Giorgio Armani Organica Eyeshadow Palette Review, Photos, Swatches
Giorgio Armani Organica Eyeshadow Palette
Giorgio Armani Organica Eyeshadow Palette ($88.00 for 0.177 oz.) is a set of two shades, so more of a duo than a palette. It contains almost the equivalent of four, average-sized full-sized eyeshadows. I wish I could figure out why Giorgio Armani’s compacts are so pricey, because their single eyeshadows, lipsticks, blushes, etc. are all in line with other designer brands (Chanel, Dior, and so on), but their eyeshadow palettes are totally out of step price-wise.
The way the formula is described is confusing per the press release, as the brand describes it as “discreet and muted or more intense, but ever sheer and luminous with lasting hold,” yet it “can be adjusted to customize the makeup look.” On Giorgio Armani’s website, it says the “collection creates a transparent and lightness effect,” while the blurb for this palette simply says “light and shadow is intensified with a black pearl and shimmery nude … long lasting color with no makeup feel.” It seems like the texture is weightless or sheer (“no makeup feel”), more than the color, though it seems the pigmentation is billed as buildable (“can be adjusted” and “discreet and muted or more intense”). Both shades are intensely pigmented; there is no buildable color here, just very, very richly pigmented eyeshadows with phenomenal textures–soft, smooth, and velvety–that blend easily and go on beautifully. They’re blendable, so you can sheer out each shade if you use the tiniest amount and a good, fluffy blending brush to do so (but basically you can do that with any eyeshadow; there’s nothing about the formula that one would describe as buildable).
Organica (Left) is described as a “black pearl.” It’s a gray-ish purple with subtle cool tone underneath and a sparkling, multi-colored pearl where violet and teal dominate. In the pan, it looked lighter and warmer, but it swatched rather cool-toned. It had excellent color payoff, while the consistency was soft, dense, and buttery. The color wore well for nine hours before fading. It wasn’t, however, all that adjustable or buildable, because a little went a long way. Chanel Tisse Gabrielle #3 (P) is warmer, browner. Too Faced Nashville (P, $16.00) is lighter. MAC Fathoms Deep (LE, $19.50) is purpler. Laura Mercier Violet Steel (LE, $23.00) is warmer. MAC 2x Dare #3 (LE) is more sparkly. MAC Graphic Style (LE, $15.00) is less shimmery. MAC Dynamic Duo 3 #1 (LE, $15.00) is less shimmery. MAC Moth Brown (LE, $15.00) is darker, less shimmery. MAC Electroplate (LE, $21.00) is a cream product. Giorgio Armani #4 (P, $33.00) is grayer. Giorgio Armani #3 (P, $33.00) is purpler. Chanel Illusoire (P, $36.00) is a cream product. See comparison swatches / view dupes.
Organica (Right) is described as a “shimmery nude.” It’s a yellowed orange with a frosted, metallic finish. It was intensely pigmented with a soft, buttery texture that applied evenly and blended easily. The color didn’t start to fade until after nine hours of wear. Tarte Up to No Gold (LE) is yellower. LORAC Undiscovered (P) is similar. Sleek MakeUP Gates of Eden (P, $9.99) is darker. Makeup Geek Gold Digger (P, $5.99) is darker, more orange. bareMinerals Gold Nugget (LE, $18.00) is slightly darker, less shimmery. See comparison swatches / view dupes.
Organica
LELimited Edition. $88.00.
Organica (Left)
LELimited Edition.
Organica (Right)
LELimited Edition.
See more photos & swatches!
Giorgio Armani Organica Eyeshadow Palette
Giorgio Armani Organica Eyeshadow Palette
Giorgio Armani Organica Eyeshadow Palette
Giorgio Armani Organica Eyeshadow Palette
Giorgio Armani Organica Eyeshadow Palette
Giorgio Armani Organica Eyeshadow Palette
Giorgio Armani Organica Eyeshadow Palette
Giorgio Armani Organica Eyeshadow Palette
Giorgio Armani Organica Eyeshadow Palette
Giorgio Armani Organica Eyeshadow Palette (Giorgio Armani Mercury Nude Eyeliner)
Giorgio Armani Organica Eyeshadow Palette (Giorgio Armani Mercury Nude Eyeliner)
I love the design printed onto this eyeshadow, so I could definitely see it being a cool item for a collector of Armani LEs or cool embossed powder products, etc. 🙂 Having said that, the shadows are just ‘OK’ (although the grey one is cool in the heavy swatch) – in actual fact, this post has me more intrigued by that Mercury liner! 😀
They were both more dupable than I thought!
As a self-confessed taupeaholic–I take comfort in knowing there are others who share the intensity of my obsession–, this compact has huge appeal and the swatch of the taupe shade alone had me all agape. I want this compact. I do not have issues with the embossing and find it quite attractive actually. The price tag and volume of product have me tossing this one around my head.
I wish they had just done a regular eyeshadow size and charged way less. So pricey!
Okay, so hopefully this is not a strange comment, but the pattern in the product absolutely weirds me out. I’m assuming it’s supposed to resemble molten metals or something, but to me it just looks gross. I guess I’m used to compacts having pretty designs like flowers or plaid or something like that, but this just looks weird.
A few readers mentioned this on the initial promo post! It looks like leaves to me, though, lol!
It looks like blood cells or something like that… Gross
Now that you mentioned it, that’s all I see.
LOL sorry!!
I understand the concept “organica” to be related to cells and living tissue of sorts. To me it looks like something you may look at on a microscope… But still, it weirds me out. I can’t help but associate it with diseased tissue. YUCK! I’m guessing whoever designed this never heard of trypophobia…
What were they thinking pricing it at $88 for a 5 gm pan!? its gotten beyond ridiculous! offensively pricey I call it.. as if it reads “you ordinary folks.. you cannot buy me!”
Giorgio Armani’s palettes have been $80+ for a long time, but I just don’t know why (it seems out of step with pricing for designer compacts).
For most other brands it’s supposed to be more economical to buy a palette, not less. It’s just under 4 times the size of a standard eyeshadow at 0.05 oz, but like you said in your other responses, it’s only two colors, so it’s hard to justify spending $44 per color, even if each one is almost twice the size of a standard pan. Personally, I don’t mind spending a little more if I know I’m getting more product for my $ (such as with the Eyes To Kill Intense and the Illusion d’Ombres eyeshadows, both of which are pricey but give you a LOT of product for the $…about 3 times the standard amount for about twice the price, which is the way it should be). There may be a premium for the embossing, but that still doesn’t convince me to pay $88 plus sales tax…almost $97… For two colors
The reality is unless you think you’ll use these colors all the time, it’s unlikely you’ll even make a visible dent in them any time soon. I always feel like value is important but to a point – if you wear bronzer a few times a month, paying $100 for a 1lb. bronzer isn’t truly economical!
Agreed!
I’m pleasantly surprised by the pigmentation!
It was really intense!
88 dollars… ? That’s too much for just two and more than Tom Ford.
It is pricey!
Very pretty but stupid pricing and pretty dupable. Your eye look with it is gorgeous – I would wear that all the time.
I didn’t think the taupe-ish shade would be so dupable, but it is!
Not for me at this price point, but those swatches look amazing – the grey especially…
Somewhat unusual colour combination too, I like it!
It is an unusual pairing!
This kind of gives me trypophobia.
Sorry to hear that, June!
I am so glad you reviewed this so promptly! I love the look on you, but I don’t think I’ll shell out the dough for this one. I think I can replicate the look with a couple of dupes I currently own! Thanks!
Right now, I am loving the new satin matte shadows from LM for fall! (gold seduction and plum allure)
No prob, PJ! They were more dupable than I expected.
Those are pretty, and I splurge on makeup all the time (& love GA stuff), but I’m not sure they’re $88 pretty.
It’s tough, because if it is decent amount of product, it really is only two eyeshadows.
Very pretty colors, but for that price it should be used for more than eyeshadow, like highlighter, face contouring …
If the lighter shade had been more beige, it might have worked as a highlighter – I tried using it as a brow bone highlighter, whoa orange!
No. Absolutely not. Price point for what you get isn’t working for me (and I have a bunch of the brand….love Armani). And that nude is just too much for me…shimmer and color and bright… So glad to not be tempted to spend $88 (ouch!!!).
Thanks!
At least when they do the eyeshadow+cheek combo, you’re getting a few more products to use.
I’m just not fond of these types of palettes – I prefer my colours to have a physical boundary between them!
Makes sense!
That color on the left is absolutely gorgeous, but it is not $88 worth of gorgeous. That’s pretty hard to take.
I’ve always wondered why GA’s palettes are so much more expensive than their competitors’ palettes.
Well, in my city I never have to worry about LE’s selling out quickly at my GA counter unlike Chanel and Dior.
They look fab but are definitely too pricey. 🙁
I hear ya!
I wish this wasn’t so expensive. It would be fund to have even though there is something about the design that is off putting, it’s just not worth it at this price point. The colours do look beautiful on your eyes! 🙂
It would have been nicer if they did a smaller compact for less!
I love, love, love the design of this.
What do you see when you see it? I feel like nobody knows exactly what the design is trying to replicate, lol!
I read it was trying to duplicate barnacles and if so, it’s very accurate.
I see snakeskin. And I think it’s gorgeous, but I can’t spend $88 dollars on an eyeshadow duo. I can get 4 bareminerals 2.0 duos for that. Or one of the upcoming Guerlain holiday releases. Plus I’d still have a bit of leftover change. It sure is pretty, but for me not splurge worthy.
I hear you 🙂
The greige colour is so beautiful!! I might cave because of it!
Glad ya liked it!
Based on the swatches, these didn’t translate onto the eyelid as I would have imagined. Was this applied with a light hand?
No, I didn’t apply sheerly – both shades are opaque in the look.
Warning: Don’t google trypophobia if you are wondering what it is, you will have it. Ugh! Now I know what turns people off about this palette
Aw!
Okay, now I *have* to look it up…!
My goodness this is so beautiful! I just can’t handle the price lol. If it was $20 cheaper I’d be all over it. The colors are very pretty and the gold looks like it’ll make a nice highlight too
The price is tough to swallow!
Ewwww The design makes me cringe. It looks skin cells, some of which are undergoing Mitosis, hence the varying sizes, stretched appearance, and “bubbles”. That said, the colors are actually quite pretty. You created a nice look using the two together, but I can see them being nice to use separately, as well. However, the price is absolutely outrageous. For a blush duo by Armani, maybe, but for two eye shadows? It’s great, however, for people who want to collect luxurious embossed/LE makeup!
I wish it was smaller, though then maybe we’d feel like we were hardly getting anything for a still high price tag.
The plant cell design is sooooo creepy. Even if I had the cash, I still wouldn’t get it because looking at it freaks me out a bit.
I think you gotta love the pattern at this price, lol!
The design kind of looks like skin cells under a microscope, ew.
The gray is nice too bad they didn’t release that as a single.
Maybe they’ll do something similar in their ETK Solo formula someday.
I think the compact design is beautiful, and I love the colors. But like the Louboutin nail polish, too expensive and too dupe-able, colorwise.
These were surprisingly dupable!
I don’t care that it’s crazy expensive for a duo eyeshadow. I love the pattern and I love the shades! ME WANTS!!!
Hey, if you have the money, and you love it, go on with your bad self 😉
I’ve never bought anything GA, apart from a pair of shoes (on sale). I was tempted by this, but I have Fathoms Deep and I’m sure I can find an orangey gold in my stash, so no GA makeup this time either. I also like the design, it felt organic instead of just being a repetetive pattern or a flower. Much more unique. I know I’m in a minority, liking it.
It seems some like it, some hate it! Few are in the middle, lol!
Despite the price tag I definitely plan on ordering this…especially after seeing it on you Christine. BEAUTIFUL!!!! I have the Tom Ford Nude Dip palette and the shimmer factor is super high for my taste and I think GA will soothe my disappointment over the TF. 😀
Enjoy, Shelley!
I’m fairly relieved that this received a somewhat mediocre rating because, to be honest, I (like many others, I think) found the price a bit hard to swallow. That there are so many reasonable dupes for these shades (especially the taupe-ier side) is good to know. Close to $100 CDN for an eye shadow duo is way beyond my upper limits for a product like this.
I was surprised to see as many dupes for the taupe – it is totally stunning, and when I swatched it, part of me was like, “NOOOOOO, why are you so pretty and so expensive!!” but lo and behold, dupable.
I just saw a Sonia Kashuk item with a very similar pattern – forget if it was eye shadow or blush and of course now I can’t find it! This GA shadow looks gorgeous, but way too much $$ for what it is IMHO
That always happens, lol!
The taupe is just stunning, and if the “nude” weren’t so dreadfully orange, I could see thia being my first Armani purchase… If it were a champagne, or ivory, or actually *nude*, this could be a “throw-on-and-go” duo for me, making the price a lot easier to swallow!
It’s an interesting pairing – I think this might have been really cool if they did a black pearl/white pearl idea. They worked better together than I expected, but the right side isn’t as easy to wear across all skin tones.
It is insanely beautiful and the colours quite wearable, but for $88 US dollars – translate more than $100 Aus dollars – it is too expensive for one eyeshadow. Especially when you can get a whole palette of colours of similar quality (UD, BareMinerals etc) for less.
I hear ya! Thankfully, both shades aren’t super unique.
DUDE this is an eyeshadow palette?!?! That makes so much sense — I don’t know why, but I was under the impression until now that it was a highlighter duo. (And yes, it was just as confusing for me as you’d expect.)
Haha! Yes, eyeeshadow 😉
The shades are gorgeous, but easily duped..and way too much money for the amount. Pass.
I’m so glad they’re dupable!
Eighty eight freaking dollars for two eyeshadows? It is waaaay abusive…
It is pricey!
That first eyeshadow looks AMAZING. I also really like the eyeliner…
It is pretty!
I am soooo buying this after seeing it on you Christine! So pretty- your eyes look awesome.
Quads for me are a waste of $$. I never use more than 2 colors- so honestly, this is on par with some of the luxury brand singles I buy. Thanks bunches 🙂
Glad it’ll work well for you, Trish!
It’s very pretty, but it’s too pricey for two eyeshadow colors. Enough is enough.
It is an expensive product!
The color, quality, quantity, pattern everything is super nice.. but still it just dont justfy $88 for 2 eye shadows.. 😛 at least for me.. I know I wont be able to finish even half of it in this life time..
Yes, I think this is a situation where you’re really getting too much product (and paying for it).
I’m pretty sure this might just be me. But the design is really off putting to me and reminds me of cells in the body..
It seems like the design is hate/love!
I hate the pattern and would not be able to rest until I had brushed it all away!! Looks like a disease! 😉
Aw!
That left shade is truly beautiful, but not enough to justify the price tag!
Totally understand 🙂
The left side is amazing!
It is gorgeous!
This looks so gorgeous! If I could find it in England I would get it!!
No Giorgio Arman in in the UK?