Browsing Category

Uncategorized

Uncategorized

Update on New Giorgio Armani Maestro Eye Shadows

June 25, 2009

Those who are familiar with Armani are aware of the product revamps of their lipsticks and eyeshadows. When Armani first released their beauty line, there were 3 formulas of lipsticks: Shines, Sheers, Matte Silks. A new line of Mania Lipsticks was introduced several years ago. Now most recently ArmaniSilks and Lip Waxes have been launched. It appears the same revamp process is happening with the Eye Shadows with the Maestro Singles and Maestro Quads.

Many of the older shades have been discontinued, but not to worry – a good number of the shades have been re-introduced with the new-and-improved formulas, however many of them have different numbers.

The first Maestro Eyeshadow release occurred in 2007 with the release of 18 new shades. The next release was Spring 2008 released Maestro #19. Then in Holiday 2008, Armani skipped the numbers in between and released #37 a satin white and #38 a matte dark grey.

Finally within the last month, I found that Armani had released a number of new shades ranging from #20 to #36. See the original post HERE for pictures and descriptions, however, there were still some missing shades that Neimans and Saks had not received in their stock. Also, these have not yet shown up online anywhere. Both the Neimans and Saks stores near me did not yet receive testers, so if you don’t see a new unit out – ask the Armani rep, most likely they have the stock!

Just a week ago, I stopped by Saks and the Armani manager pulled me aside to show me some more new shades.



* Maestro #2 – shimmery neutral champagne (not new, but just new for me)

* Maestro #21 – shimmery dark blue (when compared to the other existing blues, this one is different from all the other existing shades, see a swatch HERE in the Smokey Eyes Series)

* Maestro #22 – this one has replaced the original #3

* Maestro #23 – this replaced the original #4

* Maestro #36 – matte buttercream which is most similar to the original #8, but brighter

Still missing in action: #24, 31 and 33 which I am sure will trickle in very soon. Just to recap – photo from the original post. Click HERE for close ups and more descriptions.

Coming next – comparison photos featuring the new revamped shades to the original formula.

0 Comments
Uncategorized

Color Focus: Smokey Eyes Part 5 (Blues & Greens)

June 24, 2009

Part 5 includes blues and greens with eyeliners and eyeshadows mixed in:
(Note all eyeshadows are applied dry, but with a heavy hand over Laura Mercier Stick Foundation to help the color adhere)

Eyeliner swatches:
1. Chanel Stylo Yeux Waterproof Long Lasting Eyeliner – Marine
2. Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner – Indigo Ink
3. Nars Single Eyeshadow – Thunderball
4. MAC Velvet Eyeshadow – Top Knot
5. MAC Velvet Eyeshadow – Contrast
6. MAC Matte Eyeshadow – Meet the Fleet
7. MAC Pigment – Naval Blue
8. Giorgio Armani Maestro Eyeshadow – #21
9. Giorgio Armani Maestro Eyeshadow – #23 (same as the GA Original #4)
10. MAC Pro Pigment – Deep Blue Green
11. MAC Lustre Eyeshadow – Greensmoke
12. Chanel Les 4 Ombres de Chanel Quadra Eye Shadow – Murano (bottom right shade)
13. Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner – Ivy Shimmer Ink
14. Chanel Le Crayon Kohl Intense Eye Pencil – Black Jade
15. Nars Eyeliner Pencil – Kyoto
16. Laura Mercier Kohl Eye Pencil – Antique Jade
17. Laura Mercier Kohl Eye Pencil – Black Turquoise

0 Comments
Uncategorized

Color Focus: Smokey Eyes Part 4 (Mauves & Plums)

June 23, 2009

Part 4 includes mauves and plums with Bobbi Brown Black Ink as a true-black baseline:

Eyeliner swatches:
1. Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner – Black Ink
2. Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner – Cocoa Mauve Ink
3. Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner – Black Plum Ink
4. Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner – Black Mauve Shimmer Ink
5. Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner – Violet Ink
6. Chanel Le Crayon Yeux Precision Eye Definer – Violet Smoke
7. MAC Eye Kohl – Prunella
8. Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil – Rockstar
9. Laura Mercier Kohl Eye Pencil – Black Violet
10. Chanel Le Crayon Kohl Intense Eye Pencil – Ambre
11. MAC Kohl Power Pencil – Raven
12. Nars Single Eyeshadow – Night Fever (applied wet)
13. MAC Eyeshadow – Smut
14. Bobbi Brown Shimmer Wash Eyeshadow – Black Plum SW
15. Bobbi Brown Metallic Eyeshadow – After Hours
16. Giorgio Armani Maestro Eyeshadow – #18

Shadow swatches (some repeats):
(note for the shadows, skin was prepped with Estee Lauder Idealist to help the shadow adhere to the skin, all shadows applied dry except for Nars Night Fever – but they were all applied with a heavy hand)

1. MAC Eyeshadow – Beauty Marked
2. MAC Eyeshadow – Smut
3. Nars Single Eyeshadow – Night Fever
4. Chanel Ombre Essentielle Soft Touch Eyeshadow – Magic Night
5. MAC Pro Pigment – Deep Purple
6. MAC Pigment – Smoke Signal
7. Bobbi Brown Shimmer Wash Eyeshadow – Black Plum SW
8. Bobbi Brown Metallic Eyeshadow – After Hours
9. Giorgio Armani Maestro Eyeshadow – #18

4 Comments
Uncategorized

Color Focus: Smokey Eyes Part 3 (Black Golds)

June 23, 2009

Part 3 included black golds with Bobbi Brown Black Ink, MAC Smolder, and Urban Decay Zero as a true-black baseline:

1. Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner – Black Ink
2. MAC Eye Kohl – Smolder
3. Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil – Zero
4. Laura Mercier Kohl Eye Pencil – Black Gold

5. MAC Technakohl Liner – Uniform

6. MAC Kohl Power Pencil – Orpheus
7. Clinique Cream Shaper for Eyes – Egyptian
8. MAC Powerpoint Eye Pencil – Buried Treasure
9. Chanel Le Crayon Yeux Precision Eye Definer – Noir Scintillant
10. Dolce & Gabbana Crayon Intense Eyeliner – Stromboli
11. Stila Smudge Pot – Golden Noir
12. Nars Single Eyeshadow – Night Clubbing (applied wet)
13. Trish McEvoy Eye Definer – Lava
14. MAC Solar Bits – Black Ore

1 Comment
Uncategorized

Color Focus: Smokey Eyes Part 2 (Smokey Greys & Blacks)

June 23, 2009

After organizing of all my eyeliners, I decided to divide the blacks into two groups, Smokey Greys/Blacks and Black/Golds. I’ve also decided to use a few shades as a baseline which I feel are true blacks so you may see some repeats in the next few posts.

Part 2 includes the greys and true blacks.

Eyeliner swatches:
1. MAC Pearlglide Eyeliner – Wolf
2. Stila Kajal Eye Liner – Smoky Quartz
3. Laura Mercier Kohl Eye Pencil – Stormy Grey
4. Chantecaille Precision Eye Pencil – Flint

5. Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner – Gunmetal Shimmer Ink

6. Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner – Graphite Shimmer Ink
7. Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner – Caviar Ink (NOTE, the swatch looks brown next to black ink, but goes on the eyes more of a soft black without brown)
8. Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner – Black Ink
9. Chanel Stylo Yeux Waterproof Long Lasting Eyeliner – Black Shimmer
10. MAC Softsparkle Eyepencil – Night Sky (black with silver glitter)
11. Chanel Stylo Yeux Waterproof Long Lasting Eyeliner – Ebene
12. MAC Eye Kohl – Smolder
13. Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil – Zero
14. Chanel Le Crayon Khol Intense Eye Pencil – Noir

Shadow swatches:
(note for the shadows, skin was prepped with Estee Lauder Idealist and Laura Mercier Silk Creme Foundation in Bamboo Beige to help the shadow adhere to the skin)

1. Chantecaille Shine Eye Shade – Meteorite
2. MAC Pigment – Sweet Sienna
3. MAC Frost Eyeshadow – Charred
4. MAC Veluxe Pearl Eyeshadow – Knight Divine
5. Chanel Ombre Essentielle Soft Touch Eyeshadow – Silvery
6. MAC Velvet Eyeshadow – Black Tied
7. Chanel Ombre Essentielle Soft Touch Eyeshadow – Black Star
8. Bobbi Brown Eyeshadow – Steel
9. MAC Pigment – Dark Soul
10. Stila AOS Powder – #13
11. Becca Eye Color (Shimmer) – Velvet
12. Shu Uemura Pressed Eyeshadow – ME Black 990
13. Urban Decay Deluxe Eyeshadow – Zero
14. MAC Matte Eyeshadow – Carbon


0 Comments
Uncategorized

Color Focus: Smokey Eyes Part 1

June 22, 2009

I thought I’d do a series on smokey eyes. I usually associate “smokey” with black shades, but often cannot wear many blacks because they either look too silvery or blueish on my olive toned skin, so when I look for black shades, I usually try to look for something with a slight variation on the basic black (for example a black gold, or blackened purple, or silvery black).

Part 1 includes the black eyeliners that work for me, included are some with gold or silver flecks, but have an underlying black color base. That being said, it looks like a good majority of the black-gold eyeliners here photograph as mostly gold or khaki gold (with the combination of black and gold shimmer) but in real life, still appears somewhat black on the eyes.

1. MAC Technakohl Liner – Uniform (deep khaki green with gold pearl)
2. MAC Eye Kohl – Smolder (intense black)
3. MAC Softsparkle Eyepencil – Night Sky (black with silver glitter)
4. MAC Powerpoint Eye Pencil – Buried Treasure (underground brown-black with gold)

5. Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil – Zero (zealous black)

6. Chanel Stylo Yeux Waterproof Long Lasting Eyeliner – Ebene
7. Chanel Stylo Yeux Waterproof Long Lasting Eyeliner – Black Shimmer
8. Chanel Le Crayon Khol Intense Eye Pencil – Noir
9. Chanel Le Crayon Yeux Precision Eye Definer – Noir Scintillant
10. Clinique Cream Shaper for Eyes – Egyptian (blackened green with gold pearl)
11. Clinique Brush-On Cream Liner – Egyptian (blackened green with gold pearl)
12. Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner – Black Ink (jet black)
13. Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner – Caviar Ink (no official description, but to me, soft charcoal black-brown – also NOTE, the swatch looks brown next to black ink, but goes on the eyes more of a soft black without brown)
14. Stila Smudge Pot – Golden Noir (black with a touch of gold)
15. Dolce & Gabbana Crayon Intense Eyeliner – Stromboli (black with gold flecks)

Two views:

1 Comment
Uncategorized

Chanel Fall 2009 has arrived at Saks!

June 20, 2009

Stopped by Saks today to pick up a few Armani items and was surprised to see the fall collection for Chanel out! The product rep wasn’t there, and there were a few empty slots (mainly 1 duo eyeshadow or single eyeshadow slot and a few pencil liners), but most of the collection was there.

Collection includes:
* 6 Rouge Allures in Clandestine #73, Comedia #74, Amusing #75, Captive #76, Inuitive #77, Instinctive #78
* 2 Glossimers in Arlequin #136 and Courtisane #138
* 1 Le Crayon Leveres in Praline D’Or #35
* 2 Le Vernis in Gondola #499, Intermezzo #501
* 1 Poudre Douce in Peche Caresse
* 1 Les Tissages de Chanel in Tweed Sienna
* 1 Jous Contraste in Fresque
* 1 Quadra Eyeshadow in Murano
* 1 Eye Gloss Quad (forget the name)
* 1 Irreelle Duo in Acqua Alta

Also featured are 2 waterproof eyeliners, 1 brow pencil, mascara.

Left to right Rouge Allures in Comedia #74, Intuitive #77, Instinctive #78, Glossimer in Arlequin #136 and Courtisane #138:

Murano Quad:

Tweed Sienna & Fresque Blushes:

Tweed comparisons:

Fresque comparisons:

Nail Polishes in Cosmic Violine (from the Celestial Collection) versus Gondola:

Also, not pictured is the new Lip Liner which is a gorgeous light peachy nude (did not photograph well). The other rouge allures were in the red family, all gorgeous. The other nail polish was a iridescent opal white color. The eyeshadow duo was a crystal white shimmer with a charcoal grey.

2 Comments