Tutorial: Mixing Le Metier de Beaute Lip Cremes

I feel like my entire week has been leading up to this point, and here we are. Remember in the first post I told you Le Metier de Beaute Lip Cremes are meant for mixing and layering? Well, this epic Lip Creme feature wouldn't have been complete without me showing you how it's done, would it now.

Let's begin with why. I mean, these lip cremes (like Fraise? Swoon) are near perfect as they are. Why should I hope for more? 

Mixing the colors together adds dimension to your lip color. Dustin's motto when it comes to getting a good full lip is to mix/layer a warm and cool hue to balance them out. This also applies to picking out glosses to go with lipsticks. In fact, his exact words were, "never be matchy-matchy with your lip gloss and lipstick!" 

Another reason I'll add is whatever you create will be unique. I love the idea that no two mixtures will ever be the same and no one else will have my lips for that particular day. It's the reason why I never had the urge to buy NARS Schiap. It's no doubt a beautiful color, but so many people already own that exact shade of fuchsia. There's nothing like saturation to diminish intrigue.

On to the fun part! The beauty of the lip cremes is you are free to play with any combination and they'll probably still turn out great. However, I understand the words you can do anything may actually create more anxiety than experimentation, so I asked Dustin for some of his favorites to share with you. All of the below are combinations of warm and cool hues:

Sweet Creme + Toffee Creme = Pink Tan

Peche Creme + Cocoa Creme = Perfect Gold

Chocolate Creme + Framboise Creme = Deep Red Plum

Vanilla Rose + Creme Caramel = Perfect Nude

Fraise Creme + Papaya Creme = Shimmering Coral

Fraise Creme + Creme Caramel = Pink Opal

A smidge of Uma Paro Lip Brilliance + Sweet Creme + large portion of Creme de la Creme + Creme Caramel = Lavender Nude

We had fun picking out names for each of these colors, which we both struggled with toward the end. At one point, I conceded that there are just so many dimensions in some of the colors that typical adjectives fall short. After all, what's a mere coral/pink/nude compared to these?

I thought you might like to see how some of these look on the lips, so I took the few colors I owned and had some fun of my own. Remember, you can choose to mix them together OR layer them on top of each other. You don't even have to worry about not owning a lip brush (though you should own one) because you can use your fingers too.

Creme Caramel with Fraise Creme layered on top

Creme Caramel with Fraise Creme layered on top

Peche Creme + Cocoa Creme (mixed and applied with a lip brush)

Peche Creme + Cocoa Creme (mixed and applied with a lip brush)

And pardon my application but I have to show you Lavender Nude (see why I said you need a lip brush?):

A smidge of Uma Paro Lip Brilliance + Sweet Creme + large portion of Creme de la Creme + Caramel Creme (blended and applied with finger)

A smidge of Uma Paro Lip Brilliance + Sweet Creme + large portion of Creme de la Creme + Caramel Creme (blended and applied with finger)

A smidge of Uma Paro Lip Brilliance + Sweet Creme + large portion of Creme de la Creme + Caramel Creme (blended and applied with finger)

Tip: Always remember when using any applicator, the first point of contact of said applicator to skin will be where you deposit the most pigment. For a full pout, you want the center of your lips to have the highest shine. The best way to achieve that is to begin your gloss application at the middle of your lips and sheer it out to the side. This way you also avoid looking like you have too much gloss on.

So, are you inspired to concoct some new shades? I would love to know how it turns out. If you've been doing this all along, feel free to share your favorite combinations in the comments.

If you don't have a Le Metier de Beaute counter you are loyal to, I urge you to give Dustin Lujan of Bergdorf Goodman a call at 212-872-8612 (tell him Messy Wands sent you). He'll give you the best and most interesting recommendations and will offer you great advice in makeup application - half of the content on Messy Wands wouldn't exist without his willingness to share his knowledge. As a side note, Bergdorf's also provides international shipping.

To view the complete array of lip creme shades, feast upon Karlasugar's amazing swatches.