Armani Fluid Sheers ($59 for 30 ml/1 fl. oz.) are well loved among liquid highlighter fans. This season Armani revamped the packaging and brought out some new shades. You can see the newer shades swatched on Café Makeup’s Instagram account. I picked up #5 a light coral peach shimmer and #8 a pale frosted pink.
For those new to Armani, Fluid Sheers are liquid pearlescent highlighters. The shimmer varies per shade, some have a subtle pearly finish, others have a more noticeable frost. The uses are endless. Armani suggests that you can blend with foundation to add radiance, use as a sculpting product, alone as a makeup
base, or as a highlighter. To date the only one I have used mixed in with foundation is #7 which has a similar but slightly more visible finish compared to MAC’s Strobe Cream. The other shades are either too shimmery or dark for me to use all over the face or to mix in with foundations. I like to use these as highlighters or a cream blush.
base, or as a highlighter. To date the only one I have used mixed in with foundation is #7 which has a similar but slightly more visible finish compared to MAC’s Strobe Cream. The other shades are either too shimmery or dark for me to use all over the face or to mix in with foundations. I like to use these as highlighters or a cream blush.
The newer bottles are slightly taller than the original packaging although they contain the same amount of product as the original one. The differences are in the overall look and packaging. The new version has a frosted bottle so you can see the product inside and has an all over sleeker look.
I played with the newly released colors at my local Armani counter and settled on two of the lighter shades. I always love a stronger vibrant blush (blended out of course) but the darker shades are extremely pigmented and ended up looked a bit muddy on my skintone.
The peach shimmer #5 is absolute perfection. It has just the right amount of color and shimmer to give a healthy glow to the skin. The pale pink #8 is a lovely color but too light for me to wear alone. It makes a lovely highlight but definitely needs blush or bronzer added. If I were just a tad bit darker it would have a white cast on me due to the paleness.
Some close ups:
I pulled some of my current Fluid Sheers to compare, #5 looks very similar to one of the limited shades from several years ago, the Radiant Pigment Fluid Sheer #18 (however the new #5 has more pigment).
Note that the Radiant Pigment Fluid Sheers #17 and #18 were limited-edition from 2008ish and are now discontinued. They are shown below only for comparison purposes.
Swatches, same set, two different views:
I see myself getting the most use out of #5. I do think #8 is lovely but wish it were a few shades darker or less white on the skin. Fairer skinned makeup fans will love this one. Did you purchase any of the new shades? What’s your favorite Fluid Sheer?
Fluid Sheers retail for $59 each. You can find them instore now at Armani counters or online at Bloomingdales, Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Saks , Giorgio Armani Beauty.
