I would cheer myself up with some dark lips.

Turkish Smoke lipgloss

This was a PR sample from my Le Metier makeover, I'm not sure it's available as part of their permanent line. I suspect it's not a colour I would have chosen for myself, however I think it's really flattering on. It's dark enough to suit this seasons goth lips trend but as it's a gloss it's probably a little easier to work with.

It is quite pigmented, you only need a small amount to get good coverage. It's not as moisturising as the colours in the lip kit and it has a slight tacky feel to it. I really like the colour though and the peachy-gold glittery sparkle is very pretty. As you will see from the pictures, it fades to leaves a nice stain on the lips too.

The colour as it fades

Face
RMK Super basic concealer - undereyes, around nose and on blemishes
Shu Uemura H9 Seal Brown brow pencil
NARS Laguna bronzer

Eyes
Too Faced Shadow Insurace
Le Cirque Kalediescope - The oyster and taupe colours only
Le Metier Noir Precision liner
Hourglass Film Noir mascara

Lips
Le Metier Turkish Smoke Sheer Brilliance lip gloss

Le Métier de Beauté Le Cirque

I'm sorry it's taken me a while to post about the Le Cirque Kaleidoscope in detail. My parents have been visiting so I've been busy catching up with them.

This was the item of make up I decided to purchase as my treat before the spending ban. Yes, I know that I started the ban ages ago now but better late than never! I absolutely love the colours in this palette. The "odd one out" is the burgundy but it does work extremely well with the other colours. The powder is very finely milled this prevents them becoming muddy when you layer the eyeshadows. These are designed to be worn layered over one another, the technique is called Couches de Couleurs. I mentioned in my makeover post that you can either use the palette top to bottom or bottom to top. In the look I will show you, I applied the colours top to bottom.

The eyeshadows are beautifully soft. The finish is very flattering too, shimmery without being too much. They're not densely pigmented but you're not sat packing them on for hours either. I don't think the layering technique would work with super pigmented shadows. They also work well as individuals colours. The swatch on the far left of the pictures below is Champagne eye pencil which I mentioned in the makeover post. For some amazing pictures of the palette can I recommend you take a look at this post on Café Makeup.

For this eye look, I applied the lightest champagne colour all over the mobile lid to just above the crease. I applied the taupe on top except for the inner most corner. I buffed the burgundy and then the purple on to the crease and outer corner of the lid (using a MAC 217). I took a little of the taupe underneath the eye too. I like how this attempt turned out, it's very soft, everyday look.

Eyes
MAC Painterly paint pot
Le Cirque Kaleidoscope
Le Métier de Beauté Precision Liner in Black*
Hourglass Film Noir mascara

Spot the little baby hand sneaking into the frame!

Face
MAC Studio Finish concealer in NC20
RMK Super Basic Liquid concealer
Shu Uemura H9 Seal Brown brow pencil
Illamasqua Unrequired blusher

Lips
Guerlain Kiss Kiss lipstick in Beige Nude

The Le Cirque Kaleidoscope costs £65 and is available from Selfridges, though sadly not online. I'm not going to attempt to justify the price to you. I appreciate this kind of price bracket isn't for everyone, it is very expensive but I bought this as a treat to myself. I really like Le Metier makeup, I think the colours and textures are very well thought out and it's a very flattering, feminine yet sophisticated line. Definitely splurge worthy material in my opinion.

I hope you're all having a lovely weekend xx


*The Precision Liner was one of a few samples I received after my makeover. Just in case you thought I was trying to sneak another purchase past you! As if I would.

Le Métier de Beauté Makeover

As I was in London on Friday, I couldn't miss the opportunity to go and meet the Le Métier de Beauté team and have a makeover. This is actually a really big deal for me as I've previously admitted on here that I get THE FEAR at counters. The Le Métier team are so lovely though I felt in very safe hands.

They started by applying Peau Vierge anti-age complexe (light to medium) all over the face. I was really excited about this. You know me, I'm a complete geek and the technology behind this product really fascinates me.

*Lab coat moment* Peau Vierge uses the inovative Syntoc Actif delivery system. The delivery system acts as a capsule for the Retinol allowing it penetrate the epidermis and travel to the dermis where it has greatest benefit. The issue with many topical treatments is that the actives sit on the skin and very little passes through the Stratum corneum. In the case of Retinols this can cause problems as it can irritate and sensitise the skin. The encapsulation of Retinol in the delivery system reduces the exposure at the skin surface meaning less dryness, irritation and peeling. A reduced concentration of Retinol for the same benefit is also made possible because of the improved penetration. Apparently Syntoc Actif ensures localised delivery so that the Retinol does not pass in to the blood stream. The bottom line is, you get more impact with significantly less side effects.

On the skin this felt lovely, it's moisturising and for me the tint provided enough coverage so that I didn't need foundation. Just a bit of the Peau Vierge concealer and Loose Translucent powder was enough for a natural base. It can be mixed with foundation though if you prefer more coverage.

On my cheeks the make up artist used Blushing Bronzed Duet in Romeo & Juliet. As a base, Dualistic eye pencil in Champagne was applied and smudged on the mobile lid. For the eyeshadows, I opted for a lesson in how to use the Le Cirque Kalidescope which I recently purchased. The Couches de Couleur system for applying these eyeshadows is different to most eyeshadow application. So that I don't ramble on for too long, I shall talk about this in another post! For this look, the eyeshadows were applied from bottom to top (i.e. darkest colour first) but it is also possible to apply top to bottom for a softer look.

I was shown how to use their precision liquid liner to tight line. I need more practice to perfect this technique but I'm determined to crack it as it really adds definition. For my lashes she chose Aubergine rather than black. The colour isn't at all obvious but it does a lovely job of bringing out the colour of my eyes. I really like the fact that you can see how much is left too as the tube is clear.

Last of all, the make up artist used the Lip Kaleidoscope. The colours can be used alone of layered like the eyeshadows. She applied bottom to top, the colours are all quite different but the effect with each one layered is beautiful. It felt so moisturising too (I was smacking my lips all the way home). At this point Mikey Castillo came over for a chat. Mikey is Director of Make Up for Le Métier and also designer of the lip palette. He explained to me that they were careful to choose just the right ingredients for the lip products as so much is ingested. This attention to detail really shows across all of their products. What also shows is how much these people care about the brand they're representing which is so refreshing.

So, this is the end result. I wished I'd taken pictures before I left Selfridges as these were taken in bad lighting after traveling home on a packed and sweaty train! Although they don't do the make up justice I think you can still get an idea for the effect.

I have to confess that I cracked and bought the Champagne pencil despite my spending ban. I couldn't resist, it's a gorgeous taupe colour which looks good smudged on it's own. I'd bought Le Cirque already so I will be posting swatches and looks with both of these very soon. I'm also making a special plea to Santa for some Peau Vierge this Christmas (along with my request for a Tom Ford lipstick of course). This stuff is not cheap at £90 but it felt so nice and I actually believe the science behind it.

The team are still there today and tomorrow (see my post here for details), if you're near to Selfridges I'd encourage you to pop along for a look. Please say hello from me if you do!




*I feel so terrible as I cannot for the life of me remember the name of the lady that did my make up. She was a very beautiful lady, originally from Texas and if anyone knows her name please let me know! I do remember Mel of course, one of the UK team. She's another girl from the area formally known as North Humberside. You know what it's like when two Yorkshire lasses get together.....