Giorgio Armani Fall 2011: Green Jacquard Eye Palette
Giorgio Armani Green Jacquard Eye Palette ($59.00 for 0.24 oz.) is designed with the primary shades to be the two larger colors in the center, while the top shade is a highlighter and the bottom shade is for emphasis. The eyeshadow formula is supposed to deliver vibrant color with a smooth texture. According to the brand, it can be used wet or dry.
The highlighter shade is a soft, lightened khaki beige with cool undertones and a frosted finish. I wasn’t able to think of a similar shade, just because there is a dirty quality to the color that isn’t present in most beiges. It’s a bit sheer, but as a highlighter, it works well because the frosted finish looks pearly rather than over-the-top. The emphasis shade is a medium-dark grape purple with subtle red undertones. It is sheer and almost chalky with a satin finish. It’s a less pigmented version of Urban Decay Rockstar (which is also redder in tone) and theBalm Kissy Kissy.
In the middle, the lighter green is a medium-dark minted green with a silver micro-shimmer, but this shade is sheer and not as smooth as the other three shades. It’s cooler toned compared to NARS Delphes. Beside it, the darker green is a medium-dark forest green wih a brownish gray peeking through. It’s on the sheerer side with a satiny finish. It’s a less frosted variation of MAC Greensmoke but greener than Make Up For Ever #84.
For a subtle, cool-toned, green-hued look, this is might work. If you want more amped up color, you’ll want to look elsewhere. The textures are soft and smooth, but they’re on the sheerer side and end up looking washed out or chalky. Oddly enough, the shades wear well when applied as far as not creasing or fading goes (though they start out looking faded as compared against the pan color).
For a subtle, cool-toned, green-hued look, this is might work. If you want more amped up color, you'll want to look elsewhere. The textures are soft and smooth, but they're on the sheerer side and end up looking washed out or chalky.
Product
6.5/10
Pigmentation
6/10
Texture
8/10
Longevity
9/10
Application
4/5
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Where to Buy
This product can be purchased at the following retailers:
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MAC Glitter & Ice Beauty Mineralize Eyeshadows ($21.00 for 0.07 oz. each) include six limited edition shades: Fresh Ice (white silver melange), Frozen Blue (blue silver melange), Hold That Pose! (pale mauve melange), Shimmermint (pale green melange), Snow Season (soft taupe melange), and Winterized (dirty purple with silver, indigo, and pink melange). The collection is slated to hit stores on October 27th.
Fresh Ice is a cool-toned, icy pink with a strong, white frost. When applied dry, it’s a little powdery and semi-opaque, but when applied damp, it’s much smoother and opaque. I couldn’t think of a dupe for this one–everything I thought of was darker, pinker, or too purple. It is a little reminiscent of Pink Opal pigment, but it’s cooler-toned and doesn’t have the duochrome shimmer of Pink Opal.
Frozen Blue is a bluish-gray with a frosted finish. Like Fresh Ice, it comes together when applied damp, though it’s still less than fully pigmented when used damp. Urban Decay Crystal is similar in color but suffers from payoff problems as well. It’s much lighter and less brown compared to MAC Hint of Sapphire.
Hold That Pose! is a grayish mauve with a frosted finish that borders on metallic when it is applied damp. It’s a little gritty to work with, and it was still on the sheerer side when applied damp. It reminded me of theBalm Come Hither. Bare Escentuals Romp is deeper and purpler. MAC Shale is similar but a touch browner.
Shimmermint is more like a minty blue than a minty green with silver sparkle. It’s a cool-toned aqua blue with a touch of gray. It’s very sparkly and frosted. Giorgio Armani Airy Jade is lighter and bluer. Wet ‘n’ Wild Enter a New Realm is less aqua.
Snow Season is a rosy champagne with a golden shimmer and sheen. It has a frosted, almost metallic-like finish. It’s pinker than Urban Decay Sin.
Winterized is a muted plum with brown edges. It has a soft, frosted finish–more of a pearl reflection than lots of shimmer. It is similar to Bare Escentuals Romp. Lancome Zip Me Up is purpler.
I haven’t been a fan of Mineralize Eyeshadows, and these six haven’t converted me yet. I’d love to come to the other side–truly, I would–because they always look so stunning in their pots, but the quality isn’t there for me. Most of these shades were sheer when applied dry, which means you have to use it with a good base, whether it is a sticky cream eyeshadow or water or mixing medium. I find that using it dampened with water helps to give more intense color payoff, but once it dries, it looks faded from how it did initially, and the color continues to fade over the next six to eight hours.
I used three of the six in a look (and over a paint pot) and all three were a faded disappointment after four hours. I’ve tested this product range more than most products by brands, and yet I still find them lacking. I don’t enjoy writing negative reviews–it means I’ve wasted my time and, in this case, my money. I have better results using mixing medium, especially in combating fall out, but it’s still not quite there. I had fall out issues with Hold That Pose! and Shimmermint, while Fresh Ice and Frozen Blue were the best of the six.
P.S. — What’s with all the recycled names? Hold That Pose was a lipstick, while Shimmermint was a shadestick.
The most frustrating issue with these is the lasting power, even over a base! You shouldn't have to worry about your eyeshadow looking faded after a few hours at this price point. Some of these shades perform better than others, but the fading I found was across the board.
Product
8/10
Pigmentation
7/10
Texture
8.5/10
Longevity
7/10
Application
3.5/5
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Where to Buy
This product can be purchased at the following retailers:
Sometimes products are discontinued or limited edition, which means that a product may no longer be available at one or more retailers so you may need to shop around for those hard-to-find shades! We try to update products as they become discontinued, and if you discover a product has been discontinued, please help us help others by letting us know.
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Black Tied is a matte black base with silver sparkles on top. The color payoff is decent but the texture is on the drier, almost chalky side. It has a velvet finish. It is similar to NARS Night Breed.
Carbon is a matte black with a matte finish. The payoff is decent but performs better applied than merely swatched. It has a drier texture. It isn’t the richest/deepest black on the market. It’s similar to Inglot #391.
Nehru is a grayish black with a matte finish. It is more pigmented than MAC Double Feature 7.
Print is a dark gray with a subtle sheen. It has a satin finish. The color is a little browner than MAC Double Feature 7. Decent to good color payoff and not dry.
Scene is a smoky gray with a hint of blue and a satiny sheen. It has satin finish. The color payoff is decent but not great, and the texture is drier overall. Inglot #339 is a touch lighter but similar.
Copperplate is a grayish brown with a Matte2 finish.
Electra is a light-medium silver with an almost metallic sheen. It has a frost finish officially. The color payoff is decent, and it applies smoothly. It’s warmer-toned than Lancome Style Section.
Filament is a chunky, silvery white with large sparkles. It has a lustre finish. It’s fall out city along with really sheer, uneven color payoff.
Forgery is a bright white with a hint of silver along with chunky sparkles. It has a lustre finish. It suffers from fall out issues as well as it doesn’t apply smoothly.
These aren't MAC's finest eyeshadows; a lot of them are on the drier side and so the color payoff is only decent with an underlying sheerness that keeps them from being high quality. Two of the silvery shades have fall out and do not apply easily, which did not help matters!
Product
7/10
Pigmentation
7/10
Texture
7/10
Longevity
9/10
Application
3.5/5
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Where to Buy
This product can be purchased at the following retailers:
Sometimes products are discontinued or limited edition, which means that a product may no longer be available at one or more retailers so you may need to shop around for those hard-to-find shades! We try to update products as they become discontinued, and if you discover a product has been discontinued, please help us help others by letting us know.
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Dior launched a new gloss for summer, and it actually prompted today’s question about sheer lipgloss. Dior DiorAddict Crystal Gloss ($27.00 for 0.21 fl. oz.) is described as a “jelly gloss” that is “lightly tinted in vivid summer shades for shiny, radiant lips.” The “vinyl texture” is supposed to deliver volume to lips along with long-lasting hydration. There are four shades, two are translucent (Sweet Peach and Sweet Rose) while two are sparkling (Luminescent Peach and Luminescent Rose).
The description in itself is a contradiction, because there is no tint to these when swatched or worn. First, these are “lightly tinted” (but they’re not) and translucent (kind of, but not quite). These are more transparent than translucent–it should be sheer and allow light to pass through but in a diffused manner. I specifically tried Luminiscent Peach (037) and Sweet Peach (047), and except for the shimmer in Luminiscent Peach, the two are the same in color (or lack thereof). They are completely clear when worn (I didn’t even bother with lip swatches, because as soon as I tested them, I could tell!).
Crystal Gloss is a scent-free formula with a very thick consistency–it has a thick, gel-like feel that’s cushiony on the lips but a little tacky. Despite the thickness, it does not feel as heavy as you would expect, but it is more noticeable on and heavier than your average lipgloss. It slides around quite a bit, and I find I need to reapply every two hours (glosses usually wear an average of three to four hours on me). They are comparable to Chanel’s Gloss Fluos from last year, but I didn’t find these to wear as well or as long–and at least the Gloss Fluos were tinted.
The glosses are moisturizing while you wear them but don’t impart as much hydration as I’d like over time (lip balms, generally, seem more effective than this gloss at that). They do deliver impeccable high-shine whether worn alone or layered over a lipstick–just don’t expect any color if you happen to pass by them, because they look rather different in the tubes than when swatched or applied.
This product lost points pretty much across the board, because it didn’t fully meet its moisturizing claims, falls short of “lightly tinted,” and wears away after two hours (which is below average). A sheer gloss that’s not even sheer but clear always makes for a difficult rating experience!
The best part of this gloss is the high-shine finish it has when applied, but it is not moisturizing enough to impart the "long-lasting" hydration as promised. I'm not a fan of misleading tubes--I'd rather it be sheer in the tube than fluorescent orange if it's actually going to be sheer!
Product
7.5/10
Pigmentation
6/10
Texture
8.5/10
Longevity
7/10
Application
4/5
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Where to Buy
This product can be purchased at the following retailers:
Sometimes products are discontinued or limited edition, which means that a product may no longer be available at one or more retailers so you may need to shop around for those hard-to-find shades! We try to update products as they become discontinued, and if you discover a product has been discontinued, please help us help others by letting us know.
Disclosure: Temptalia uses affiliate links, which give us a small commission when you make a purchase (given to us by the retailer, at no cost to you). Your purchases help to support the site!
Le Metier de Beaute Fire Lily Eyeshadow ($30.00 for 0.13 oz.) is a pink-laced raspberry red with red glitter and a frosted finish. This is my least favorite Le Metier de Beaute eyeshadow I’ve tried from the brand, because the texture is gritty when used dry and still a touch uneven (from the glitter) when used damp. This shade worked best when applied damp, because it allowed the product to bind together and give a smooth finish with opaque color. When applied dry, it is sheer, a little dry, and there is some fall out.
In the past, I’ve been very pleased with Le Metier de Beaute’s eyeshadows–they have a really smooth texture with a rich and buttery feel and excellent color payoff whether they are used dry or wet. Here, Fire Lily seems to be lacking in all of those characteristics in some way. It applies more smoothly when applied damp, but it still has some of the unevenness in the texture due to the glitteryness of the shade itself.
It is redder than MAC Cranberry. It’s only a touch redder and darker compared to Inglot #450. It’s must pinker compared to Urban Decay Gash. It’s closest to MAC Quartz Fusion, slightly less red, and the texture is better than MAC’s.
It's a good eyeshadow when used wet, and an inferior one when used dry, so it averages out to something in-between--average, perhaps--so if it's something you see yourself only using wet, then it will be of more value to you.
Product
7/10
Pigmentation
7/10
Texture
6.5/10
Longevity
9/10
Application
3.5/5
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Where to Buy
This product can be purchased at the following retailers:
Sometimes products are discontinued or limited edition, which means that a product may no longer be available at one or more retailers so you may need to shop around for those hard-to-find shades! We try to update products as they become discontinued, and if you discover a product has been discontinued, please help us help others by letting us know.
Disclosure: Temptalia uses affiliate links, which give us a small commission when you make a purchase (given to us by the retailer, at no cost to you). Your purchases help to support the site!
Chantecaille Patina Brilliant Lipgloss ($32.00 for 0.10 oz.) is semi-opaque berry red with subtle and muted gold micro-shimmer. The color applied more evently than Glaze, but it still had a slightly patchy look to it when worn. The consistency is gel-like, so it has some cushion and glides on easily, and it doesn’t feel sticky. I didn’t notice any scent or taste when I wore it either.
Brilliant Lipgloss is supposed to be a hydrating, long-lasting formula that finishes with brilliant shine. It is also has botanical microspheres to plump lips without stinging. It comes with a brush-type applicator, and one pull provides enough product for a single application. I do not find the formula long-lasting or plumping; it lasts three to four hours (which is about average for gloss on my lips), and I didn’t detect any plumping at all. The glossy shine will naturally give lips a fuller appearance, but nothing about the gloss made my lips look any fuller than they do with any shiny gloss. It is moisturizing, though, which makes it a more comfortable gloss to wear.
NYX Burgundy is a little redder, less berry, and more opaque. MAC Ban This! is a bit similar, but it’s more opaque and berry-based, as well as it has fuchsia as opposed to gold shimmer.
For a more in-depth review of the formula and product claims, please see my original review here!
When worn, it doesn't feel like a C-rated lipgloss at all, but the lack of plumping results coupled with average wear (as opposed to long-lasting wear) brought down an otherwise good lipgloss.
Product
7/10
Pigmentation
7/10
Texture
9/10
Longevity
7/10
Application
4/5
Login or Register to be able to add this to your Vanity or Wishlist! Plus rate and review!
Where to Buy
This product can be purchased at the following retailers:
Sometimes products are discontinued or limited edition, which means that a product may no longer be available at one or more retailers so you may need to shop around for those hard-to-find shades! We try to update products as they become discontinued, and if you discover a product has been discontinued, please help us help others by letting us know.
Disclosure: Temptalia uses affiliate links, which give us a small commission when you make a purchase (given to us by the retailer, at no cost to you). Your purchases help to support the site!
