Giorgio Armani Mediterranean Eye Palette Summer 2011

Armani has established a long standing tradition of releasing a collection in their Bronze Mania/Mediterranean theme for summer each year. Armani has released their latest edition of the Mediterranean Palette in a four-pan eyeshadow quad for Summer 2011 ($59).

Going back as far as I can remember, Armani has released different variations of double-decker palettes for summer usually a bronzer and eyeshadow combination. I am excited this year they have released a full sized quad. Even more excited that this summer is one of the first seasons I’ve seen something appears to be something truly Armani. Something gorgeous, glowing and gloriously neutral. You might find these links interesting to see the history of Bronze Mania in the following awesome reviews:

The Summer 2011 Mediterranean Eye Palette has four shimmery summery shades. From top to bottom I would describe them as:

The texture is soft. Pigment is rich. The colors are easily blendable. It’s stunning in the compact and on the back of the hand. The shades are amazing when you pick them up with your fingertips. There is a little instruction card that comes with the palette to give you ideas on how to create a day or night look. The verdict? I don’t think it’s a must-have. I’ll explain why below. First, here are the photos in direct sunlight and with a high flash:

Instructional card with helpful diagrams:

Swatched on a slightly moisturized arm, although no base was really needed to pick up the color:

Closer swatches so you can see the sheen:

So why am I not raving like crazy about this one? For some reason, warm shades like the ones in this palette simply blend together and melt into my skin so you can’t really see much. I need a good moist base and a slightly damp brush to apply wet for them to show up on my olive skin. Plus, I can only use 3 shades at most for these colors. Another thing – I noticed it looked very familiar and went through my quads in search of a dupe. I found it virtually identical to Chanel Spices. The Armani is more intense and more pigmented, but the effect is strikingly similar.

The differences are noticeable, but subtle:

I just know on my eyes, both quads will look identical. If you have pinkish undertones or fair skin, I think this will be *the perfect* combination of colors for you. I envision it will be stunning on blue-eyed and green-eyed girls. As much as I love neutrals, it doesn’t really show up on my eyes. Your mileage may vary. I worry when some really take to heart when I say I’m not in love with something. I don’t want you to write something off simply because I do. As other bloggers have noted in their reviews, this is a beautiful palette. Indeed it is. Due to the vastness of my stash, I knew there was a likely chance that I would have something similar.

If you liked the colors in Chanel Spices but don’t like Chanel quads, this Armani is the one for you. The texture is more blendable than the Chanel and more visible on the skin so it will stand out more on most of you (even if it just blends away into nothingness on me). Armani is more pigmented/intensified so it’s slightly better for the wear.

All in all the quality is still amazing. The pigment is surprisingly good. The texture is to die for. I’ll figure out a way to play with the colors and layer them to make them show up better. I already have ideas of layering these with a few of those powder/cream Eyes to Kill Hybrids that I think will be interesting.

At the time of this post, I don’t think it’s online yet. I found mine at Neiman Marcus instore. I did not check out the other items in the collection so I can’t comment on those. I’m still smitten with Chanel and Dior. More on the Dior quints soon. If you have an Armani counter near you GO and play with this to decide for yourself 🙂