Armani’s holiday collection this year is called Luxe is More and the items launched are definitely luxury beauty pieces. I’ve been a fan of Armani for a long time but found that my favorites were previously released items such as the Eyes to Kill Intense Eyeshadows and older blush formula. Many of the items have gone through reformulations and revamps and I haven’t kept up with new launches as much. The holiday collection did catch my eye and I splurged on four items:
- Luxe is More Palette ($140) has ten eyeshadows, one finishing powder and two shades of cream foundation
- Eye Tints ($38 each) come in shades 16, 17 and 18, I picked up 17 and 18
- Lip Maestro ($36 each) launched in six new shades, each color has a velvety matte finish, I picked up one Pearly Nude 508
Up first are the individual items for lips and eyes, Lip Maestro 508, Eye Tint 18, Eye Tint 17:
Swatches of the three colors below, Lip Maestro 508, Eye Tint 17, Eye Tint 18:
I’m an Armani Eye Tint lover. These are shimmery cream eyeshadows that come with a sponge-tip applicator. They look super shimmery and frosty but blend out to a smooth finish with a glow. Swatches and review of some other shades in this post here. There are three new shades with the holiday collection, I picked 17 and 18 even though I suspected there might be duplicates in my current stash. I’m a sucker for a good neutral shimmer and these looked so pretty at the counter. Eye Tint 18 is a silvery cool shimmer. Eye Tint 17 is a champagne pink shimmer.
Some swatch comparisons below:
Burberry Wet and Dry Glow in Optic White (review)
Armani Eyes to Kill Intense #9 (review)
NARS Velvet Eyeshadow Stick in Goddess (review)
Armani Eye Tint #12 (review)
Nudestix Magnetic Eye Color in Angel (swatched)
Burberry Wet and Dry Glow in Shell (review)
Armani Eye Tint #8 (review)
Nudestix Magnetic Eye Color in Twilight (swatched)
NARS Velvet Eyeshadow Stick in Oaxaca (review)
Armani Eyes to Kill Intense #4 (review)
I think the Eye Tint 17 has a similar effect to Eyes to Kill Intense 9, the Eye Tint has less frost/shimmer and a tad bit more pink, but the overall finish is almost identical. Eye Tint #18 pulls more silver/cool on my skin but that’s because I have a lot of olive. If you’re more pink it will probably look more neutral.
Next up is the Lip Maestro in Pearly Nude #508. The Lip Maestros this round have a matte finish and are more like a velvety matte liquid lipstick. Finish is sheer to medium but you can build the color. Lasting power is pretty good, much better than the regular Armani Glosses and the thick texture adheres well to the lips. Pearly Nude is more like a pearly pink with a very slight cool undertone. There is a slight sheen to it because of the pearl shimmers, but the finish is definitely matte.
Swatch comparisons below to:
Armani Gloss D’Armani 503 (discontinued)
Surratt Beauty Lip Lustre in Soigne (review)
Dior Addict Gloss in 613 Cygne Noir (new for holiday)
Marc Jacobs Hi-Shine Enamored Lip Lacquer Rebel Rebel (review)
Armani Lip Maestro 202 Dolci
NARS Lip Gloss in Baby Doll (swatches)
NARS Lip Gloss in Ophelia (swatches)
NARS Lip Gloss in Risky Business (swatches)
Last but not least is the Luxe is More Palette. I swatched this in store and fell head over heels in love with the colors – I think any neutral makeup lover would gasp with awe at how pretty this palette is. The pigment of the shadows is medium but buildable. The shimmer is very fine – visilble on the skin but not frosted. All the colors have shimmer with the exception of two (top row has a matte cream, middle has a soft matte black). I’ve been playing with this for over a week and have mixed feelings. It’s no doubt beautiful, stunning and gorgeous for an understated glowy eye look. The price is over the top and even though you do get 10 eyeshadows, a powder and two cream foundations in a large sturdy double-tiered mirrored compact, it’s over priced and you can dupe the shadows with other brands. Also the bottom tier has a powder and foundation that seems like it will only suit light to medium skintones. I’m lucky in the sense they are a perfect match for me, but if you’re super fair or tan to dark, the bottom deck won’t match your skintone.
The palette does come in a black pouch with two eyeshadow sponge-tip applicators. The bottom deck has two black sponges for the face products. For me they are all too small to be super useful, although they are good for touch ups.
After playing with this, I think based on my past reviews of other natural palettes like the Chanel Fall Les 5 Ombres and Dior Eye Reviver Palettes, most of you will either love or hate this. I find the overall feel to be similar to the Dior Eye Reviver Palettes in the sense that it’s natural with a subtle shimmer (versus high shimmer frost). The Armani Palette does have more shimmer and the pigment is slightly richer than the Dior. Compared to the Chanel, the Armani has better pigment, but it’s still a very natural-looking palette. If you want high impact color and pigment, I would not recommend this for you. Still if you can get to an Armani counter, definitely test this.
I am really happy with this palette, but I do think it’s extremely expensive and very splurgy. By comparison, you can get the MAC x15 in Warm Neutrals or Cool Neutrals for $85 each. Or if you want to build your own MAC palette, you can do so at the MAC stores or online for $160 (palette + insert cost $10, each pro-palette shadow is priced at $10).
Swatches of the shadows in the top deck include: matte cream, shimmering shell, shimmering gold, shimmering pale gold, silver, white frost, shimmery cool mauve, shimmery taupe, satiny plum, matte black
Bottom deck has two shades of cream foundation, I like these under the eyes as brighteners for me, and one finishing powder that disappears completely on my skin, it’s a nice setting/touch up powder
Palette ingredients:
Bottom line, I love the Eye Tints, but I knew that I would. I do think they are very similar to other shades so if you already own a good champagne shimmer or silvery shimmer, no need to get these as they will be dupes. The Lip Maestro in Pearly Nude is a gorgeous neutral pink with a very slight hint of cool undertone. The formula is strange to me as it’s a matte, but has a sheen to it. I’m usually not a fan of matte lip colors but this one is nice. I did find that I had to layer the color to get it to show up on my pigmented lips, but I didn’t have to pack it on. If your lip pigment is light to medium, you probably won’t have to layer like I did. The Luxe is More Palette is the ultimate splurge. So many of my readers are almost anti-shimmer with eyeshadows, if you are ultra conservative with shimmer and like a soft glow, you will really like the colors in this palette. They are natural and understated but give the eyes a brightened look effect. If you’re one who likes more pigment and color payoff, I recommend you try it in person before splurging.
You can find the Luxe is More Collection at all Armani counters now. Online at Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Selfridges and Giorgio Armani Beauty.
I really enjoy reading your reviews and seeing the photo swatches. Do you think you will do a review of the Ecstasy Lacquers anytime soon? There are some reviews based on a google search, but the colors are not very clear in some of them.
Hi Patty – sorry for the delay in responding, I've been so busy! I don't think I'll be reviewing the Ecstasy Lacquers, I did a quick look in store and the colors didn't really seem me. Did you check Temptalia or Beauty Professor?
I personally like some shimmer on my lid. I have hooded, slightly deep-set eyes, and I find some subtle shimmer really helps to brighten my eyes and just makes me look fresher. I love the Eye Tint formula so much; they're so long-lasting, even on my oily, hooded lids. Do you know whether the Eye Tints with this collection are limited or permanent?
Hi Jess – I don't know whether the new Eye Tints are limited, sorry I only have the information I got at the counter and they said everything is limited but I can't confirm if that's true or not.
The palette looks gorgeous! I've never tried any Armani products but I'm very tempted
http://www.makeupmusicbooks.com
It's ridiculously expensive but so pretty!
I'm really liking the eye tints. I've got deep set eyes and it's a go to look for me to have a shimmery wash on my eyes. I also like that lip color. It's a nude without being too pink or washed out. Bravo Armani!
I love shimmer for the eyes – but I get a lot of comments from readers that they don't like shimmer!
It's a shame they didn't make the palette in more foundation shades. I feel like they limited who would buy it but otherwise it's lovely!
prettyneutral.com
I agree! Such an odd decision to make it 1 color.
I saw the palette in the Saks catalogue and was initially very excited to try it. But once I saw that the second tier was so limited I immediately dismissed it. Very short term thinking by Armani not to give folks options of choosing the foundation shades – it would have broadened the appeal of this palette. Especially given the broad range of shades offered with their foundations..Oh well, just saved myself $140.
Glad you saved yourself some $$$! I wonder why they only made it with 1 color in the foundations/concealer. It's really too bad.
If I knew more and had some history with Armani products I would be quite tempted as it is lovely to look at but I just can't except the price given that it's not even Tom Ford and doesn't have the quality of the summer edition retro compacts that feel expensive when you hold them. For me my reading of the position of Armani make up is not up in the stratosphere and I can't help feeling that this has been priced out of the reach of their customer. £75 and I would have it like a shot but not £120, not for Armani. It has to be exceptional to go through the £100 price point and not just the product but the feel, the packaging, the brand, the concept. Lovely blog post as usual though Sabrina. Xx
I agree – the price is outrageous. I'm kinda upset with myself for spending that much $ on one product.
I bought this after a makeup artist used it on me during beauty week at my Nordstrom store. I held onto it for a week without opening the packaging. The more I thought about it, the more I felt queasy spending that much money on something I was only going to half use. Between all the Chanel, Dior, UD, and Tom Ford I own the top tier was duped several times over. Considering I need to lighten Luminous Silk in #2 to match my skin, I knew I'd never use the bottom half of the palette. I also felt the case felt very light and plastic for the money. None of the heft and quality of say a Tom Ford case. Returned it unopened yesterday.
If you don't love it 100% no sense in keeping it – glad you were able to return it!
Tatiana…..that is my gut feeling about this compact without even seeing it in the flash so to speak. My barometer on quality / value has been totally governed by the Deco like compacts from TF. If TF can produced those beautiful white / gold palettes for Summer Edition with quality product too for £68 Armani ain't got a hope in getting £120 out of me for this. Pretty but it needs to be exceptional. Xx
Wow, I love that Pearly Nude Lip Maestro. It looks beautiful on you!
Thanks Gail! It's an interesting color 🙂
Most of my makeup is Armani but this palette will easily be around the $200 mark in Australia and am somewhat miffed that they don't have some more of these type of neutrals in their solo eye shadow range. I got to swatch only one Ecstasy Lacquer a month ago 504 'Pink Out' and it was more vibrant on my hand then the online photos. Also fell in love with the 400 Red Lacquer the SA was wearing,
Frances
Thanks for sharing Frances!
I had a chance to see this in person last weekend – and pictures don't do it justice. It really is a lovely and luxurious palette, great gift for someone on your list who is a makeup lover. I passed because I feel like I have too many palettes that I never wear. First world problems, right? Fantastic review!
Glad you liked the review! Yes, if you have a lot of palettes already you can easily duplicate the look.