Giorgio Armani Spring 2012 Collection: Luce d’Oro
Inspired by Giorgio Armani’s love of light and its effect on color, gold takes center stage. Soft pastels are instantly updated with a hint of antique gold, in a myriad of ways.
Luce d’Oro Eye Palette ($59.00) (Limited Edition)
- Eye Palette #1 Pearl violet, jade green, sheer gold, greige
- Eye Palette #2 Grey, metal fiber, copper pigment, crystal brown
Tourmaline Pink Blush ($55.00) (Limited Edition)
- #1 Subtle blush softer than the classic formulas where white, beige, and pink replace the classic white powders
Waterproof Eye Liner Pencil ($27.00) (Limited Edition)
- #4 Antique gold
- #5 Copper
Gloss d’Armani Lip Gloss ($28.00) (Limited Edition)
- Beige (105) Greige d’Armani
- Brown (201) Caffeine
- Rouge (405) Wild rose
- Pink (508) Blush
availability: February 2012 at all Giorgio Armani counters, giorgioarmanibeauty-usa.com
Giorgio Armani #500 Gloss d’Armani
Giorgio Armani #500 Gloss d’Armani
Giorgio Armani #500 Gloss d’Armani ($28.00 for 0.22 fl. oz.) is a soft, sheer pink with lots of white shimmer. It adds a hint of additional rosiness to my natural lip color, but it primarily adds lots of white shimmer and sparkle. It looks like any number of sheer lipglosses, so it’s more of a product you pick up if you don’t have too many sheer glosses already and really love the formula.
One of the reasons I like this shade is because it wears for five to six hours, despite being so sheer. The shimmer doesn’t feel gritty, and it doesn’t migrate over time. The formula is moisturizing, long-wearing (though it doesn’t wear the full eight hours Giorgio Armani says it should), and feels comfortable to wear. It does get sticky over time, and it is touted as a non-sticky gloss. It’s not super tacky, but it’s noticeably sticky within the first half hour of wear. I didn’t detect any scent or taste.
Where to Buy: Nordstrom, $28
THE GLOSSOVER
PRODUCT : 10/10
PIGMENTATION : 10/10
TEXTURE : 8/10
LONGEVITY : 6/10
APPLICATION : 4/5
PACKAGING : 4/5
FINAL THOUGHTS
It's still one of my favorite glosses, even though it doesn't wear for the full eight hours it's supposed to, because it's still long-wearing (five to six hours), moisturizing, and comfortable on.
OVERALL: B
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Top 10 of 2011: Lipsticks & Lipglosses
Whew — this was difficult! I ended up having to lump some of the new-for-2011 formulas into a single pick, even though there were lots of shades I loved! These are products I reviewed and discovered in 2011, some being part of a brand’s permanent range and others being new/limited edition shades that we saw over the past months. I guess you could say I gravitate towards reds…
- Hourglass Siren Extreme Sheen Lipgloss
- Bobbi Brown Rich Lip Colors
- Guerlain Rouge Automatiques
- Bobbi Brown High Shimmer Lipglosses
- NYX Chic Red Round Lipstick
- NARS Damage Lipstick
- Guerlain Garconne Rouge G Lipstick
- Dior Nocturne Rouge Dior Lip Color
- Illamasqua Atomic Lipstick
- Giorgio Armani #406 Rouge d’Armani Lipstick
What was your favorite lip product this year?
Giorgio Armani #406 Rouge d’Armani Lipstick
Giorgio Armani #406 Rouge d’Armani Lipstick
Giorgio Armani #406 Rouge d’Armani Lipstick
($30.00 for 0.14 oz.) is a rich, deeper red with a blue-base. It yields opaque color coverage in a creamy finish with a natural shine. It’s a beautiful red, though you’re bound to find shades similar in our red lipstick gallery. Of some more recently reviewed shades, it is close to NYX Chic Red, Guerlain Liu, MAC Ruby Woo, and Guerlain Garconne. This just happens to be a red encapsulated in an exceptional formula.
The Rouge d’Armani formula is a good one. It’s a long-wearing formula (supposed to be up to eight hours!) with intense color, comfortable to wear, no fading/feathering, and moisturizing. The intensity of this red wears for at least eight hours but, while slightly more matte by eight hours, could be worn without reapplication for a few more hours. It has a creamy texture that makes for effortless application and easy glide, but it’s lightweight and adheres well without clinging. I haven’t had it bleed or feather, and it is nicely hydrating. This formula is scent- and taste-free. I also like that it has a magnetic enclosure.
Where to Buy: Giorgio Armani, $30
THE GLOSSOVER
PRODUCT : 10/10
PIGMENTATION : 10/10
TEXTURE : 10/10
LONGEVITY : 10/10
APPLICATION : 5/5
PACKAGING : 5/5
FINAL THOUGHTS
This lipstick does everything well--from the functional packaging to the long-wearing, moisturizing formula. The only thing left to decide is whether the color is the right one from you!
OVERALL: A+
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Giorgio Armani #1 Madreperla Face & Eye Palette
Giorgio Armani Holiday 2011: #1 Madreperla Face & Eye Palette
Giorgio Armani #1 Madreperla Face & Eye Palette ($59.00 for 0.28 oz.) is a new and limited edition holiday compact that includes a “beige pearl, metallic gold, [and] light green pearl.” You can use this on the face or on the eyes–it’s more like a highlighter for the face, and then the eyeshadows can be used to create a soft look.
The compact first includes a small portion of a pale, muted beige with gold shimmer. It has a soft, smooth texture and applies with good color payoff. It’s a little less peach compared to Urban Decay Booty Call. MAC Baby It’s Cold is similar, perhaps a touch lighter. Shades like Urban Decay Skimp, MAC Butternutty, and Bare Escentuals Serendipitous are a few more that look similar.
In the middle, which is the largest section, is a warm, yellow gold with a frosted finish. The color payoff is a bit sheer, but the texture is fairly soft. There is a lot of similarity in this hue to shades like theBalm Snobby, Chanel Blazing Gold, Urban Decay Eldorado, and Urban Decay Blunt.
The bottom shade, also a small portion (same size as the top shade), is a muted, almost antique-like, gold with a more metallic finish. Like the middle shade, this is a little on the sheer side but still feels smooth and soft. Tarina Tarantino Dreamy has a hue that’s a bit lighter. I think MAC Retrospeck comes rather close, perhaps a little darker.
Applied as a highlighter, it results in a muted champagne-gold shimmer-sheen. It’s more gold than not, but it’s not yellow or orange–it has more of a hint of antique gold without being too dark. It works as a highlighter, but it did emphasize my skin’s texture just slightly. The wear was good, though, with the highlighter mostly intact after eight hours. I swirled over the entire compact, but you could swirl more towards the upper or lower half to get a lighter or darker golden shade–the middle color will dominate, just because of how large its surface is. Whether you look at it as a highlighter or eyeshadow palette, it comes with a good amount of product.
Where to Buy: Nordstrom, $59
THE GLOSSOVER
PRODUCT : 9/10
PIGMENTATION : 8.5/10
TEXTURE : 9/10
LONGEVITY : 9/10
APPLICATION : 4/5
PACKAGING : 4/5
FINAL THOUGHTS
I like it but don't love it; of all the holiday highlighters we've seen, this one isn't the best on the market, so if that's your aim, you might consider this season's other releases. I think it performs better as a highlighter than as a set of eyeshadows, just because the underlying sheerness gives it more of a faded look when applied. If you have really fair skin, it might work, but light-medium and deeper may find this doesn't show up as well.
OVERALL: B+
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