Le Métier De Beauté Indelible Inks Eyeliner Review and Swatches

 Eyeliner, Le Metier de Beaute  8 Responses »
Feb 212013
 

Le Metier Liquid Eyeliners1

Le Métier de Beauté Indelible Inks Eyeliners ($28 each) are a remarkably beautiful and long-lasting pair of liners that live up to their name. I’ve been wearing these continuously for about two weeks. When I say “continuously,” I mean that in both senses of the word–I can wear these overnight without crumbling, fading or irritation, and the colors are so beautiful that I’ve had a hard time emotionally choosing any other liner in my collection as a substitute.

Le Metier liners come in two shades, including Artemis–a shimmering deep blue.

Le Metier Liquid Eyeliners2

The color is rich and saturated enough to use instead of a black. Sometimes colored liners are so light or anemic that I really do need to pair them with a richer color to get proper definition. Not so with Le Metier’s Artemis. This is richly pigmented deep blue that shows the color beautifully without any other color. It looks amazing with a nude eye, for example Nars All about Eve duo eyeshadow or other soft beige. This gives a well-defined, but subtly brightened color.

Do not fear the brush, gentle readers.  It’s quite easy peasy. After experimenting (although I stopped short of cutting the brush short with scissors), I found the best method of application for me is to lay the brush lengthwise along my lashline and to pull it horizontally across my upper lid. This gives me a rich swath of even color (once is enough for both of these Le Metier colors). I might use the tip of the brush for under eye definition, except I don’t wear liner there. My point is, it’s a perfectly workable brush.

Le Metier de Beauté Indelible Inks Eyeliners is also available in Casatalia, a rich purple with far less shimmer compared to Artemis. The formula is otherwise identical–all-day (and all-night) wear, great coverage in a single swipe, awesome rich color.

Le Metier Liquid Eyeliners3

 Here are swatches of Le Metier shimmery Artemis and not-shimmery Castalia:

Le Metier Indelible Ink Eyeliners

I don’t have any liquid liners comparable to Artemis. However, I can offer comparisons of Le Metier’s Castalia with Chanel Ligne Extreme in Purple #30 and Lancome Artliner in Aubergine:

Le Metier Indelible Ink Castalia

 Overall: These Le Metier Indelible Inks are winners. Slightly addictive, they stay on through everything and remove nicely with a good oil or dual-phase cleanser.

The Le Metier Indelible Ink eyeliners are available at Nordstrom.com (w/free ship).

Le Metier sent Cafe Makeup these Indelible Ink Liners without charge for consideration for review. This post contains some affiliate links (for more information, see about Cafe Makeup)

Chanel Stylo Yeux Waterproof Eyeliners in Or Rose, Beryl, and Santal Review and Swatches

 Chanel, Eyeliner  17 Responses »
Dec 302012
 

Chanel eyeliners

Chanel’s Spring 2013 collection includes three Style Yeux Waterproof Eyeliners in Or Rose (rose gold), Beryl (a light lavender), and Santal (a shimmering warm brown)($30 each).

In the past, I haven’t loved the Stylo Yeux formulation–I found the pencils very hard and requiring too much pressure to use easily. In the meantime, two things happened. First, other pencils from lower and similarly priced brands improved dramatically. Second, Chanel released Ebene, a deep, smooth, and highly pigmented shimmery black that worked beautifully. Other Chanel Stylo Yeux pencils seemed to have improved, which gave me hope for the three new shades in this Spring 2013 release.

Chanel Spring Eyeliners7a

Unfortunately, I found Or Rose, Beryl, and Santal difficult to apply, with the same hard texture as pencils released during the pre-Ebene era. Although Chanel gets points for intra-line consistency with its older pencils, I really wished it had borrowed a page from Giorgio Armani, Nars, Bare Escentuals or even the drugstore brand Prestige, to give me a softer texture. I really had to work to get any pigment out of these, passing them 5-7 times over my lash line to get a good solid color. For example, for Santal I finally gave up and fixed the liner with a quick pass of Laura Mercier’s Brown Copper.

Chanel Spring Eyeliners1

Chanel Beryl is a light lavender. The color is embedded with multicolored particles, but the color applies as a single uniform (very soft) color.

Chanel Spring Eyeliners2b

This type of shade might be used to add a pop of interest in an otherwise neutral eye. Because Chanel Beryl applies so lightly, I found that my best use is an inner corner highlighter. The soft color, which lightens but barely deposits color, gave me a soft cool bit of color that played a just bit with my blue-green eyes.

“Or Rose,” which translates to “rose gold,” is a shimmery warm metallic.

Chanel Spring Eyeliners3

Of these three, Or Rose seemed to have the best pigmentation.

Chanel Spring Eyeliners4a

Here is Chanel Or Rose swatched next to Chanel Rose Platine and Chanel Taupe, both in the Stylo Waterproof formula (and both much better in softness and pigmentation):

Chanel Spring Eyeliner Swatches3a

Liz used Chanel Or Gold in this eye look (on her lower lashline). Do not worry about your vision if you do not see the effect, it is very subtle:

Chanel Raffinement look1

Chanel Stylo Yeux is Santal is a warm shimmering brown.

Chanel Spring Eyeliners5

This was my biggest hope, and therefore my greatest disappointment. When Liz tried to use it for her eye look, above, she also gave up and went over Santal with a trusty black Prestige Total Intensity liner in black.

Chanel Spring Eyeliners6a

Here is Chanel Santal swatched next to Nars Via Appia and Laura Mercier Brown Copper (both of these applied much more easily than Chanel):

Chanel Spring Eyeliner Swatches1a

Final verdict:  I’m not loving these. I found that they got a softer after 5-7 tries, but they never reached the level of pigmentation of Chanel Ebene or some of the newer formulations of eyeliner pencils.

These are currently available at Nordstrom.com, as well as other department stores and online at Chanel.com.

Other reviews:

This post contains affiliate links. If you have questions, please see the “Ask Cafe Makeup” link.

Chanel Liquid Eyeliner in Plum and Platine Swatches

 Chanel, Eyeliner  12 Responses »
Nov 112012
 

While picking up a watch repair at the Chanel boutique in San Francisco last week, I picked up two Chanel Liquid Eyeliner in Plum and Platine. These were both released in Europe this past summer, although I had to leave Paris before either arrived on counters.  Both use the traditional Chanel packaging, with the brush-tip that goes into the tiny pot of color at the bottom.

 Of the two, Platine was a delightful surprise–it is shimmery, high-shine and complex with multi-colored micro sparkles–so pretty.

I tried to capture the color of Platine as I headed out the door for a flight–I’m not entirely sure I was able to do fully do so.

Both are beautiful–richly pigmented. Well done.

Nars Eyeliner Stylo Review and Swatches

 Eyeliner, NARS  7 Responses »
Nov 032012
 

A few weeks ago, Nars quietly released a series of four Eyeliner Stylo ($27 each). These are liquid, brush-pen eyeliners in four colors–Carpates (black), Nuku Hiva (a deep brown), Atlantic (a deep ocean blue), and Koala (gray).

 As you might expect from NARS, these work beautifully. Go in confident, you’ll get a perfect line with a single stroke. I like that these are offered in wearable colors. Of these, I’ve love Atlantic–this deep blue is unusual enough and gives plenty of definition. Yet it’s not the same “same old, same old” black. Swatches:

Bottom line:  All day wear, easy to use, highly wearable colors. Well done.

Nars Cosmetics sent these eyeliners to Cafe Makeup without charge for consideration for review.

Tom Ford Noir Absolue for Eyes Review and Swatch

 Eyeliner  8 Responses »
Oct 192012
 

Tom Ford Noir Absolue for Eyes ($35/0.12 oz.) is a creamy dark blue-black eyeliner designed to brighten and define. Like many of you, I have a few black liners. I’ve been using Bobbi Brown’s Black Ink Gel Eyeliner for at least ten years–I’ve used up (and replaced) several pots. Tom Ford’s is along the same lines with a few differences.

First, Tom Ford Noir Absolue is infused with a pretty blue tone and slight micro-shimmer. According to the sales associate, this is intended give a brightening effect to the whites of the eye. I think it’s pretty–the blue tone is not nearly as blue as a true blue or midnight blue, such as Bobbi Brown Gel Eyeliner in Sapphire Shimmer.

The difference in effect is subtle–if you have a very good monitor I suspect you will see that the Tom Ford swatch on the left is cooler.

Second, Tom Ford’s Noir Absolue seems to have a firmer texture compared to my familiar Bobbi Brown Black Ink. I use Laura Mercier’s flat-top synthetic push brush, as the Tom Ford sales associate recommended using this, rather than investing in the Tom Ford brush. I have to sort of aggressively push the brush into the pot to get full eyeliner coverage. There seems to be plenty of pigment, but the product isn’t as soft as a Bobbi Brown gel. So as an application tip, get in there like a tiger woman–don’t be shy.

Because of the micro-shimmer, I have not used this on my waterline. Typically, I add tightlining to my upper waterline by using another Laura Mercier push brush and the mascara straight off the spoolie.

Finally, the overall effect is amazing particularly when a I add a tightline. It’s fascinating how a subtle twist can really make a difference that leads to perfection. This liner does look really amazing, particularly if you are using a cool toned shadow (but I’ve worn it will all colors). Lasts all day.

 

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