Giorgio Armani Beauty Rouge Ecstasy - My First Shades Swatched

I looked and found Giorgio Armani Beauty's new Rouge Ecstasy Lipstick ($34) at Neiman Marcus, and spent a lot of time selecting four shades. Why four? Because I love the feel and look of these classy lipsticks, and there are 36 tempting shades. I was only able to purchase three of the four I selected. One pretty pink, #509, Boudoir, had already sold out at Tysons. No matter; I'll get it somewhere else.

With Rouge Ecstasy, the Giorgio Armani laboratories push the boundaries of the exceptional even further with the first "CC" lipstick. CC stands for Color & Care, a new innovative hybrid product that marks the start of a new era in lipstick.

Care: Rouge Ecstasy offers the comfort and softness of a lip balm, leaving lips repaired and beautifully enhanced day after day. The ingredients include shea butter, jojoba oil, and other moisturizers.

Color: This velvety soft, everyday lipstick coats the lips in saturated, ultra-luminous shades with impeccable hold. Application is simple, precise, and effective - straight from the tube.

Rouge Ecstasy is available in 36 luminous shades, a broad palette of intense and vibrant colors to satisfy every desire. All of the Rouge Ecstasy shades are inspired by a particular memory or association for Mr. Armani - from Italy and Milan to the Red Carpet and Hollywood stars. The red lacquer cases with Armani's magnetic closure look pretty snazzy.

The magnetic cases are almost impossible to line up neatly for photographs. They keep moving on me as they attract one another, and eventually, I lose all patience. I staggered these tubes, not perfectly, and snapped a photo at lunchtime. My photo above shows, from left to right, #501, Peony; #508, Daybreak; and #510, Dolci.

When I started testing the colors, I quickly found that they range from very light to very dark. The very light shades look pasty in the tubes, but are anything but on the skin. I test on my arm first, then I test the shades I like on the pads of my fingers, which approximate the pigmentation of my lips.

I took swatch photos of these three lipsticks in early-afternoon sunshine. #501, Peony, is shown at the top of my arm with Daybreak ($508) in the middle and Dolci (#510) below.

I love all of these colors. Dolci may be on the dark side for me - I'm wearing it now - but I wanted to purchase one in a darker range. I also wanted one with some coral in it, so Peony was my choice. The most sheer, mauve pink Daybreak is my favorite of these three. I know, how can one choose a favorite of three exquisite shades?

I'm not sure how Armani achieved the vivid pigmentation with the balm-like feel. As usual, Armani has offered us an innovation in color. These lipsticks feel fabulously moisturizing on my lips. They offer a subtle gleam on the lips (the shine you see in my photos is sunlight). As for impeccable hold? Maybe not. They give me good wear time, but it's not extraordinary. I am very tough on lipstick. Either I talk to often, or have peripheral loss through my use of Kleenex. I eat and drink too. All of these activities are tough on lipstick hold.

I'm thrilled with Rouge Ecstasy! You can find it at Giorgio Armani Beauty's Web site, where I may purchase #509, and at Neiman Marcus. I have not seen it at Saks yet, only because I haven't been to Chevy Chase in over a week.

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