This is for Suzanne who requested swatches of all my Armani Lip Shimmers together in one photo. These retail in the US for $26 and are available at various Saks, Neimans, Bloomingdales and Nordstroms locations. I purchased all of mine from Saks over the years – I realize the shelf life of a lipgloss is typically 1-2 years, but I am not one to pay attention to expiration dates for makeup. If it still smells good, I continue to use it.
I want to let you know up front that most of these are no longer made and are now discontinued. You may be able to find more of the older shades instore rather than online, so I recommend trying your local Saks or Nordstrom to see if they carry some of the older shades.
Check GiorgioArmaniBeauty.com for the current shades. The spring shades are not listed online yet for some reason.
Photographed together
How on earth did I accumulate so many Armani Lipglosses? I have no idea – but it’s normally been a purchase of 1-2 glosses per season. Most of these are about 50% used up which you might not be able to tell from the photos. I had to swirl and pump the tubes a bit to get the gloss moved around so they weren’t all settled on the bottoms. I do find I use these a lot – they are on the sheerer side and have a smooth texture. I always layer over a lipstick or lipliner. Most of these are too sheer to wear on their own since I have a lot of pink in my lips.
My Armani guy at Saks called me to tell me they got the spring collection in so I rushed over to check it all out. It was all very soft, light, airy and spring-y, reminds me of something a fairy would wear. Very pretty, sparkly and eye-catching! They didn’t have testers yet, but they let me play with the eyeshadow palettes since lately they haven’t been sent testers until a few weeks after they receive shipment of the product to sell.
The collection consists of:
* 2 new Silk Lipsticks: #98 is a pale pink shimmer, #99 is a neutral-warm pinky rose (similar to Nars DV but warmer)
* 3 new Lipshimmers: #62 is a pale buttermilk-cream color, #63 is a sparkley beige, #64 is a shimmery pale pink with a hint of peach
* 2 new Nude Contrasts Palette (4 Eye Designing Colors): # 1 has a pale iridescent baby blue, golden sand, matte black, pale sparkly ivory, #2 has a light golden nude sparkle, shimmery soft pink, matte black, and pale warm cream shimmer
* 1 new Eyeliner (didn’t catch the actual name): 01 is a pure black
* Shimmer Powder 5: repromoted from holiday, a sheer pale sparkle powder (very very sheer)
So far, I believe only the eyeshadow palettes are available online at Giorgio Armani. I’m not sure when the rest of the collection will be up online though.
A couple spring previews from the February 2010 issues of Voce & Maquia for more views:
The haul: Nude Contrast Palettes 1 (left), 2 (right), Silk 98 Lipstick, Lipshimmer 63 (top), Lipshimmer 64 (bottom) Close Up of Nude Contrasts 1 & 2
Swatch of #1
Swatch of #2
Lipshimmers & Silk Lipstick
Swatches on bare skin, L to R: Lipshimmer 63, 64, Silk Lipstick 98
Here’s a look from Biteki, while I can’t read Japanese, it indicates the MAC Lipglass is 2N, so I’m assuming the lipstick is also from MAC Warm & Cozy collection. Please note my camera washed out the color on her face, so it looks like she is barely wearing anything – I did the best I could, but hopefully it will give you an idea of how to coordinate the #1 palette. Can anyone translate?
Overall thoughts: The shadows are surprisingly pigmented for lighter shades and they are more sparkly than most Armani shadows which typically have finely milled shimmer. The swatches make the colors all look similar, but in real life they are more contrasted with each other. I think these will make a really pretty neutral eye that will go with a lot of different shades.
The lipshimmers are pretty, #64 is the frostiest gloss I’ve ever seen from Armani, but still lovely. It reminds me of MAC Prrr & Bobbi Brown Pink Sugar though, so if you don’t have access to Armani or want to shell out $$$ for the gloss, you can definitely find cheaper alternatives.
Silk 98 is pretty, it’s a more pink version of MAC Plink! but still on the sheer side. I might go back for 99 at some point because it looked like a pretty rosey pink without shimmer.
Back in September, I was planning to do a full series on Giorgio Armani, but have been slacking. I will feature Armani more frequently since I know a lot of you are interested in the line, although I can’t promise to get fully back on track since there are so many other brands that I want to write about.
Giorgio Armani released 4 eyeshadow quads (Numbers 01, 02, 03, 04) in 2005 back when Armani hard to find since it was only available at a few Saks locations and various Giorgio Armani Boutiques. They have since reformulated the quads in their Maestro Eye Shadow Formula and the pigment is much better.
In addition to the original 4, they have released a number of limited edition eyeshadow palettes with various seasonal collection. The two newer colors 05 Desert and 06 Mineral were released as part of the regular line.
The quads I still have with swatches:
Top: 02 Floral (original formula) , 03 Earth (original formula) Bottom: 04 Stone (original formula), 05 Desert (new formula)
#02 Original Formula:
#03 Original Formula:
#04 Original Formula:
#05 New Maestro Formula:
Limited Edition Quads, L to R: Midnight Eye Mania, #10 Leather, Pink Light
Midnight Eye Mania:
#10 Leather Collection:
Pink Light:
All of mine were purchased at Saks over the years. Today, they retail for $58 US each which I feel is fairly steep. I tend to wait for Saks events when they have GWPs or Triple Points. I believe Armani recently did a 20% discount online, perhaps they will do another promotion soon.
I have not repurchased the shades I already own in the new formula because I am happy with the consistency, although I have tried the newer formula instore and can confirm it is much better than the original.
For more Armani photos and swatches, click on this Giorgio Armani label. I’ve done a full feature on the New Maestro Eyeshadows and Blushes and Bronzers. There are bits and pieces of other items scattered among other articles.
Today’s focus is around silvery eyes with a few alternatives in case you can’t pull off silvers. I have warmer skin with olive tones and can’t always pull off silvery eyeshadows because they make me look tired, but the Dior Smoky Crystal Quint was a surprisingly pretty on! I hope this gives you a few ideas of what types of colors you can use. These may not work for everyone, but these are looks that I’ve done that work for me.
To recap (in case you haven’t read my About Me section), I have dark black/brown hair with red highlights, medium olive/golden skin and use Chanel Shell/Beige Teint Innocence, my eyes are dark brown. Look Day 4: silvery eyeshadow with rose-pink lips/cheeks
Eyes: Shiseido Rose Tulle H11 Hydropower Eyeshadow Bobbi Brown Steel Cream Eyeshadow Dior Smoky Crystal Quint MAC Feline Eyeliner
Lips: Chanel Tulip Lipliner Trish McEvoy Pink Innocent Le Metier de Beaute Cannes Lipgloss or Bobbi Brown Pink Lilac Brightening Gloss as an alternative * Note the swatches for the eyeshadows look greenish on my screen for some reason. In real life they are close to what the product photo looks like in the picture near the top.
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Alternative if you can’t pull of silvers: try champagne, a soft taupe, a sparkley silvery-gold cream shadow and a smokey black eyeshadow
Cheeks: Giorgio Armani Blush #10
Eyes: Giorgio Armani Maestro Eyeshadow #30 Bobbi Brown Galaxy Cream Eyeshadow Giorgio Armani Eyeshadow Maestro #32 Giorgio Armani Manta Ray Duo #1
* Please note that the bronzer and blush were applied with a heavy hand for swatches and do not look the same on the face, when applied with a bronzer/blush brush, these 2 mixed create a healthy soft glow
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Another combination: green/gold/brown eyes with peachy lips/cheeks
1) MAC Cash Flow Paint Pot 2) Giorgio Armani Eyeshadow Quad #3 3) Benefit Coralista 4) MAC New Vegas Mineralize Skinfinish 5) Chanel Black Jade Eyeliner 6) MAC Summerfruit Lipliner 7) MAC Shy Girl Lipstick 8) Giorgio Armani Lipshimmer #1 9) Giorgio Armani Lipshimmer #16
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Another combination: green eyes with pink lips/cheeks
Cheeks: Chanel Rose Petale
Eyes: Bobbi Brown Ballet Pink Cream Eyeshadow Bobbi Brown Ivy Shimmer Gel Liner Chanel Murano Quad
Lips: Bobbi Brown Blondie Pink Lipliner Chantecaille Camelia Lip Chic Edward Bess Bare Rose Lipgloss
Today’s color theme includes bronzey eyes and peachy lips/cheeks with three variations. (Note that Day 1 has been updated as well with a third look.) I would have to say this is my no-fail go to look. I always feel comfortable with a bronze liner and a soft peach lip (although I’ve been told that I look better in pinks and plums).
Look Day #2: bronze eyes with peachy lips & cheeks
Cheeks: Chanel Fandango Blush MAC Refined Mineralize Skin Finish
Eyes: Bobbi Brown Sandy Gold Cream Eyeshadow MAC Vanilla Pigment Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill #2 Brown Copper Trish McEvoy Eye Definer Sparkling Bronze
Lips: Make Up Forever Aqua Lip Liner 1C Laura Mercier Designer Beige Shimmer Lipstick Paul & Joe Lip Lacquer #3
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Alternative with a brighter lip:
Cheeks: Trish McEvoy Liquid Face Color #1 + MAC Superduper Natural Mineralize Blush
Eyes: Bobbi Brown Flesh Eyeshadow Bobbi Brown Burnished Cream Eyeshadow Nars Cordura Eyeshadow Duo Laura Mercier Brown Copper Eye Liner Lips: Chanel Exquise Rouge Allure MAC Euro Beat Dazzleglass mixed with Paul & Joe Lip Lacuqer #8
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Alternative with a smokier eye & lighter nude-peach lip:
Cheeks: Chanel Tweed Sienna Blush Le Metier Blush/Bronze Duo Sunkissed and Echo Eyes: MAC Femme Fi Eyeshadow Trish McEvoy Eye Definer in Sparkling Bronze MAC Gilt by Association Mineralize Eyeshadow Lips: Bobbi Brown Beige Lipliner Giorgio Armani Rouge D’Armani Beige 101 Le Metier de Beaute Peche Creme
(Note you will most likely see a recurring trend with the Paul & Joe Lip Lacquers because I love them so much! For those who don’t have access to Paul & Joe, do not fear, I will include other brands too.)
Giorgio Armani’s Holiday collection has been arriving in stores in limited quantities, so if you like anything, I suggest you grab them fast! I called Saks today to find that they had sold out most of their palettes and had only one left which the SA was kind enough to hold for me.
I came home with the Crystal Palette and Silk 94 Lipstick:
Silk Lipstick #94:
The top layer of the Crystal Palette 2009 and Silk 94 (the embossed parts of the palette are overspray):
The bottom tier of the Crystal Palette:
One more view:
I wish they had released an eyeshadow the same shade as the lipgloss, it would have made a gorgeous eye color! No swatches yet since it’s too pretty to touch!
I don’t remember all the shade names/numbers but this is what I saw:
* Crystal Palette – two tiered compact with crystals that contains a highlight powder oversprayed with silver sparkle, and 4 eyeshadows in shimmery cool charcoal, shimmery multi-dimensional teal, light silvery-blue, cool taupe grey * Silk 94 Lipstick – sparkley (more shimmery than most armani lipsticks) golden-taupe * Silk ?? Lipstick – shimmery warm red * Lipshimmer 61 – matches the gold lipstick, but looks a bit more metallic/brassy * Sheer Shimmer Powder #5 – I believe Armani had shimmer powders before, I can’t remember how many there used to be, but they are the same size as the blushes/bronzers, this one is a pale iridescent light pink (similar to Chanel Rosee Poudre Douce) * Mascara Top Coat in a glittery bronze/gold
