Armani Eyes to Kill Shimmer in Mirage Review and Looks

 Eyeshadow, Giorgio Armani  12 Responses »
Mar 072013
 

Armani 10j

Perhaps my most favorite eyeshadow  palette of Spring 2013 is Armani Eyes to Kill Shimmer in Mirage ($59/ #10). This mix of four (4) shimmery peaches and soft browns is right in the sweet spot of shadows that can carry a warm-toned makeup lover all the way through summer.

Armani 10k

As a range, this new Armani Eyes to Kill Shimmer is well pigmented, and with a softer texture than Armani palettes that have been released in the past. The texture of Mirage is similar to the high quality of the better Chanel and Guerlain shadows. Applied with a standard brush, such as the Edward Bess Luxury Eye brush, or even a MAC 217, does the job beautifully.

Armani 10l

The palette includes a pleasant mix–use two, three or all four shades. The top shimmery peach-pink makes a beautiful lid wash. The  second shade is a highly pigmented, shimmery highlighter. The third shade is a rich warm shimmery gold. The bottom brown color is a dreamy satin crease color. There is a harmony and ease to these shades. As someone who has hit pan twice on Chanel Abricot, I know I’m going to use Giorgio Armani Mirage to the last drop.

Armani 10m

The palette is a slightly different, softer and more organic shape compared to Armani’s former disk shape, It’s a friendly, yet still packable, shape that includes two little brushes under the color pan. Armani 10nSwatches of all four shades, in the same order as the pan (the top shade is on the left, the bottom on the right):

Armani 10g

Another:

Armani 10h

Here is Armani Mirage on Liz:

Armani 10dd

Here, Liz is also wearing Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Volupte Shine in #2 Pourpre in Touchable lightly dabbed on. She’s also wearing a mix of Burberry Coral Pink and Rose blush, over Chanel Vitalumiere liquid foundation. The Armani Eyes to Kill Shimmer texture is pearly and subtle.

Armani 10cc

Full face:

Armani 10ff

Bottom line:  One of my favorites so far this year. Perfect.

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Guerlain Coup de Foudre Eyeshadow Palette Review and Look

 Eyeshadow, Guerlain  10 Responses »
Feb 272013
 

Guerlain Coup de Foundre1a1

Guerlain Spring 2013 Coup de Foudre ($59) eyeshadow palette was released in December (it is still available with free shipping at Nordstrom.com, miraculously). Many avid blog readers have probably already seen the palette in action. Cafe Makeup wanted to weigh in with its swatches and opinion–which is, bottom line, get it—get it now.

Guerlain Coup de Foundre1a3

 This palette has greens which act as non-neutral neutrals. These colors are so universal that this palette worked for both of us, with almost no effort, the first time. The combination of the beautiful pearly quality of the eyeshadows, the harmonious colors, and the shades chosen to work on a wide variety of skintones makes Guerlain Coup de Foudre an easy “yes.” In soft light:

Guerlain Coup de Foudre 2

I sort of love how none of these greens is a Pantone Color of the Year, but making anything really mainstream sort of kills things for me. Instead, you get a soft mossy green, a soft mint shimmer, a deep charcoal grey infused with green, and a soft coral. The texture is spectacular–it leaps onto one’s brush and applies effortlessly to the lid.

Guerlain Coup de Foudre

The shimmer of this palette loves the light. On Liz’s lids applied very lightly (she used the two deepest colors only, the left green and the green-gray). Of course, it can be applied more heavily if desired.

Guerlain Coup de Foudre 7a

Here’s a full face, which give a very neutral-with-a-green-kick impression:

Guerlain Coup de Foudre 2ab

Liz paired Guerlain Coup de Foudre with Tom Ford Private Blend lipstick in Spanish Pink ($48). As an side, here was our set-up for the shoot:

Liz Guerlain

For other ideas for how to wear Coup de Foudre, see Messywand’s post creating three different looks including one incorporating the coral. Swatches:

Guerlain Coup de Foundre26

Overall–yes, you need it. We love Guerlain Coup de Foudre. It’s neutral with a twist, the texture is perfect, and its highle usable for everyday, elegant wear.

Available now at Nordstrom.com with free ship.

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Guerlain Attrape Coeur Eyeshadow Quad Review and Swatches

 Eyeshadow, Guerlain  9 Responses »
Feb 242013
 

Guerlain Attrape Couer 1

There have been a number of vibrant eyeshadow palettes released recently (color is back, baby!). In the mix of textures and offerings, I didn’t want to let the Spring 2013 collection season go by without a look at Guerlain Attrape Coeur Eyeshadow Quad ($59). This was the colorful palette this season that I found to be easy to use, gentle in color tone, and made of wearable vibrant shades.

Guerlain Attrape Couer 2

Guerlain’s Attrape Coeur has a shimmery white highlighter color, a soft lavendar, a vibrant violet duochrome and a deep complex dark purple-violet that is striking as a liner.

Guerlain Attrape Couer 6a

Guerlain Attrape Coeur’s color can be applied light and sheer so that it doesn’t overwhelm. These shades are vibrant. Although they can be built up, we found that applying them with a soft hand gave us a look that’s pretty but not too heavy. 

Guerlain Attrape Couer 4

Here’s Liz wearing Guerlain Attrape Coeur with Tom Ford Cherry Lush lipstick and Burberry Coral Pink Blush.

Guerlain Attrape Coeur

The quality of Guerlain’s 4-color eyeshadow palettes is becoming well known. It’s no surprise that Guerlain Attrape Coeur is selling out. I noticed that it is still up for sale on Neimans and Saks websites, but seems to be gone from  Nordstrom.com at this point.

Bottom line: Speak now (or forever hold your peace). This one’s limited edition. There are lines with more opaque shades out for Spring ’13 (MAC’s Spoiled Rich quad looks amazing on Mostly Sunny, but I don’t think it would on me and Temptalia certainly didn’t love it). For my aesthetic, I jumped on Guerlain Attrape Coeur and love it. I can use some of the vibrant shades with shell and brown neutrals, or on its own for a more vibrant look.

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