Giorgio Armani Beauty Face and Eye Palette from the Madre Perla Collection for Holiday 2011

Giorgio Armani Beauty's Face and Eye Palette ($98 and exclusive to Saks Fifth Avenue and the Armani Beauty Web site) will be irresistible, I'm sure. Inspired by Art Deco style, Giorgio Armani’s famous black case is decorated in real Madre Perla, with precision work done entirely by hand in the purest tradition of luxury craftsmanship. Utterly refined, a silver logo adorns this exclusive limited-edition case, which just 3,000 women in the world will have the privilege of owning.

Fortunately, I was able to purchase the same palette, in Giorgio Armani’s iconic black lacquer case ($59) at Neiman Marcus last week. Inside the decidedly unique Face and Eye Palette shown above, there are three luminous, satiny powders in sand, champagne, and ivory - silky shadows that combine a featherlight texture with radiant color. Blended over the eye area, the three shades will sculpt and illuminate the eyes. Lightly dabbed onto the facial contours, the sand and champagne tones will catch the light to increase the radiance of the complexion. Used as a highlighter, the blended shades will add a golden glow to your skin.

The shades in this gorgeous palette are a very lightly toned golden pink-ivory, pure gold, and antique gold. The colors pop better in Armani's photo at the top of this feature than they do in mine. My first impression was definitely a wow. There will be so many ways for me to use these shades, alone or blended.

Because the shades in the Face and Eye Palette are light, they were very hard for me to photograph, given my very light skin. At the top of my arm, I applied all three shimmering shades, starting with the golden pink-ivory and ending with the antique gold. Those swatches were applied with a sponge-tipped applicator. A blended shade is shown at the bottom of my arm. I used a dense blush brush and swirled it around all three shades. You should be able to see that it left a pretty golden glow on my skin.

Here's a closer look at the three individual shades on my arm. I hope you can see that they offer a subtle shimmer - no clunky metallic particles here. The shades are stunning. I can't wait to have an event to attend. I want to wear the antique gold shade swept across my eyelids.

The subtlety of these shades is what makes them so attractive - and useful. While they may not jump off my arm in these photos, they add a beautiful gleam to my face and eyes. The blended shades are shown at left.

This is an exquisite palette from Giorgio Armani, maker of exquisite color for the face. If I can get better photos today, I'll update this feature.

This Face and Eye Palette is a limited edition, so I'd recommend you call your favorite Armani Beauty counter to buy one - or reserve one - now. It should be available at the Armani Beauty Web site soon.

Update: One more photo. I'm not sure it's much better, but may be a little more vivid.

Photo at top courtesy of Giorgio Armani Beauty; other photos by Best Things in Beauty