This Christmas, my bestie L and I agreed to get each other makeup items that we wanted but would never buy for ourselves. I got her the Hourglass Visionaire Eyeshadow Duo in Gypsy, and she got me Le Métier de Beauté Fraise Crème Lip Crème. The only drawback to receiving such an awesome present? I now know I'll have to buy it myself once it runs out (sorry, wallet!).
Fraise Crème is a truly stunning strawberry red base with gold shimmer (not glitter!).
The base color is neutral-cool, but the gold is warm, so it's a very versatile shade, and can be built up to a foil-like finish (but still stops from looking like it belongs in the '80s!).
It does seem to look different on different skin tones, though always gorgeous; see Messy Wands, The Beauty Look Book, Get Lippie, and Karla Sugar for other swatches (arm and lip).
It's intensely pigmented, more akin to a liquid lipstick than a lip gloss, and feels just heavenly when worn, very creamy (hence "lip crème") and moisturizing without being heavy. It also never feels sticky, and doesn't migrate, at all, which are the two problems I usually have with lip gloss products. The most striking thing about it (besides the gorgeous color, fine) is the wear: it gets through coffee and a light meal with minimal fading, and absolutely no dreaded ring-around-the-mouth, even though it's not transfer-proof (at least not for the first couple hours, before it dries down some). I can get a solid 4-5 hours out of this, though eating a big meal does shorten that, and my lips never feel dry, tight, or chapped. I even used this as my overnight lip balm after I'd left my tube of Jack Black on the plane (*sob*), and I woke up with perfectly happy, moisturized lips––nothing short of astounding, really!
So, amazing, complex color, decadent texture, incredible wear, and moisturizing to boot. And I haven't even mentioned the delicious vanilla crème brulée scent––completely free of any synthetic undertones, and lasts a decent while before it fades. I think I'm in heaven!
The packaging is sleek and has a traditional doe-foot applicator, which actually works really well with this product. I can apply it straight to my lips from the tube without need of a lip brush, which makes it ideal for wearing when at a party or conference (oh, how sad that the latter is more common in my life than the former), where you want to be able to reapply if necessary with minimal fuss.
Now I want more colors. I've especially got my eye on Framboise Crème (though it's redder and bolder than Fraise Crème, and I already have a fantastic high-end bold red liquid lip in Chanel Dragon), Papaye Crème (perfect for summer!), Café Crème (a lovely mauvey-nude that could work on me), and Purple Haze (LE for this winter, a lovely lavender-pink).
Basically? Perfection. There is not a single thing I would change about it––except the price, of course!
Overview
$36.00 for 0.20 oz, available from Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, and Bergdorf Goodman
Quality: 10
Effectiveness: 5
Ease of Use: 5
Senses: 5
Pigmentation: 5
Duration: 5
Consistency: 5
Price: 0.5 (I'm saving 0 for if I ever get a $47 Guerlain Rouge G lipstick)
Value: 5 (0.20 is standard for liquid lipsticks, and this is so pigmented and long-wearing that it should last me a very long time [fingers crossed so hard])
Packaging: +0.5 (classy, luxe, and functional)
Grade: A-
The price of this brings the grade down considerably, but it's such an amazing product that even losing almost all the points in Price still leaves it with an A-. If you can afford it, I cannot recommend Fraise Crème enough. Even if you can't (speaking!), if there's a color that really calls to you, I suggest asking for it as a gift! You won't regret it.
What do you think of Fraise Crème? Have you tried any Le Métier de Beauté products?
1 (!!) swipe Fraise Crème on my arm
The base color is neutral-cool, but the gold is warm, so it's a very versatile shade, and can be built up to a foil-like finish (but still stops from looking like it belongs in the '80s!).
It does seem to look different on different skin tones, though always gorgeous; see Messy Wands, The Beauty Look Book, Get Lippie, and Karla Sugar for other swatches (arm and lip).
It's intensely pigmented, more akin to a liquid lipstick than a lip gloss, and feels just heavenly when worn, very creamy (hence "lip crème") and moisturizing without being heavy. It also never feels sticky, and doesn't migrate, at all, which are the two problems I usually have with lip gloss products. The most striking thing about it (besides the gorgeous color, fine) is the wear: it gets through coffee and a light meal with minimal fading, and absolutely no dreaded ring-around-the-mouth, even though it's not transfer-proof (at least not for the first couple hours, before it dries down some). I can get a solid 4-5 hours out of this, though eating a big meal does shorten that, and my lips never feel dry, tight, or chapped. I even used this as my overnight lip balm after I'd left my tube of Jack Black on the plane (*sob*), and I woke up with perfectly happy, moisturized lips––nothing short of astounding, really!
So, amazing, complex color, decadent texture, incredible wear, and moisturizing to boot. And I haven't even mentioned the delicious vanilla crème brulée scent––completely free of any synthetic undertones, and lasts a decent while before it fades. I think I'm in heaven!
The packaging is sleek and has a traditional doe-foot applicator, which actually works really well with this product. I can apply it straight to my lips from the tube without need of a lip brush, which makes it ideal for wearing when at a party or conference (oh, how sad that the latter is more common in my life than the former), where you want to be able to reapply if necessary with minimal fuss.
Now I want more colors. I've especially got my eye on Framboise Crème (though it's redder and bolder than Fraise Crème, and I already have a fantastic high-end bold red liquid lip in Chanel Dragon), Papaye Crème (perfect for summer!), Café Crème (a lovely mauvey-nude that could work on me), and Purple Haze (LE for this winter, a lovely lavender-pink).
Basically? Perfection. There is not a single thing I would change about it––except the price, of course!
Overview
$36.00 for 0.20 oz, available from Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, and Bergdorf Goodman
Quality: 10
Effectiveness: 5
Ease of Use: 5
Senses: 5
Pigmentation: 5
Duration: 5
Consistency: 5
Price: 0.5 (I'm saving 0 for if I ever get a $47 Guerlain Rouge G lipstick)
Value: 5 (0.20 is standard for liquid lipsticks, and this is so pigmented and long-wearing that it should last me a very long time [fingers crossed so hard])
Packaging: +0.5 (classy, luxe, and functional)
Grade: A-
The price of this brings the grade down considerably, but it's such an amazing product that even losing almost all the points in Price still leaves it with an A-. If you can afford it, I cannot recommend Fraise Crème enough. Even if you can't (speaking!), if there's a color that really calls to you, I suggest asking for it as a gift! You won't regret it.
What do you think of Fraise Crème? Have you tried any Le Métier de Beauté products?
