*New Subscription* Le Metier de Beaute Beauty Vault VIP Unboxing and Review: August 2013

Le Metier de Beaute is considered creme de la creme even among high end brands, but what makes them really different is the lack of any sort of advertisement. They rely on bloggers and word of mouth to promote themselves, after all if their products are so good, people will be talking about them.

To further get the word out they launched their Beauty Vault program, where they periodically unlock great deals such as BOGO nail polish or full-size high value GWPs. All of these deals are active for a limited time only, and once they’re gone they’re gone. One of such deals was the Beauty Vault VIP yearly subscription, to reward their loyal customers and fans. Downside: you have to pay for the whole year upfront. “What kind of a reward is it if I have to pay that much??” – you ask. Well, by the end of this review you will probably change your mind.

About Beauty Vault VIP:
As a Vault VIP for $348/year you will receive a full-sized product or assortment of products every month, curated by our Beauté experts. Members of The Vault will also have the opportunity to try exclusive, limited-edition items and pre-releases of the brand’s latest and greatest before anyone else gets their hands on them.
The sign ups will become available again only in July 2014.

Eye Shadow Kaleidoscope in Chauvet Pont d’Arc
Receiving this particular Kaleidoscope means a lot to me. Truth is, becoming a paleontologist was my childhood dream, and this gorgeous palette was inspired by the earliest-known cave paintings in the world, so I instantly understood the reference when I flipped over the kaleidoscope to see what’s written on the bottom. Now, the sad news is that my kit arrived damaged – one of the eye shadow pans came loose and shattered inside, ruining the entire thing. It took me over an hour to scrape it all off with a cotton swab dipped in makeup remover, but there’s still a lot of product stuck in the tiny nooks 🙁 I sent an email to CS, and hopefully they’ll be able to do something about it, because I can’t even put it in my purse. I’ll let you how they resolve this for me so you will have an idea about the quality of their Customer Service.

On the bright side, the arm swatches were made without a primer in 3-4 light finger swipes, so the colors are super pigmented. They feel very comfortable on the eyes, I would even call them creamy, although that’s probably not the word you’d normally use to describe pressed powder eye shadows.

Colors from top to bottom (in the Kaleidoscope) or left to right (arm swatches):

• Umber – umbre-toned satin mauve
• Ocher – shimmering sandstone ochre
• Madder – shimmering terracotta
• Crystalline – silky desert matte teal

It’s important to note that there were varieties of Kaleidoscopes sent out – some people received blush ones, some people got the lip ones, and some got the eye ones. The colors were different, too. This particular Kaleidoscope came out as part of Summer 2012 collection and is still being sold at Neiman Marcus.

Signature Red Lipstick
These pre-release lipsticks didn’t even hit the shelves yet, and we get to try them already! This matte formula is packed with pigment, so if you have a steady hand it’s a one-coater for sure. As someone who doesn’t use bright lipstick very often I had to use a brush to apply it, otherwise I would have smudged it all over my face.
This color is on the verge of being too dark for my complexion, but I think I can make it work by wearing minimal eye makeup and only accentuating the eye lashes. The formula is pleasantly thick and slightly creamy, and a little on the dry side. It stayed well on my lips throughout the day, and I would even go so far as to calling it a long-lasting lipstick, because I needed to reapply only 5 hours after the initial application.

Precision Liquid Eyeliner in Noir
This liquid eyeliner pen reminds me of the one we got from Starlooks in June – the shape and the feel on the eyes is pretty much the same. The ingredient lists, however, look very different, and LMdB liner doesn’t contain parabens. On my wrist swatch it feathered like crazy, but there was none of that once I put it on my eyes. It’s very light, and wears well under or over the eye shadow. It’s definitely not waterproof (nor does it claim to be), so if you touch your eye even with slightly moist fingers, it will smudge immediately.

[Extra] Kabuki Brush
This is an extra item included for all subscribers. Made with natural goat hair this versatile brush is great for applying bronzer, blush or powder. However, I found that it sheds majorly, whether you’re gentle with it or not. I own another natural-bristled kabuki brush from L’Occitane (they call it Blush Brush though) and it hasn’t lost a hair since I bought it several years ago. I may give this one to a friend or a cousin who is just starting to build their makeup and brush collection.

The Look
As much as I hate selfies, here’s a couple pictures of me wearing the eye shadows and eye liner, just do you can see how pretty they are when blended together.

The verdict: I expected this subscription to be a good deal, but the value of the first box was truly phenomenal. I can totally understand now why people are obsessing over the Kaleidoscopes, the quality of those eye shadows is very high and the shades work together so well! I was also very impressed with the lipstick formula, how matte it looks and how saturated the color is on the lips. I’m definitely still a but wary of the shade, but I’ll try to go out wearing it one day just to see how people react. Disappointed with the Kabuki brush, for the price I expected higher quality. After seeing the reviews online it seems like I’m not the only one who thinks that. And the eyeliner was another pleasant discovery, it’s going to be my go-to for the time being.

What do you think about this subscription? Would it be worth it to you?