Giorgio Armani #1 Easy Chic Face & Eye Palette Review, Photos, Swatches

Christine — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 20:14:41 +0000

Giorgio Armani #1 Easy Chic Face & Eye Palette

A Dark, Somber Fall Face & Eye Palette

Giorgio Armani #1 Easy Chic Face & Eye Palette ($88.00 for 0.43 oz.) is a glossy black compact that features a light face powder to illuminate skin “with the signature ‘Armani Glow'” and three eyeshadows–two matte shades with “intense hues” and a satin-finished illuminator. This is one of two palettes released for fall; the second one seems to be a little warmer (from the descriptions, as I haven’t seen it).

The face powder is described as “ultra-fine, “transparent,” and listed as “sheer beige.” After reading the official description, it made a lot more sense to me–and I’m glad that the brand described the product as it actually was. It is a pale, neutral-cool beige with a very subtle satiny sheen. It will best suit light to medium complexions, but it is very finely-milled and sheer that it could be used on a variety of skin tones. The base color isn’t ashy or chalky, so even darker complexions can use it as a setting powder or the like. The finely-milled texture allows this to sit beautifully on the skin–very naturally–as it melts against the complexion. MAC Baby Don’t Go is pinker.

The first eyeshadow is supposed to be the “satinized illuminator,” which Armani describes as “soft beige.” It’s a warm, golden champagne with a frosted finish. The color payoff is really as described, which is decent to good, but it illuminates as it is supposed to. It has a soft, finely-milled texture that applies very smoothly. Tarina Tarantino Fantastical is very similar, a smidgen lighter. Giorgio Armani #18 is yellower. Tarina Tarantino Dreamy is similar, a bit cooler-toned. MAC Femme-Fi is close.

The second eyeshadow is a medium-dark warm-toned brown with a mostly matte finish, but there is a smatternig of fine golden shimmer strewn throughout–you don’t really notice when it is applied. It had a slightly stiff texture, though certainly finely-milled, which resulted in so-so pigmentation. Dior Golden Savannah is similar but more pigmented, so it appears a bit darker. Urban Decay Snakebite is warmer, richer.

The third eyeshadow is a deep, dark matte black. There are a few bits of shimmer, but like a lot of other shades in this family, the shimmer isn’t noticeable on. The texture was soft and smooth, with rich color payoff. It similar to shades like Le Metier de Beaute Fin, Urban Decay Blackout, and Milani Pitch Black.

The double-decker palette is sleek and convenient to use, and the four shades in the palette coordinate and complement each other well. I would have loved to see the bottom compartment feature only eyeshadow, rather than two tiny sponge-tipped applicators, though. It would make the palette a better value. Overall, the quality of the products included is good–the only shade that fell short was the brown eyeshadow, which could have been a little denser, more buttery, or else more pigmented. When I wore the eyeshadows, they wore for eight hours without creasing or fading (with or without a primer), and the face powder lasted eight hours and helped reduce late afternoon shine.