Le Métier de Beauté Kalidescope Eye Kit in Carnaby Review, Swatches and Photos

One of Le Métier de Beauté's(LMdB) latest Kalidescope offerings is Carnaby Street ($95.00 US), which is exclusive to Neiman Marcus and Bloomingdales. Although LMdB is sadly not available in Canada, it is possible to order through Neiman Marcus as they do offer shipping to Canada.

The real Carnaby Street is a three block shopping district in London that was fashion ground zero for Mods and Hippies in the swinging1960's. It's not surprising  that this Kalidescope palette features some retro inspired shades. I used this palette before I shot the review pictures, so you will have to forgive a little mess! Photos shot in natural light on NC 40 skin.

Carnaby Street: First tier

The first shadow in Carnaby Street is a peachy pink satin finish, which is well pigmented and has a natural sheen. It actually reminds me of the shades of lipstick Mods would wear!

Carnaby Street: Second tier

The second shadow is a beautiful grey taupe with a hint of golden shimmer. This shadow has excellent pigmentation and a soft shimmery finish. A fantastic neutral that can go with so many warm and cool toned shades.

Carnaby Street: Third tier

The third shadow is a matte, soft slightly greyed pinky mauve with excellent pigmentation and texture. Other than LMdB's Nouvelle Vague Kalidescope, I can't think of another colour similar to this. So soft and pretty.

Carnaby Street: Fourth tier

The last shadow is a medium dark metallic sapphire blue with hints of teal. Again this shadow has excellent pigmentation and blendability.

The following swatches show the four shades individually and on the far right the shades layered in LMdB's "Couches de Couleur" technique, starting with the first tier on the bottom, followed with the other tiers successively on top. 

Carnaby Street 1-4, far right 2 layered on top of 1

Carnaby Street 1-4, far right layered 3,2,1

Carnaby Street 1-4, far right layered 4,3,2,1

You can see how layering the shades creates depth and a unique hue each time another shadow is added. For an informative and somewhat funny tutorial about this technique a video can be watched here.

Overall I think this palette is excellent, and the range of colours flexible enough to create multiple different looks. Many people will balk at the $95.00 US price tag, but believe all the blogosphere hype about these shadows because they are some of the best I have ever used. LMdB's shadows have a cult following for a reason - they are pigmented, creamy, blendable, long wearing and have a beautiful finish regardless of the texture (matte, satin, shimmer, metallic etc.)

Grade: A

J