At the end of October, Le Métier De Beauté announced something pretty was coming up. They posted a swatch on Facebook, which me and other fans interpreted as a new Kaleidoscope eye kit and started waiting eagerly. The day it was announced, some were happy since that one was for free! But, only for those who would like to make a purchase exceeding 200$!
I was personally disappointed. The reason was I felt kind of let down by one of my favorite brands was because I couldn't buy it even if I wanted to. I felt like I was being forced to buy something else to receive something I wanted. I didn't like this game, if that makes sense. That being said, I have to admit that I found myself checking LMdB's website over and over and trying to find something that interests me which would cost more than 200 bucks. There were many products which were interesting, but if you know their new website, now you will know what I mean. They do sell bundles and not separate products, which makes you buy 3 things you like together with 2 things you would not use. Yes you do save a lot but is it really saving once you get all the things you don't need? Is this why since a few months I started seeing more and more LMdB products on eBay? Anyway those questions are not the focus of today's post...
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| Le Métier De Beauté Gravite Kaleidoscope Eye Kit |
Yes it is pretty and no I haven't spent 200 bucks on something else. I was lucky enough to purchase it from a friend who kindly offered me hers after seeing the first real swatches online since it didn't call her name but it was calling mine so I wanted to give it a go.
I just happened to receive it last week, briefly played around with it and first decided not to post about it. Before I explain you why, let me introduce you to Gravite. Such a pretty name and it really looks inviting for smokey eye lovers out there, doesn't it?
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| Le Métier De Beauté Gravite Kaleidoscope Eye Kit |
Earth shades with pretty shimmer, this is how I would describe Gravite:
Tier #1: Mid-toned rosy brown with satin finish
Tier #2: Mid-toned peachy gold with shimmer, almost metallic finish
Tier #3: Deep blackened green with sparse gold shimmer
Tier #4: Deep egg-plant with very sparse multi colored glitter
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| Le Métier De Beauté Gravite Kaleidoscope Eye Kit |
Below I swatched all the shades with one or two swipes but for Tier#2 I needed like 10 swipes, which in the end didn't work. Then I tried it with a brush without any success. I also tried a wet swatch... You see all my effort sort of paid off to show you the color. Tier#2 had almost no color pay-off, which was the reason why I didn't want to post about Gravite because I was not sure if I was the only one who had a dud. So sad because it is such a pretty shade... Oh and should I also mention that the first swatch of this on LMdB website was awfully inaccurate?
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| Outdoor swatch with flash: Le Métier De Beauté Gravite Kaleidoscope Eye Kit |
Heart broken, I went on applying it on the lids. You can find the following replacement:
Tier #1: Inner corner
Tier #2: Middle upper lid (as much as it shows up)
Tier #3 & #4: Outer lid and crease
I was sort of happy with the result but still felt bad about having only 3 of the four shades working. I tried the tape method on the powder to kick off the upper layer in hope to find something better below without good results.
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| In-action: Le Métier De Beauté Gravite Kaleidoscope Eye Kit on the eyes |
Here is the FOTD to see how it looks combined with other parts of makeup, which I kept really minimal and nude. I really don't know what to think about this purchase, I can't help but wonder if they gave those for free because it had quality problems? Was I the only one with the dud or are there any other unfortunate ones out there who paid over $200 on the products to get this one just to find out the second tier doesn't work?
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| FOTD: Le Métier De Beauté Gravite Kaleidoscope Eye Kit |
I guess I will never find out the answers to those questions.
Last thoughts? I am sincerely wishing my next LMdB purchase lives up to my expectations from one of my favorite brands. If a heart breaks twice, it might not be easy to fix it ever again.
Any of you got that one? How does the second tier swatch?
Sorry to hear that Sara! I was really curious about this brand but personally, I find it overpriced for makeup. I'd spend more on skincare, but when it comes to colours, it's another story. You'd think that for something so expensive, they'd do quality checks more thoroughly. Hhmmm...
ReplyDeleteHi Lily,
DeleteSince this one was GWP, one can't help but wonder if they gave it for free because of quality issues. I guess I will never learn if this is the case.
Oh my! These colors are gorgeous!!! This selling gimmik is not a good thing and at least you were able to get it. I've never tried this brand and I'm so sorry Tier #2 is so disappointing for it's such a beautiful shade! Still the look you've created is really gorgeous, love it!
ReplyDeleteI have heard that LMdB is difficult to get in Canada. It is the same way in Germany, only a few stores carry them online and they are even more overpriced. Such a shame for coverage :-(
DeleteAww I'm so sorry to read the story! I used to really love LMdB, but I have no idea what they have been up to with their new system! They are making it exceedingly difficult for people who don't live in North America to get these kaleidoscopes, and making something like this a gwp is just ridiculous. It's sad because bloggers all over the world support them, and it is one of the brands that wouldn't have risen so fast without bloggers blogging about it! That aside, the no-color-payoff second tier is just inexcusable. Sad!
ReplyDeleteHi Sunny,
DeleteI can't agree more to what you have written. Zuneta used to carry LMdB, now it is Beautybay but they never have Kscopes which are the most interesting products for me from the brand. LMdB says they ship internationally but shipping is unreasonably expensive. It is sad to see a favorite brand fading away :-((
Thank you for this post! I, too, wanted Gravite but did not want to pay $200 for it (and get some other products I knew I wouldn't use). I've been debating buying it from ebay, but you saved me from making a mistake. The few eyeshadows I've tried from LMdB have been really good quality, but I am really annoyed with them as a brand because everything is so "exclusive" and hard to track down. I rely a lot on blog reviews and photos like yours for products that aren't carried in my state, but for LMdB, by the time swatches and reviews appear online, the product is no longer available anyway. Like you, I don't like their vault online becuase I usually only want one or two of the products in a bundle. You are beautiful, and I love your blog!
ReplyDeleteHi Nicole,
DeleteThanks so much for your kind words on the blog. I agree with what you have written about swatches and availability. Most of us don't have access to counters and rely on online swatches. As for the case of LMdB what I do is mostly blind buy and therefore some of the products I somehow managed to find, I never used them, like Summer dream Kscope which is way too cool for my complexion or Carnaby Street which is more pastel than my liking. So all in all to get a few products I like, I end up spending much more :-( I think they should start delivering their products to a few bloggers for a review before the actual release' that would help us customers a great deal.
so sorry to hear that Tier 2 isn't working for you as I personally think it's the most stunning hue of all (especially on eyes that have a hint of green). It's still a gorgeous composition on you. Overall, I never trust brands that much that I would buy from them blindly, even though they have been fabulous in the past (the success might go to their heads too much, alas)
ReplyDeleteI also think Tier #2 is the most interesting shade of all, therefore I was like twice heart broken to see that it didn't work. Even after trying out, I do make mistakes. Blind buy is therefore even more risky and almost never works if there is no right to return.
DeleteI was likewise disappointed that this was only available through their web site with a $200, because to make things even more complicated, you can't buy just any of their products from their web site- they come in pre-selected bundles. If you want everything in a bundle, that's great, but if not, it's kind of frustrating. Plus the bundles are always limited. It's already difficult to get their products outside the US. Why do they want to make it even more challenging?
ReplyDeleteThe shades look like they could be beautiful, but the colour payoff doesn't look amazing on any of them compared to other LMdB shades. I've seen several of these available on eBay, if anyone is looking and the prices have not been too bad.
Hi Kate,
Deletethis "bundle" strategy as well as their new strategy with subscription turn me off too. They keep saying "thrust us" but makeup is highly personal. Sometimes even I don't know what I like, how can a stranger know what i would like ;-) And the items are also difficult to get hold of. I feel there were more online stores available, nowadays it is like one or two only.
I used to like LMdB, but then their increasingly aggressive and aggravating marketing ploys really turned me off the brand. Inconsistent quality, duplicate colors (named differently) in different kaleidoscopes, impossible to acquire counter (not even store) exclusives made me just say no!
ReplyDeleteI think all brands need to work hard to make sure they are in the consumers' eyes but I do think they go overboard. It's a shame because a lot of the products are very compelling in most cases.
I sometimes think some big company took LMdB over and their marketing board performs tests on this rather small company first before they make decisions about their more popular brand ;-)
DeleteLove the colors but I would not pay that much just for this. I would pay for that if it is a whole collection of beautiful colors. I guess I have to pass on this one....
ReplyDeleteYes Jessica, LMdB used to have collections of lip and eye Kscopes cooperating but their last releases are rather single products.
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