Giorgio Armani Ecailles Black Pearl Eye Palette Review, Photos, Swatches

Christine — Wed, 02 May 2012 16:00:41 +0000

Giorgio Armani Ecailles Black Pearl Eye Palette

Giorgio Armani Ecailles Black Pearl Eye Palette

Giorgio Armani Ecailles Black Pearl Eye Palette ($95.00 for 0.06 oz.) is a new and limited edition palette that contains four distinct shades of eyeshadow. It’s described as “a harmonious blend of deep sea blue, algae, lagoon turquoise, and shimmering, crest-of-a-wave white.” The reason why it’s a whopping $95 is because the lid of the compact is decorated with mother-of-pearl. To put the price in context, Giorgio Armani’s comparable palettes retail for $59, so the packaging upgrade is really coming in at a $36 price tag. I know in the past, Giorgio Armani has made a regularly-packaged version available, but I haven’t seen it online and don’t have confirmation that it is even available.

The first shade is a muted, dark blue with a hint of teal. It has a frosted sheen and so-so color payoff–the pigmentation improves a bit when it’s applied to the lid but not significantly. It was soft to the touch and felt really smooth. MAC Pre-packaged is more intense, bluer. Guerlain Les Gris is darker. Bare Escentuals Water is very similar with less sheen. MAC Bold Babe is a little lighter.

The second shade is a blue-based violet purple with blue shimmer. The pigmentation is decent but not fully opaque. It had a fairly smooth texture with a finely-milled feel. Urban Decay Ransom is less blue-toned. MAC Deserty Cloud is similar but a little less blue-toned. Urban Decay Blue Bus looks very similar. MAC Parfait Amour isn’t quite as blue-based.

The third shade is an aqua-blue with a green-gold iridescence. This shade had good color payoff. The texture was soft and finely-milled, so it applied smoothly. Milani Caribbean Sea is lighter. Urban Decay Aquarius is darker. Guerlain Les Aquas is bluer. Tarina Tarantino Violet Storm is greener and darker.

The fourth and final shade is a warm white with both shimmer and glitter–it had a chunkier texture with more obvious sparkle. It had some fall out both during application and during wear. When I applied it to the lid, it skipped a bit, too–it did not want to apply so opaquely there. It’s similar to a slew of shades, including MAC Pearl, Buxom Sheepdog, theBalm Sassy, and MAC Forgery.

Ecailles Black Pearl is a decent-to-good palette, but it’s not exceptional in quality. The pigmentation leaves something to be desired as the bold, intense pans don’t quite translate when applied to the lid. Interestingly enough, I did not like it over NARS Smudgeproof–it did not want to blend and seemed to skip and just apply unevenly. It was better over bare lids, where it did blend better and apply more evenly. I also had no problems applying or blending these shades over Make Up For Ever’s Aqua Shadow.

I’m always disappointed in how little Giorgio Armani’s eyeshadow palettes contain–just 0.06 oz., when the average full-sized eyeshadow (yes, just one!) is 0.05 oz. (like MAC, Urban Decay, etc.). Seriously, I do a double-take every time I read the pack of the palette! I’m like, “No, it’s a typo!” But in the interest of playing devil’s advocate, it’s unlikely that you’ll make it through the wells here unless you’re using these shades on a daily basis. Just consider how long it takes you to get through the few eyeshadows you’ve hit pan (or even finished) on!