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Giorgio Armani

Giorgio Armani Beauty’s New Fall 2014 Eyes To Kill Liners Have Killer Shine

August 28th, 2014 by Karen 16 Comments

Wearing Giorgio Armani Beauty's Eyes To Kill Liner in Rose Iron
Wearing Giorgio Armani Beauty’s Eyes To Kill Liner in Rose Iron

Eyes to killWith his heat ray vision, Superman has eyes to kill.

Medusa has eyes to kill (well, turn you to stone, but that’s basically the same thing).

And now, with new Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill Liners (called Ametista, Oro Oscuro, Perla Nera and Quarzo on the website), we mere mortals can also have eyes to kill.

Shiny eyes to kill, because when I wear these liquid liners on my lash lines, I feel like I have shine for days, yo!

But it’s an unusual shine…

Starting at the finish

“Muted metallic.” That’s how I describe the finish. Mind you, it’s not as frosty or shiny as some metallic or glitter liners, like the kind you might see at Urban Decay or MAC, some of which reflect so much light that you can look like you’re wearing a costume if you go too far with them.

There’s no mistaking these for matte — that’s for sure — but the shiny finish seems softer to me, more diffused and more elegant than the finish that a lot of other shiny liners have.

Giorgio Armani Beauty Eyes to Kill Liner in Rose Iron
Rose Iron on my lash lines, MAC Smolder on my water lines, and Armani’s Black Ecstasy Mascara on my lashes

Not everyone is gonna get the distinction. Like, El Hub, adorable yet clueless dude that he is, he probably wouldn’t get it. “What’s the big whoop?” he’d say. “They just look shiny to me.”

Now, if you’re the kind of guy or gal who carries eight different black liners in your makeup bag and can quickly rattle off their names and differences, you’ll probably appreciate these and their muted metallic finish.

Giorgio Armani Eyes To Kill Liners from the purple shade on the left: 3 Mercury Nude, 2 Acid Gold and 3 Rose Iron
Giorgio Armani Eyes To Kill Liners from the purplish shade on the left: 3 Mercury Nude, 2 Acid Gold and 3 Rose Iron

Easy-peasy application

As for the formula itself and the way these feel, one word: bomb. They’re sort of halfway between a liquid and a cream, almost like a watery gel, and it makes them easy to control, especially with the included, fine-tipped brush applicator. With it, I can easily draw skinny and thick lines with sharp edges in a single swipe.

Giorgio Armani Eyes To Kill Liner
With a MAC Lipglass for scale

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There are 16 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Eyes, Giorgio Armani, Makeup, Product Reviews

Turn on Your Eye High Beams With the Giorgio Armani Beauty Fall 2014 Fade to Grey Eyeshadow Palette

August 20th, 2014 by Karen 19 Comments

Giorgio Armani Fall 2014 Fade to Grey Eyeshadow Palette
Wearing the new Giorgio Armani Fall 2014 Fade to Grey Eyeshadow Palette, $88 (!)

Words one does not expect to hear at a Giorgio Armani Beauty counter: “Where’s, like, the dollar menu?”

Because everything is pricey! — like this new $88 eye palette from Giorgio Armani’s Fade to Grey fall 2014 collection.

Amani Fall 2014 Fade to Grey Eyeshadow Palette

That’s a lot of glow, yo.

The sleek, stylish black packaging houses two absolutely beautiful eye luminous shimmer shadows, side by side — one, a warm, shimmery golden peach, and the other a purply taupe-ish grey.

On lids, these shadows are like Buzz Lightyear, reflecting light to infinity and beyond. The super shiny finish makes my eyes look BIG, doe-eyed and bright, and the effect is even more pronounced when I incorporate a dramatic mascara, like Armani’s new Black Ecstasy, which I’m wearing here.

Giorgio Armani Fall 2014 Fade to Grey Eyeshadow Palette

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There are 19 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Eyes, Giorgio Armani, Makeup, Palettes, Product Reviews

Intensify Your Gaze With New Black Ecstasy Mascara by Giorgio Armani Beauty

August 13th, 2014 by Karen 12 Comments

Giorgio Armani Beauty Black Ecstasy Mascara
New ‘Black Ecstasy’ Mascara by Giorgio Armani in Obsidian Black ($32)

A highly recommended mascara for staring at the blank page before you as you open up the dirty window to let the sun illuminate the words you cannot find…

Giorgio Armani Beauty Black Ecstasy Mascara
Giorgio Armani Beauty Black Ecstasy Mascara in Obsidian Black ($32)

Yup, someone’s been watching re-runs of The Hills lately. 🙂

My Tivo recorded a massive 45-episode marathon last week.

To quote El Hub when he saw them in the menu, “Holy sh*t!”

Giorgio Armani Beauty Black Ecstasy Mascara
With a MAC Lipglass for scale…

I wore Giorgio Armani Beauty’s new Black Ecstasy Mascara in Obsidian Black ($32; one of four shades) during an epic 8-hour binge this week.

Giorgio Armani Beauty Black Ecstasy Mascara

A recent addition to the brand’s permanent line (available now in three shades exclusively at Nordstrom, but coming to Giorgio Armani Beauty counters and giorgioarmanibeauty.com this September in four shades), ‘Black Ecstasy’ Mascara is designed to create longer, denser, thicker lashes to allow you to deliver intense gazes…

That intensity came in handy while I re-watched season two of The Hills and repeatedly shot disapproving glares at Spencer Pratt.

Giorgio Armani Beauty Black Ecstasy Mascara

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There are 12 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Eyes, Giorgio Armani, Makeup, Product Reviews

Giorgio Armani’s 4-in-1 Multicolor Eccentrico Illuminator Face Palette Is Full of Surprises

November 6th, 2013 by Karen 11 Comments

Giorgio Armani Eccentrico Face Palette
Wearing the new limited edition $88 Giorgio Armani Eccentrico Face Palette

Oh, boy. I’ve been procrastinating for the past 45 minutes. I don’t even know how it’s 6:45 right now. It’s like, I took these goofy-@ss pictures, watched 15 minutes of Flowers in the Attic on Netflix (so bad it’s good), played with the new MAC Masterclass Brushes for a second, did some swatching, and now it’s almost 7, and I have absolutely nothing written except for a bunch of crazy talk.

Whatever. We’ll just call this phase of the blog, “The ramblings of a crazy cat lady,” or “The eccentric ramblings, and occasional blush reviews, of a formerly somewhat sane woman with a penchant for felines.”

Anyway. This palette. Giorgio Armani. Holiday. “Eccentrico.”

I feel like that’s a metaphor for my life right now.

I walk around looking relatively normal…

Giorgio Armani Eccentrico Face Palette

But I feel like this inside…

Giorgio Armani Eccentrico Face Palette
YARGGGHHHH!

Yeah.

This looks like a pretty standard peachy pink highlighter when you open it. I expected something, I dunno, more like MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Soft & Gentle, or a warm rosy gold like the new BECCA highlighter.

But then I brushed off the top layer, a very pretty golden overspray with a warm golden sheen finish, and all hell broke loose.

Which reminds me, I watched four episodes of My Big Fat American Gypsy Wedding yesterday, and the words “bling” or “bling-tastic” were spoken at least 15 times. I loved it. And those cray-cray dresses, OMG!

But enough about that. Back to the pan…

When I brushed off the overspray, I actually went, “SHUT UP!” Things got really, really interesting.

Was it $88 interesting? I don’t know, but stuff was hiding under that overspray — beautiful sections of bright, beautiful hot pink, white, orange and lavender, like totally frickin’ rad street art or something.

[Continue reading…]

There are 11 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Face, Giorgio Armani, Makeup

The new Giorgio Armani Face & Eye Palette in Scarabeo for a Colorful Pink and Green Update to Your Makeup Bag

August 13th, 2013 by Karen 15 Comments

Giorgio Armani Scarabeo
Wearing Giorgio Armani’s Eye and Face Palette in Scarabeo ($88)

I don’t follow any hard-and-fast rules about wearing colorful eyeshadow during the day, but if I do have many errands to run or expect to interact with lots of different people like I did today — the teller at the bank, the chatty checker at Tar-ghay, other personal assistants at Petco — then I like to keep whatever colors I’m feeling fairly close to my lash lines. That way I can get my color fix on without feeling like I’m wearing a ton of disco makeup on my eyes. Plus, it’s easy (and you know I like that).

Giorgio Armani Scarabeo eyeshadows
The eyeshadows

Today I was in the mood for green and grabbed the pricey new $88 (!) Giorgio Armani Face & Eye Palette in Scarabeo, one of two new Giorgio Armani palettes released for fall.

Giorgio Armani Scarabeo eyeshadows closeup
A closeup of the eyeshadows

I know. That price is insane! You kind of have to be a big Armani fan to even consider it.

With really expensive palettes like this two-tier one from Armani (the shadows are on a level beneath the blush), I usually prefer neutrals, because at least that way you can wear them daily to try to get your money’s worth.

Giorgio Armani Scarabeo blush
The shimmery light pink blush

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There are 15 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Eyes, Face, Giorgio Armani, Makeup, Product Reviews

The New Giorgio Armani Summer 2013 Face & Eye Palette Makes Me Wanna Be a Billionaire…So Freakin’ Bad

May 10th, 2013 by Karen 19 Comments

Giorgio Armani Summer 2013 Eye & Face Palette
Wearing the new Giorgio Armani Summer 2013 Eye & Face Palette on my cheeks and eyes

Rest assured that when you wear Giorgio Armani’s Summer 2013 Face & Eye Palette, you will not look like…

  • You just won the 2013 Jell-O Wrestling World Championships
  • You just crushed a can of PBR against your forehead
  • You opened your eyes this morning and let out a 30-second-long barbecue potato chip-tinged burp that someone heard on the other side of town

Rather, when you brush the shimmery golden bronze highlighter on your cheeks and any combination of its three accompanying powder shadows on your lids, you’ll look more like you spent the day channeling Jackie O. on the Greek coast with a pair of Stephen Bonanno Palm Beach sandals, oversized glasses (of course) and a Lily Pulitzer shift dress.

Giorgio Armani Bronze All-Over Palette Face & Eye Summer Collection 2013

Even if you have absolutely no idea what you’re doing with this two-tiered eye and face compact, you almost can’t go wrong because the long-lasting powders hug skin like skinny jeans hug hips.

They’re just plain easy to wear.

Giorgio Armani Bronze All-Over Palette Face & Eye Summer Collection 2013 closeup

The golden peachy bronze highlighter in the top pan and the beige, brown and peach eye shadows in the bottom pan are like good pieces of jewelry that go with everything. You could dress ’em up with RiRi Woo red lips and a body-con bandage dress, or dress ’em down with your favorite Clarins gloss and a sundress.

Giorgio Armani Summer Collection 2013 Face & Eye Palette

The sky’s the limit. 🙂

And even if you totally botch that brown smokey eye you were going for (been there, done that about 1,622 times), don’t fret. You can buff it out with a few swipes of your MAC 217 (or something similar), as the soft powders are totally unlike magnets or the Borg (read: they offer very little resistance).

Seriously, even if you can’t blend for sh*t (don’t worry!), you could do a look with these that would make even the most seasoned makeup nerds recognize.

Giorgio Armani Summer 2013 Face & Eye Palette swatches
Swatches from the left: the beige, peach and brown eye shadows; and the peachy bronze highlighter

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There are 19 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Giorgio Armani, Makeup, Palettes, Product Reviews

Giorgio Armani Beauty Said, “Forget the Mousetrap. Let’s Build a Better Lip Gloss!” The Giorgio Armani Beauty Flash Lacquers

May 9th, 2013 by Karen 14 Comments

Giorgio Armani Flash Lacquer in Rouge 400
Wearing Giorgio Armani Flash Lacquer in Rouge 400 ($29), one of 36 shades in the new Flash Lacquer line available now

If I’d realized back then as an undergrad slogging through chemistry classes that science could also be used for things like building a better lip gloss…I probably would’ve paid closer attention in class and said things like, “Cyclohexane chair and boat shapes? I’M ON THAT SH*T!”

Thank you, science, for taking us to the moon, creating super-sized movie popcorn kernels and for providing us with better living through advanced lip gloss chemistry, like the chemistry behind Giorgio Armani Beauty’s new line of Beauty Flash Lacquers ($29 each and available in 36 shades).

Giorgio Armani Flash Lacquer in Pink 526 on the left and Rouge 400 on the right
Flash Lacquer in Pink 526 on the left and Rouge 400 on the right

The brand new line of lip glosses flaunts scientific-sounding bells and whistles and a stratospherically shiny, smooth formula with characteristics like…

  • An elastic shine formula that fills in lip lines for an extremely smooth surface
  • A polymer weave that continuously reshapes itself while on your lips
  • A low viscosity to keep the gloss surface perfectly smooth

All of this in the pursuit of one lofty goal: to fashion the highest reflection ever achieved in a lip gloss!

Groovy…

Well, it’s shiny — that’s for sure. And dramatic like a microphone drop.

Earlier today I was standing in front of a window, and I could see the color on my lips in the reflection as clearly as if I was standing in front of a mirror.

Boom.

And the formula remains super shiner as long as I don’t go rubbing or pressing my lips together. When I do, the shine quickly dulls down to a slight sheen.

I’ve been testing two of the shades this week, shimmery Pink 526 and creamy red Rouge 400.

Giorgio Armani Flash Lacquer swatches in Rouge 400 (left) and Pink 526 (right)
Swatches in Rouge 400 (left) and Pink 526 (right)

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There are 14 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Giorgio Armani, Lips, Makeup, Product Reviews

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