Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Giorgio Armani Beauty Rouge 404 Gloss d'Armani from the Madre Perla Collection for Holiday 2011

Three of the four anticipated Giorgio Armani Beauty Gloss d'Armani shades for Holiday 2011 arrived at Neiman Marcus. If you checked out my sneak peek, you'll remember the following description.

Lips will be adorned in vibrant lacquered shades. A real weave of color, Gloss d’Armani ($28) offers comfortable, long-lasting hold, expressed in four limited-edition shades: a barely iridescent rosewood will enhance the natural color of the lips, while a velvety “amaranth” red and sienna will intensely emphasize their shape. An unexpected choice, a bold amethyst, is vivid - yet so translucent on application that it will match any skin tone.

The shades that arrived - so far - are Rouge 404, pictured above right, and the sienna and amethyst shades. I'm trying to find out when the rosewood shade will arrive. I'm sorry the color in the tube photo above looks so dark. That's how it looks in the tube. Apply it, and you'll be delighted with the color.

Gloss d'Armani in Rouge 404 is a stunning Bordeaux shade, perfect for the season. It shines in direct sun and gleams in indirect light. It's a light wine or deep rose, not nearly as dark on the lips as it looks in the tube. It does have enough color to be worn alone, without lipstick underneath. It's an incredibly fabulous shade - one I'm thrilled to own.

I took my swatch photos in full sun, trying to get different backgrounds and different angles to the sun to show you the shade's various looks. Any turn toward the sun made the gloss shine with luscious reflections.

In the photo above right, taken in front of a Kousa dogwood with vibrant orange leaves, the photo shows exactly how Rouge 404 looks on my arm in direct sunlight. The photo at left shows my arm turned away from direct sun. Rouge 404 shows more color and less shine.

Imagine it with the pigment of your lips underneath. The shade is even more gorgeous on the lips than it is on my arm. I'm tempted to hoard it. Any lip color that can force me to look into a mirror repeatedly is a winner in my eyes. Add the long-lasting quality of Rouge d'Armani to its color, and I could live in it.

Rouge 404 could be described as rosewood, but I'm fairly sure that description was reserved for the shade shown at the left in Giorgio Armani's color strips above. Rouge 404 is absolutely perfect for my coloring. I expect a lot of women are going to feel that way.

The amethyst shade is an avant-garde purple. The sienna is a burnt orange-brown, the color of cognac. Both are interesting and will have their admirers. I'm holding out to see the rosewood shade.

As I mentioned yesterday, the Madre Perla Collection is filled with limited editions, so I'd recommend you call your favorite Armani Beauty counter to buy what catches your eye - or reserve - now. I showed you the palettes yesterday. The collection should be available at the Armani Beauty Web site soon. I checked this morning; it's still not showing there.

If you need help, give Kathy Shoreman at Neiman Marcus a call. They take VISA and Master Card now too, an enabler for those who don't use the store's card or American Express. Kathy can be reached at (703) 761-1600, extension 3282. She's off today, so if you need her, try her cell phone at (571) 212-8399 in the late afternoon.

Color strip photo courtesy of Giorgio Armani Beauty; other photos by Best Things in Beauty

11 comments:

lovethescents said...

Oh, I do like the look of this alot. One thing I AM missing from my collection is something in burgundy/bordeaux. Wine-stained lips don't count :-)

I adore Armani glosses, thanks to you, C, for introducing them to me!

Charlestongirl said...

Definitely go check out Rouge 404, Lovethescents. I adore it!

True, wine-stained lips don't count. What I hate are wine-stained teeth. I'm not sure if it's just me, but when I drink red wine, my teeth turn black. It's disgusting. I have to get up from a restaurant table mid-meal and go scrub my teeth. Thank God for dim lighting!

Eileen said...

You ladies are so funny :-) The enamel on my teeth is in good shape so I don't worry much about wine stains. What I do worry about is lettuce! It invariably gets caught in my teeth. And, since I'm a vegetarian and eat more than my share of lettuce, I usually have to excuse myself and go to the ladies room for a quick session with a toothpick. Ah, the joys of growing older--not! LOL

As for that Armani 404, there is only one word to describe it: luscious! Armani really knows how to create colors that have all the richness of deeper shades while being translucent enough so as not to look heavy. 404 is a scrumptious example.

Charlestongirl said...

Oh yeah, Eileen, any kind of greenery can lead to that trip. I'm not sure that has anything to do with age, though. Just awareness. :)

This gloss by Armani is typical Armani-elegant. I really do need a second one!

lovethescents said...

Whenever I get things caught in my teeth, I just whistle. The gaps between them allow for easy escape of food parts ;-) lol

I'll definitely check it out. Thank you!

Rosamaria said...

Beautiful photos!

michelle said...

Good morning C!
Just got off the phone with Kathy Shoreman at Neiman's and may I say, that she is a TOTAL DOLLY!

I ordered the gloss #404 and the face highlighter for Holiday 2011!

Cannot wait to receive it in the mail!!

Charlestongirl said...

Hi Michelle!

Kathy has so many fans. Everyone here who has gone over to meet her loves her, and she takes excellent care of BTiB readers.

You should get your Armani beauties pretty fast. Kathy always makes sure they go to shipping on the same day. Not all SAs do that.

You will LOVE the gloss and palette. I think this is an exquisite holiday collection.

Joey said...

Did you swatch the purple gloss, CG? I'm wondering if it's as pigmented as I am hoping it to be. =)

Charlestongirl said...

Joey, Kathy tweeted it: http://twitter.com/?photo_id=1#!/RYouBeingServed/status/132139398371344384/photo/1

Charlestongirl said...

Found out last week: the rosewood one is a repromoted pink from the October Downtown Collection. No new rosewood.