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.
The summer Bronze Mania collection for Giorgio Armani was recently released early May 2009 which features “sun-splashed, explosive mineral face colors and radiant Mediterranean eyeshades.” Here is their summer look plus the breakdown:
The collection released in the US includes:
* Sienna Minerals Bronzing Palette ($65) – limited edition, features vivid earth shades of the sienna landscape in an explosion of vibrant mineral colors to bronze and sculpt the face *Mediterranean Palette ($85) – limited edition eye and face palette, features colors inspired by the Mediterranean sea *Body Tints Bronzer ($75) – unique, weightless, pigment free formula blends into skin, impeccably enhancing the skin with a sun-kissed glow *Bronze Sparkling Top Coat Mascara ($26) – a touch of sparkling bronze top coat adds golden hues to the tips of your lashes *Smooth Silk Eye Pencil ($26) – features #14 (navy) and #15 (teal-green) *Lip Shimmers ($26) – #56 (golden apricot), #57 (sparkling nude taupe), #58 (shimmery bronze) *Lip Wax ($26) – #8 described as a sandy brown
There is also a summer collection feature in the June 2009 issue of Biteki Magazine that includes a few items that weren’t released in the US.
The Lip Wax #8 (which goes on a soft brown with a hint of pink) + Mineral Bronzer:
Two of the new Lip Shimmers #56 and #57 compared with #1 and #16 (not featured in the summer collection):
The mineral bronzer in this collection is my favorite item. The new lipshimmers are pretty, but not must haves. I’m usually a huge Armani fan, but their bronze mania collections seem to be a little too similar year to year. I’d like to see a bit more creativity and variety with the same “bronze mania” theme. The model look for Summer 2009 looks like the exact same photo as last year for Summer 2008. It appears they simply photoshopped the different colors onto her face, since the post and facial expression is identical.
I’m a huge fan of the tanned summery look, so I thought I’d share some of my favorite coppery bronze colors. To avoid bronze-overload, I usually mix different variations or intensities of bronzey shades for eyes, lips and cheeks. Some of my favorite eyeshadows: 1) Nars Fez, 2) Chanel Lumieres Facettes in Plein Soleil, 3) Chanel Le Bronze, 4) Trish McEvoy Eye Base Essentials in Malibu, 5) Bobbi Brown Shimmer Wash Eyeshadow in Copper Cocoa, 6) Le Metier de Beaute Spicy Eyeshadow, 7) Trish McEvoy Sable Bronze, 8) MAC Pigment in Chocolate Brown I’m a huge fan of bronzey cheeks: * Top left to right – Becca Mineral Bronzing Powder in Duende, Bobbi Brown Shimmer Blush in Bahama Brown, Laura Mercier Illuminating Powder in Moroccan Bronze * Middle left to right – Trish McEvoy Luminzer in Luminous Bronze, Nars Multiple in South Beach * Bottom left to right – Nars Blush in Lovejoy, Laura Mercier Mineral Powder in Warm Bronze (mini size) For lips, I’m not a huge fan of the dark bronze lips, but prefer lighter bronze shades, or even nude shades with a hint of bronze: * Left to right – Trish McEvoy Sheer Lipcolor in Barely Innocent, Chanel Aqualumiere in Maritius #86, Chanel Aqualumiere in Key West #83, Giorgio Armani Silk Lipstick #18, Laura Mercier Boho Bronze, MAC Lustre Lipstick in Honey-Flower, Bobbi Brown Creamy Lip Color in Bronzed Pink
For lipglosses: * Left to right – Giorgio Armani Lipshimmer #57, Trish McEvoy Irrisistible, Chanel Glossimer in Unity #41, Chanel Aqualumiere Gloss in Freeze #66, Laura Mercier Lip Glace in Bronze, MAC Lustreglass in Beaux
What are some of your favorite coppery bronze shades?
