Armani Lip Magnets Lip Swatches

In yesterday's post, I gave the full review, today is just lip swatches of the newly released Armani Lip Magnets.  The colours are lovely and pigmented, and easy to wear without drying the lips.

Top Row 300, 301 and 302
2nd Row 400, 401 and 402
3rd Row 500, 501 and 506
4th Row 601 and 602.

In the same order, here are the lipswatches, beginning with 300, 301 and 302

300

301

302

 The difference between 301 and 302 is slight, but 302 is slightly deeper and redder.

Now the reds: 400, 401 and 402:

400

401

402

The reds are actually very similar indeed, 400 is a little lighter than the other two, 401 is a little pinker, and 402 is the darkest, but there is very little in it.

Now the pinks, 500, 501 and 506 (the "nude")

500

501

506

 And finally, the berries 601 and 602:

601

602 - sorry, my lips were absolutely KILLING me by this point.

Armani Lip Magnets cost £27 each and will be released nationwide on October 28th, at the moment they're a Selfridges exclusive.


The Fine Print: PR samples.


This post: Armani Lip Magnets Lip Swatches originated at: Get Lippie All rights reserved. If you are not reading this post at Get Lippie, then this content has been stolen by a scraper

Armani Lip Magnets launch nationwide on October 28th

 2016 has been a great year for lipstick lovers, especially BRIGHT lipstick lovers, like, er ... me! Armani have launched a great range of mattes recently - they're currently exclusive to Selfridges, but they'll launch nationwide on October 28th, and I have a bunch of them here.  In today's post I'll talk about the colours and the formula, and I'll put swatches into the post tomorrow, otherwise it'll be a bit too much.  Launching in 18 shades, I have 11 of them here to show you - I'm just missing the nudes, I think.

From top (l-r) we have 300, 301 and 302.  Second row is 400, 401 and 402.  Third row is 500, 501, and 506, and the bottom two are 601 and 602.

The shades have been released in four different colour families, corals/oranges, reds, pinks/nudes and purple/berries.  They're all highly pigmented (though some are easier to apply than others), and they literally feel like you have bare lips once they're in place, and have "set" onto your lips.

(l-r) 300, 301, 302 Corals/Oranges

300 is a light, almost neon tangerine shade.
301 is a great medium coral
302 is a deeper warm red-orange.

This is me looking a bit tired in 302:

(l-r) 400, 401, and 402.

400 is a strawberry red.
401 is a cherry-pinked red and 
402 is a classic bright neutral red.  A quirk in the Armani packaging makes these look a lot more warm and "orange" than they actually appear on the lips.  Even my husband mentioned that they all looked "really orange" before I swatched them.

(l-r) 500, 501 and 506

500 is classic "bubblegum" pink on the bright side, but not too "Barbie"-looking.
501.  Barbie called, she wants her dream house back.
506 - a pinked mauve that is surprisingly easy to wear on this particular shunner of nudes.

Me moon-faced and slightly insane at 5.30am in 500:

And finally,

601 and 602 (at the front l-r)

601 is a cool-tone liverish purple
602 is a bright berry-purple shade.

602 in wear:

Can we say "goth"?

The formula is great.  A very thin and sheer liquid that can be easily built up in the more opaque shades, but I found that 300, 501 and 601/602 could be a little streaky if not applied carefully.  They have a "water-in-oil" formulation, which means they get more matte as the water in the formula evaporates off the lips, leaving just the pigmentation behind.  I haven't had any issues with my lips drying out whilst wearing these, nor do they feather or crease at all.  I have noticed an odd tendency for them to look glossier in photos than they do in real life.  I think this might have something to do with the light-reflective properties of the colours, which are opaque, but not at all flat, which is quite a feat.

The applicator is, quite possibly, one of the best I've ever used in a liquid lipstick format, it's firm, and doesn't pick up so much of the liquid that you have to smear it all over, and hope for the best.  It's on the small side, and has a very definite point to the tip, so you get an exceptionally precise application with little fuss, even if you're as cack-handed as I am first thing in the mornings!  They're not greasy, or slippery, and nor do they suck the moisture from your lips like other matte lipsticks I could (but won't) name.  They're an exceptionally nice, and easy wear.  That said, the wear time isn't like anything as great as a traditional heavy pigment and wax-based matte lipstick, but they wear off nicely (you do have to watch for the " red ring of doom" with some of the darker shades though), and they leave a nice stain of pigment on the lips.  The best (or worst, depending on your POV) ones for leaving behind a stain are the two brighter pinks (500 and 501) and the pinker berry shade (602).  None of the shades will survive a portion of chips, but they will stand up quite well to a couple of biscuits and a cup of tea (mental note, never blog when hungry).

Full lip-swatches tomorrow.  Armani Lip Magnets cost £27 and will launch nationwide on 28th October.

The Fine Print: PR samples



This post: Armani Lip Magnets launch nationwide on October 28th originated at: Get Lippie All rights reserved. If you are not reading this post at Get Lippie, then this content has been stolen by a scraper

Giorgio Armani Gel Eyeliner Pencils

 

I confess to not being an expert on the beauty industry, but I admit that the decisions that come beauty companies make baffle me slightly.  Take, for example, the decision by Giorgio Armani cosmetics to make their wonderful eyeliners a limited edition product.  Released once or twice a year, these pencils turn up for two, maybe three weeks at a time, then disappear not to be seen for another couple of months.

Mystifying, utterly mystifying.  

Regardless - and price aside for a moment - it's all the more astonishing, because these are, quite rightly cult items, that I don't really think that any makeup bag should be without.

We're all familiar, I guess, with gel eyeliners, the kind that come in pots, and have to be applied with a brush.  They set on the skin to give unparalleled lasting power that doesn't crease, run or flake (well, most of them don't) and are slightly easier to use than a traditional "inkwell" style liquid eyeliner.


Well, the Armani Eyeliners are gel eyeliners in a pencil, creaseproof, run proof and flake-free, they're wonderful things.  Look at the swatches from the black and green pencils above:

These are both one pass with the pencil over clean, dry, unprimed skin.  And, let me tell you, that black line was a complete pain in the bum to remove with just a cleansing wipe! It is one of the blackest, softest eyeliners I own, and I say that as someone with a collection of eyeliners that would make your average baby-goth weep inky-sweet tears of sootiest envy.


They're not great if you want a really fine line, as, being gel, they blunt very easily, but they're soft, apply with no dragging, and are (for about a minute or so) very easily smudgeable.  Once they set though, they're in place for the whole day. That is unless you're an inveterate eye-rubber, or it's an exceptionally humid day.  I've found they tend to fade rather than run though, which is preferable, in all honesty.


On the down side, they are very, very, very expensive.  At £20 a pencil, which won't actually last all that long owing to how soft they are, they are a very occasional treat.


But, tomorrow, I'll be showing you a more than acceptable alternative at around a tenth of the cost.  Sound interesting .... ?

The Fine Print: These were bought at the same time as the Armani Eyes to Kill eyeshadow I showed you on Sunday.  Once again, a stunt swatching hand was used in these posts. He's still not forgiven me.

This post originated at: http://getlippie.com All rights reserved.

Armani Eyes to Kill Eyeshadow #8

Armani Eyes to Kill eyeshadows have been all over Twitter recently, and, as I've had mine for about three months now, I thought it was about time I actually reviewed it!

Not quite a cream, not quite a powder, but rather a hybrid mixture of them both, the Armani Eyes to Kill shadows are easy to use, last well, and are a pleasure to use.


I have shade 8, which I don't know the name of, but it's a grey-speckled champagne shade:

I find they work best if you apply with a finger tip - they do not get along with synthetic eye brushes at all, but if you must use a brush, make sure it's a natural hair brush.


They do give a heavy metallic finish when applied:

This amount on a finger tip applies like this:

Which is a cool, silvery-champagne shade, which works very well alone to brighten up eyes, and just give you a slightly-more-awake look when you can't be bothered with a more structured makeup look.


You can sheer them out, but you will need to work quickly, as the shadows set in about a minute or so:

The shadows last well - around 12 hours with minimal creasing, and I find that they also make quite a good base for more traditional powder shadows.  Mostly I use this alone with a hint of smudged eyeliner and LOTS of mascara for a very simple makeup look that takes seconds to pull together.


Armani Eyes to Kill shadows are available at Harrods, Harvey Nichols and Selfridges and will cost you around £25 each.  I'll be honest, I picked this shade because I found a lot of the others were far too sparkly for every day use, and at this price, I'd want to use it a lot!  The pot has been used two/three times a week for three months now, and shows barely any signs of wear, so I think, in the long run, it's worth the money.


However, I'll be showing you a cheap(er) alternative tomorrow ...

The Fine Print: I bought this from Harrods a couple of months ago - alongside a few other bits.  Further Disclosure:  Hands shown in this post do not belong to Get Lippie - a stunt swatching double has had to be enlisted.

This post originated at: http://getlippie.com All rights reserved.

My Picks of 2010

Needless to say, you'll have seen a million of these posts already, and I was in two minds whether or not to post my selections too, but some of these products have been life-changing for me, and I thought I'd share them anyway ...

Bath Products of The Year:


Aromatherapy Associates

Early on in the year, I was sent an Aromatherapy Associates Miniature Bath and Shower oil selection, which I adored, and since then, I've been through two - count them! - full-size bottles of the Deep Relax bath oil.  Both heady and relaxing, this stuff has seen me through an operation, a change of job, and moving house, I can't recommend it highly enough.  A capful (or two, in my mega-bath's case) is more than enough to soothe my aching bones, and ease my weary head.  You can also use it as a shower oil, or, in extreme cases, you can dab it on your pulse points and sniff as required. They do great candles too.


Lipstick of the Year

Guerlain Rouge G in Georgia

Adore the packaging, love (love!) the colour, and the fact that it's both £10 cheaper than Tom Ford's Pure Pink, alongside being slightly easier to wear makes this glorious shade my pick of the year.   The Tom Ford Private Collection lipsticks did grow on me throughout the year (to the extent that I now own three of them), however, this is the shade I'll be buying  back up of very soon.

Shampoo/Conditioner of the Year:

Andrew Collinge Smooth & Shine

An oldie, admittedly, but a damn good one.  I found this moisturising, and made my hair behave beautifully.  Easy to rinse, and it left my hair with an amazing shine, and at a bargainous £4.99 for a 500ml bottle, it lasted forever too!  If it were SLS-free, I'd be using it still (I had a keratin treatment at the end of year, so am using SLS-free formulations right now), but I had no issues with colour-stripping whilst I was using this on my dry, colour-processed hair.

Blusher of the Year

Daniel Sandler Watercolour Blush

2010 was the year I really started to get into blusher, it started with Estee Lauder's Bronzed Goddess bronzer, and ended with Nars Douceur, but in between were these little gems. I love them still, and now own three, in Truth, Cherub and Dare (plus I intend to get my hands on Flush and Gentle at some point too), as they're practically perfect.  Long-lasting, buildable and perfectly tinted, after I learned to handle them, I fell in love.

Eyeshadow of the year

Le Metier de Beaute Kaleidoscope in Le Cirque

To be fair, everything I've tried from Le Metier this year has been great, but the Le Cirque Kaleidoscope blew me away a little bit. Beautiful and endlessly versatile, this is practically the only eyeshadow palette I've reached for since I bought it a couple of months ago. Alas, it's limited edition, so I'm glad I arranged a backup when I could.

Foundation of the Year

A tough one, this, so there are two winners (and a runner up ...):

 Guerlain Lingerie De Peau and Bourjois Healthy Mix

Both great for a glowing finish (even though the Bourjois is technically only a "satin" or semi-matte finish), I genuinely couldn't choose between the two.  The Guerlain is a lighter-than-air, dewy finish that I find works best when set with just the tiniest bit of powder, whereas the Bourjois doesn't need setting, but I find the coverage is a little heavier.

Just want to give a mention to a distinguished runner up, which is Armani Face Fabric.  Amazing mousse texture, but for me, I need to be having a really good face day to do it justice.  But this is great stuff:

Nail Varnish of the Year

Deborah Lippmann: Hit Me With Your Best Shot. 

A glimmering steel-grey shade with hints of multi-coloured micro-shimmer, I've reached for this polish again and again since it arrived in my stick little paws, I love it, and it just edged out Dolce & Gabanna's Perfection (which it very nearly is) as my pick of the year.  Unfair as I still don't think House of Fraser have it in stock yet, but when they do, snap this one up!

Candle of the Year

Jonathan Ward Idina's Locket

No competition - unless you count the rest of the candles in this superbly-scented Amber range from Jonathan Ward, of which I bought the entire range of the day it was released!  And I know I wasn't the only person to have done the same, either. Warm and evocative, this candle smells like it was stolen straight from the boudoir of  Coco Chanel herself.  I now have more candles from Jonathan on my "Candle Wall" than I do from any other maker, and the reason for that is because they are wonderful, not to mention very clean burning.


Perfume of the Year

Untitled by Maison Martin Margiela

A possibly controversial choice,  but my blog, my rules, so ... I have to say that out of all the mass perfume releases I smelled this year, this was by far the most interesting, and it's definitely the scent that's responsible for getting me interested in perfume at all during 2010, so for that, it was a very important discovery for me.  Not every perfume in store smells like sweeties, and thank goodness for that.  You're going to be hearing a lot from me about perfume in the coming months, so you can all blame the 'Martin.

Skincare Range of the Year:

 Much like Le Metier above, where I haven't had a duff product from them all year, Alpha H has been the same for skincare.  I've tried practically every product from the range now, and (one exploding eyecream aside) I've liked (at worst) all of them, and loved some of them.  Start with Liquid Gold, try the facial oil, then move onto the masks, you can't really go wrong.  I'll have some more in-depth reviews of a couple of things coming up soon, but this is a great, no-frills brand, and I highly recommend them.

You might also want to have a look at Mir Skincare, which is formulated for sensitive skin, and is a bit of a marvel, in particular I loved the (vegan-friendly) Argan Oil, which I'll shortly be placing a replacement order for.

And finally - if you're still reading!

Overall Product of the Year

Clarisonic

Quite simply, it's a life (and skin) changing bit of kit.  I've banged on about it at relentless length several times before now, so I shan't go on, but suffice to say, I can't imagine life without this now.  Even if it is, essentially, a giant toothbrush for your face.

This has been one massive post, sorry!

Mr Lippie Reviews: Armani Diamonds Summer

I've been using Armani Diamonds for a little while now, and I thought (or, rather, was reminded) that it's about time that I put my thoughts on it down on paper, as it were.

 

Looking at the bottle itself, it's a chunky rectangular bottle, with a hint of blue/aquamarine at the base that gives the liquid a slightly mysterious look. The top is dominated by the spray nozzle, which is a heavy silver top that accentuates the slight curves of the bottle very nicely. The stylised Armani eagle is on the container, but it's not overbearing, it adds to the look, making the bottle itself quite imposing. 

 

The smell on first spray is quite sharp, almost like raw alcohol - it felt seriously eye-watering when I first put it on. There's quite a lot of citrus in there, which persists quite strongly for the first half hour or so, but there's quite a lot of interesting undercurrents that slowly rise to the surface and subsume the citrus. It make the scent slightly musky, but delightfully subtle and softer. I tend to use this most weekdays, as it's not something to just throw on just before going out - but it IS something that you feel comfortable wearing throughout the day, without fear that at some point you're going to smell like something that's decomposing in the corner - never the best at a crucial afternoon meeting, I find.

 

Overall, I like it, quite a lot. No whale bottoms here, Diamonds certainly manages to grab the attention.

 

Get Lippie says: I've noticed that this appears to be MrL's favourite scent by far this year, and it's become his "go to" fragrance for  everyday wear, not that I'm complaining!  Redolent of lemons at first (there's meant to be a hint of mint there but I can't pick it up), it soon settles into a woodsy smoothness that's subtle, but masculine.

Review - Armani Blushing Fabric Second Skin Blush

I first had a sneaky peek at these a couple of months ago when BritishBeautyBlogger kindly let me swatch her sample, and I was lucky enough to be sent a couple too just recently. Not ordinarily a massive fan of blusher (I'm much more an eye and lip product kind of girl), these are gorgeous, and I've enjoyed using them a lot.

Weightless owing to their silicone base, these are easy to apply and spread well over the skin, giving a "lit from within" glow that's very flattering.  They're fairly pigmented, and a little goes a long way.  I have two shades, 1 & 2, and here's how they look straight from the tube:

No 1, on the left there, is a lightly gold-flecked peach, and No2 is a sheer strawberry shade.  I find these a lot easier to blend than normal cream blushes - owing to their light texture, there is little or no "drag" on the skin when blending, Certainly I much prefer using these to something like Benefit's Benetint, as they don't dry as quickly, and you're not left with dreadful stripes.  Blended here's how the shades look:

There's not a huge difference between them once blended, but shade number 2 is slightly cooler-toned and is without shimmer, whereas there's just a tiny hint of gold shimmer on the swatch on the right.

Here's how they look on the face:

There is a little bit of a learning curve in using these blushes, it can be very easy to use too much - just a dab'll do ya, but if you do get too much out of the tube, the shades work well on the lips too. I've noticed that the Blushing Fabrics work much better over a foundation with a matte finish rather than one something dewier, a dewy finish-foundation will make them wear off a lot faster, whereas if I wear it over something like Clinique Anti-Blemish foundation, they will last a good 12-16 hours without fading. Tubes of this aren't huge, but you need so little at a time, that I estimate a tube would last quite a few months of daily wear.

Armani Blushing Fabric Second Skin Blush (catchy!) will be available on counters from July 1st, will cost £28,  and will be available in three shades.  Will you be investing?

The Fine Print: These were sent for review by a PR who owed me a favour.  No blue eyeshadow was harmed in the making of this post. Opinions, honesty, yadda, yadda, yadda.