Yesterday was eye shadow nirvana here. Kathy Shoreman from Neiman Marcus delivered my six new Giorgio Armani Beauty Eyes to Kill Silk Eyeshadows ($32). You may remember that Armani introduced a preview of these eye shadows for Holiday 2010, three shades with lots of sparkle for the festive season. There's a photo of the holiday shades at left.Now, the Spring 2011 Collection of Eyes to Kill Silk Eyeshadows has arrived, and my excitement is unrestrained. I got an iPhone photo from Kathy yesterday with every shade swatched on her arm, from wrist to elbow. I selected my initial purchases from her swatches. Neiman Marcus received 11 shades in their shipment.
Eyes to Kill has a unique, high-tech approach to blended color with these new shadows. The innovative hybrid texture, which is not a powder, nor a cream, acts like a smooth, lasting color film. The formula is composed of an unprecedented association between binder elements and pearls that creates exceptional luminosity, depth, and intensity of color. A high-resistance bi-polymer enables the formula to perfectly fit the contour of the eyelid, with cushiony suppleness, for comfortable, long wear.
Armani says you can apply these shadows dry or wet to obtain any finish from satin to lacquer, subtle to dramatic. I'm working to achieve subtle. Offering 24-hour wear, the new Eyes to Kill shadows are waterproof and sweat-proof. They slide on and stay on. You can apply them with fingers or a brush, although I think the Giorgio Armani brush gives me more control. Armani's Color-Fil color matrix formula blends and layers without creasing or flaking, and these shadows are extremely long-lasting. Even their shine sticks around.
The shades I purchased are the lightest shades, and they offer high-wattage intensity. I have swatched them for you. My photos were taken in sunlight. I applied the shadows with a sponge-tipped applicator, which gave them a little more oomph than you will get using a brush. My first photo at right shows Numbers 6, 8, and 9, top to bottom. I would describe the shades as copper, pink, and rose gold.
My second
photo at left shows Numbers 11, 12, and 16, top to bottom. I would describe the shades as white, silver, and silver-grey.These shades are intense on my eyelids. I am going to have to learn to apply them with a light hand to achieve a look that doesn't shout. I'm sure I can do that! I will definitely write a progress report after I have had more time to play with them.
The mélange of colors in some of the pots is fascinating. For example, when you look in the pot of #12, you see flecks of pink mixed in the silver. The complexity of the shades comes, I think, from the various pigments that contribute to the end result.
Speaking of pigments, all of these shadows list Carmine CI 77289 as a possible ingredient. If you are sensitive to red dyes, you should try a shade before you purchase it to make sure that your skin will not react negatively. Unfortunately, there's no way to know from the box which shades actually include the red dye.
All of the Eyes to Kill Silk Eyeshadows are packaged in pots, with screw top lids that you should close well after using. Additionally, there is a protective black cap that you should keep on the shadow to prevent it from drying out. Take care of these shadows, and they should last you a very long time.
Currently, these shadows are not offered on the Giorgio Armani Beauty Web site, although I expect that to change momentarily. You can purchase them at Neiman Marcus, where I did, or Saks Fifth Avenue.Update 4:00 pm: I got official photos of some of the new shades, which Giorgio Armani Beauty is calling Eyes to Kill Intense (good name!). Khaki, #6, which I described as copper, is shown above left. Champagne, #8, is shown above right.
Rock Sand,
#9, is shown immediately above left. Moonlight, #12, is shown below.These shade names are not on the boxes of the Eyes to Kill shadows I purchased yesterday. I like names and am happy that Giorgio Armani Beauty has started to use them.
We are checking to find out exactly which shades have the carmine dye in them. Stay tuned here at Best Things in Beauty.
Update 3/9: These are now available at Giorgio Armani Beauty's Web site.
Photo at top and individual shade photos courtesy of Giorgio Armani Beauty
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15 comments:
Do you know off the top of your head if these will be available at Nordstroms? Was it you that posted the picture of ALL the swatches? I think it was on twitter? Do you still have the link for that? Sorry so many question. I keep putting people on hold at work so I can finish reading your post! LOL!
Hi Diane!
I don't know about Nordstrom stores. If a store carries Armani Beauty, they will get these.
I didn't post a photo of all the swatches, here or Twitter. Not sure who did that. Sorry!
It's okay, I might be totally wrong and be thinking of something else. Thanks for all the info!
These look stunning especially the Rose Gold colour.
Hi Pink Ribbons, I think you are going to love them! "Stunning" is a good word. Prepare to look very glam when you wear them.
OOOOHHH! Fun!!!
"Fun" is a good word, as is "stunning." These are snazzy shades, Sparklehead!
These are beautiful! I would really love to try these out in person.
Would you just treat them as single e/s like purchasing a MAC or Chanel single e/s? For some reason, this is throwing me off. They look as if they should be together in their own palette.
I've been anticipating this release for quite awhile. You might remember that I was't particularly impressed with the holiday shadows and gave them a miss. But, since I love, love, love my Disco Gold, Disco Silver, and Ultra Lavande shadows by Lancôm (exact same concept as the Armani) I've been looking forward to seeing Armani's complete spring collection. It really is an interesting formula and is so very versatile. It's a shame about the Carmine, though. So many people are sensitive to it. The information really should be made readily available. In any event, when I drive into the SF Valley tomorrow, I'll have to stop by
Neiman's to see the color selection for myself.
Hi Joolz,
They are definitely typical singles. They offer so much wattage, most of Armani's customers will probably blend them with Maestro or other Armani shadows. Just a guess.
Have fun today, Eileen!
I also like the "Disco" shades. They are almost identical - in containers and ingredients - to Armani's, which makes me wonder about L'Oreal and their motives for that. I think it's best to keep one's brands unique.
The shades I bought are so pretty, though, all questions flew out of my mind. My only concern is the red dye. The stores experienced returns with the holiday shades, which burned eyelids on sensitive skin types.
I understand the economy of printing one box, with "may contain," but that doesn't help us choose shades without red dye. I know from patch testing years ago that I am allergic to a red dye that was in a taupe shadow. It was my fave at the time too! It was like a tragedy. :)
Thanks Charlestongirl - the three limited edition ETK that came out during the holidays sold out at Neiman Marcus Tysons within a week - I am expecting these to sell out quickly too! The texture is like powdered sugar, but with a bit of creaminess - all my friends at work oohed and aaahed as we played with them on a slow day. The only problem is that I cannot afford all of them, so which ones to get? The Rose Gold 8, or the champagney-Kitten-by-Stila number 9? Alejandra Paz, one of the talented Armani artists at my store, put the baby-blue shade on Erin Vega, the other artist - it gave a whole new meaning to baby blue peepers! She then tried Lust Red, the Megan Fox shade on Margarita Vega, the Kate Somerville specialist - and the eyes were sultry and smoky and lusty, as promised by the name!! If you have a chance, and you live in the area, please do pop by my store and have at it - just play all afternoon - the hard part will be choosing WHICH ONE to BUY!!!!
PS - if these shades were on Facebook, I would LIKE LIKE LIKE LIKE LIKE!
Miss Brahms just told me that two shades (8 and 9) have already sold out at her Neiman Marcus. Wow!
I know I am commenting way after the fact, but I had to check into the archive and see if a review had been done on these shadows. I love seeing what your opinion is, and your pictures are great too, and these shadows are just so pretty! They're gorgeous even to just look at. :-) I love looking at your posts because I'm not able to get out into the stores to see the items for myself, so this is the next best thing! :-)
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