Giorgio Armani Beauty La Femme Bleue Waterproof Eye Pencil

Giorgio Armani Beauty introduced three new La Femme Bleue Waterproof Eye Pencils ($27) for Spring 2010. The pencils are available in black (#1), green (#3 green leaf), and brown (#2), although the Armani Beauty Web site is currently showing only #3 as available.

These soft pencils with a great glide for easy application go beyond long-wearing and waterproof! They are like indelible ink. Once the liner dries, it's going to be where you put it for a long time. The liners are the same formula as a limited-edition pencil that was available only in black - if I recall correctly in late 2009, early 2010. I have that pencil, and it is the most tenacious liner I've ever worn. It's almost impossible for me to remove completely without a few washes and long-wear makeup remover.

Once you apply the liner, it won't smudge or budge throughout the day. The high-tech compact color morphs into a fluid substance upon application, creating an eye pencil that is a cross between a liner and a crayon - and giving it the easy glide.

The three colors coordinate nicely with the new eye palette. Black is black, of course. This one is a subdued black; it's not screaming dark. I swatched the green and brown shades to show you. Sorry about the wavy lines! I promise I'm better at applying eyeliner on my eyes, when I have a lash line to follow. My photo was taken indoors in a sunny window.

The brown is a nice medium to dark chocolate brown. The green is hard to describe. Maybe spruce green? It's not emerald, and it's not dark green. It's got a medium green tone to it, with a hint of olive. It's a great color on the lids!

If you want a pencil eyeliner that is seriously budge-proof, this is your liner. You can find La Femme Bleue Armani at the Giorgio Armani Web site, Neiman Marcus, or wherever you normally purchase your Armani Beauty products.

Photo at top courtesy of Giorgio Armani Beauty

The Friday Forum - January 21

My constant companion, Charlie, spends a lot of time in bed with me as I enjoy my Polar Care machine, which pumps ice water into a knee wrap. Whoever invented the machine should get a prize, awarded by knee surgery patients! While I had to roll my arm around Charlie and hope for the best when I snapped the photo, it's not too awful - just a little dark.

This was a week of progress. I was able to bend my knee to 88 degrees in physical therapy yesterday (not without some agony, but still...). The goal is 90 degrees by next Tuesday, and that goal is in sight. I was pleased. I ran out of one of my loopy pills last night, so I'm trying to see how I do without them. So far, the jury's out on that.

I have been more active around the house, and I am eating more. My appetite is returning, although I am such a picky eater. I want things just so, and I am craving things I can't have. A friend called earlier and said she was going to the mall. She's going to call me when she goes to lunch to give me my options. I look forward to such treats!

It's time for The Friday Forum. We use the forum to share information and chat. Did you find any deals you couldn't resist this week (I did)? Are you using a fabulous product and want to sing its praises? Did you find a beauty product disappointing? Do you have a question others might be able to answer? Want to talk about skin care? Just use the comments. Don't be shy. Just make sure to ask any question you might have over the weekend. By Monday, most readers have moved on.

We have busy weekends and slow ones on the forum. I'm always happy if even one reader stops by. Leave a comment, and say hello - even if you don't want to comment on beauty products. If I am notified of any great beauty offers (great, not just good) over the weekend, I will leave word in the comments of this post.

Thanks for reading Best Things in Beauty! Got anything you want to talk about?

Giorgio Armani Beauty La Femme Bleue Spring Collection 2011 Face Palette Sheer Blush

Next up in my series featuring Giorgio Armani Beauty's La Femme Bleue Spring Collection 2011 is the Face Palette, Sheer Blush ($49). Inspired by the rich colors of Armani's Touareg Blue Collection for Spring/Summer 2011, La Femme Bleue was used on the runway to complement the gorgeous midnight blue theme of the clothing.

Sheer Blush is one of my favorites among favorites within the Giorgio Armani Beauty line. I have purchased every shade I can possibly wear, including multiples of some, like #10. All of Armani's blushers are fabulous, and the new one lives up to the Sheer Blush reputation for quality.

While Armani's Web site says that this natural blusher adds the perfect amount of shimmer to create a dewy, luminous finish, I would characterize it as matte (pretty, dimensional matte - not flat matte). Once applied, the new Sheer Blush looks as natural as our own cheeks, sweetly flushed by a good joke. The translucent color creates softness by sculpting the face with color that blends effortlessly to give us a glow that radiates - and looks like our own!

I'm surprised they didn't give this new blush a number or name, other than Spring Collection 2011 Face Palette Sheer Blush (on the box). That's the only thing about this blush that's odd. The color is a sweet, but not sugary, sheer pink. I applied it very heavily to my arm so that I could get a swatch photo for you. My photo was taken inside in direct light, but not direct sun. I even used a sponge-tipped applicator, rather than a blush brush, to apply it to my arm so that I could pick up enough product to show you the shade.

As you can see, it's a perfect pink for spring. We could call it pure pink, baby pink, blushing pink, hyacinth pink, cherry blossom pink - I could let my imagination run wild trying to find descriptors for this gorgeous shade. As you would expect from a "complete collection," it looks drop-dead gorgeous with Giorgio Armani's new Dawn Pink Rouge d'Armani. Buy one, you'll "need" the other. You'll see when you get to the counter!

You can find La Femme Bleue Armani at the Giorgio Armani Web site, Neiman Marcus, or wherever you normally purchase your Armani Beauty products. I will be showing you the rest of my purchases from the collection later today. The collection is irresistible!

Photo at top courtesy of Giorgio Armani Beauty

Giorgio Armani Beauty Rouge d'Armani Spring 2011

Spring is such a perfect time for finding a new pink lipstick. Giorgio Armani Beauty just made the search easy with Rouge d'Armani #518 Dawn Pink ($30). I think this limited-edition lipstick deserves a place in the permanent collection. It's as pretty as they come.

The subtle, colorful, metallic pink finish is perfect for setting off a darker smoky eye - one you might create with the eye palette from the La Femme Bleue Armani Spring Collection 2011. This is a complete collection, meaning that all of the new pieces coordinate beautifully. That's nice for those who have little time to experiment, but want a polished, elegant look.

Some pink lipsticks are too light for me. They make me look washed out. When I first saw this one in the tube, I feared it might be too light. Not! It's gorgeous. I love the silky finish and subtle shine, and the true pink color is lovely.

Rouge d'Armani is a long-lasting lipstick. It's not drying like some, although I don't get a full eight hours of wear from it. The Rouge d'Armani lipsticks have a very soft and creamy texture. Historically, dry textures have kept me from embracing long-wear lipsticks. Most feel like chalk on my balm-addicted lips. These feel great, even without Armani's fabulous Lip Shimmers added as a finishing touch. I'll admit, though, that most of the time I wear gloss over my lipsticks. I'm a gloss gal at heart. I am not sure I'll need gloss with Dawn Pink.

Here's an introduction to Rouge d'Armani from Giorgio Armani Beauty.

The lipsticks use Color-Fil technology. Giorgio Armani pioneered this breakthrough cosmetic color technology, which owes its highly innovative formula to a unique color bond agent. Color bond, the result of seven years of research and 20 patents, offers exceptional qualities of comfort, luminosity, and color intensity.

Color bond is a revolutionary polymer architecture with an exceptional property that weaves highly selected ingredients into a supple 3D matrix that adheres durably to lips. Its made-to-measure architecture, made of two “parts,” is able to unite two contrasting properties: hold and comfort. Its smooth surface optimizes light reflection, revealing a new color vibrancy.

The ingredients allow Armani Beauty to achieve the perfect formula, with exclusive emollients and "micronized" waxes that slip onto lips for a smooth, melting, comfortable application. The spherical micro-pigments fuse with the color bond agent for rich, vibrant color. There are two lightweight oils - one for perfect affinity with the lips for comfort, the other for a smooth and satin finish.

Dawn Pink is swatched in my photo at right, which was taken indoors in direct sun. You can see the pretty shine and pure pink color. I may need to purchase a second one of these. The prettiest new colors always seem to be limited editions!

You can find La Femme Bleue Armani at the Giorgio Armani Web site, Neiman Marcus, or wherever you normally purchase your Armani Beauty products. I will be showing you the rest of my purchases from the collection tomorrow. Come back - there's much more to see.

Photo at top courtesy of Giorgio Armani Beauty

Giorgio Armani Beauty La Femme Bleue Armani Spring Collection 2011 Eye Palette

I got my hands on the new La Femme Bleue Armani Spring Collection 2011, and it's stunning - even better than I anticipated! I will be featuring the pieces today and over the next few days.

My shopping fortune came with help from Kathy Shoreman, super Sales Associate at Neiman Marcus at Tysons Galleria. She not only sent me swatch photos via her iPhone, she personally delivered my purchases. I am starting to feel like a princess - and that has been one of the only benefits (so far) to my knee surgery!

La Femme Bleue Eye Palette ($58) is much more subdued than it appears in the photo immediately below. As with most Armani powder eye shadow palettes, it provides complementary eye shadows that can be worn in various combinations for an elegant look. While these shadows appear, with the exception of the white shade, to be vibrant, the intensity is controllable. Use a light hand, and you will have a soft wash of color. Use a heavier hand, and you will see the colors pop. It's up to you.

Kathy told me that the Armani artist at her store had applied the colors on her (she is fair-skinned and blond), and even her husband (accustomed to Kathy coming home with a new look every night) remarked on her pretty look. When the guys start to notice, we take notice! After playing with the shadows, I can see why he was impressed. They are lovely.

La Femme Bleue, 4 eye designing colors, as seen on the Giorgio Armani Spring/Summer 2011 runway, offers distinct jewel tones that apply sheerly for a soft daytime look, but are buildable for an extravagant runway smoky eye. The shadows are pressed in a metallic signature Armani palette. Giorgio Armani's Micro-Fil formula combines color impact and exceptional layering properties, thanks to micronized pigments that can be layered and blended infinitely. They form a fine film of full, rich color intensity and create a translucent luminous effect.

I applied the four shadows to my arm for my swatch photo with a sponge-tipped applicator, and I applied them fairly heavily to get the photo, which was taken inside in one of the few snatches of sunshine we had this morning as the clouds rolled in - again. The violet/purple shade at the top is a blue-violet, a shade I can wear. The green is drop-dead gorgeous, a shimmering tropical treat. The white is white, with shimmer. On the lids it has more punch than it does on my pale arm. I'm going to call the accent shade chocolate-grey (I am not sure how else to describe the hybrid color). It's a beautiful shade. You can use it lightly to contour, or more heavily to line the eyes. It looks fabulous smudged lightly under the lower lashes on the outer corner of the eye. All four shades will be useful.

I can"see" the violet/chocolate-grey combination and the green/chocolate-grey combination on myself. I think we will love the versatility of this palette for creating spring looks.

You can find La Femme Bleue Armani at the Giorgio Armani Web site, Neiman Marcus, or wherever you normally purchase your Armani Beauty products. I will be showing you the rest of the collection later today and tomorrow. Stay tuned!

Photos at top courtesy of Giorgio Armani Beauty

Clinique Milly Pretty in Prints Compact

Clinique introduced a very pretty compact for spring! The Milly Pretty in Prints Compact ($36) is characterized by the exuberant prints and colors for which fashion's Milly is known. The silver mirrored compact features a versatile eye shadow quad in rich browns and delicate pinks plus a coordinating cheek color. It's a bargain at $36!

The palette comes in its own colorful Milly drawstring pouch - cute and useful for storing earrings - applicators, and a how-to card. You can see from the photo above that the design of the pouch is reflected in the compact, a nice touch.

I always love the combination of pink and chocolate. The shades flatter each other. The look you can create with these shades will make you pine for spring. It's tender and soft.

I swatched all shades using a sponge-tipped applicator, and I took my photo inside in direct sunlight. The shadows are shown above the blush. At the top is the ivory shade, almost invisible on my arm except for the shimmer. It's the perfect base to create the look on the lids, though. The other three shades are swatched in the top-down order shown in the palette photo above. I adore the shimmering bronze-brown shade. I'll be using it a lot - with our without the other shades in the palette. The rich matte brown shade is a perfect liner.

The blush is beyond gorgeous. To my eye, it's a true pink. I applied it fairly heavily on my arm so that you could see the shade. I love it!

The instruction card says to sweep the ivory shade from lash line to brow. Layer the pink shade over the lid to the crease. Contour the outer corner of the eye with the shimmering brown, and then define the upper and lower lash lines with the matte liner. You could do that, or make your own mix. I think you'll like it.

You can find the Milly Pretty in Prints Compact at Clinique counters nationwide. I purchased mine at Neiman Marcus.

Photo courtesy of Clinique

Dior Cannage Palette Accessoire du Regard in Whisper Grey for Spring 2010

Dior introduced two new Cannage Palettes for spring. Neiman Marcus had one of them - the prettiest, in my opinion. Dior Cannage Palette Accessoire du Regard in #002, Whisper Grey ($62) was a gorgeous addition to my spring makeup purchases.

Directly inspired by interlacing lines and sensual curves of the mythic Lady Dior, the unprecedented Dior Cannage palette, in quilted black, enhanced by the famous “D-I-O-R” metal charms (which I find superfluous - I don't need charms on my makeup), opens to reveal a palette of divinely quilted eye shadows set off with pink and ivory to adorn the eyes.

I find it interesting that Dior calls Whisper Grey the "dark" palette of the two. The other, Dawn Grey, appears to have darker shades in the photos I've seen. The shades in the Whisper Grey palette whisper "look into my eyes," subtly and with the magic we expect from spring shades. Lovely!

The sun finally came out here, after days of heavy clouds and an ice storm, and I was able to get a swatch photo for you. I applied the shadows with a sponge-tipped applicator and took the photo inside in a sunny window. You can see that three of the shades are shimmering pastels (I'm not sure what the dark mark on my arm is - I don't see it now). I swatched the palette, starting at top left with the pink shades, in a clockwise rotation.

The pink is subtle, a pink shade I can wear. The shimmering grey is taupe to my eye - and the eyes of several Neiman Marcus beauty experts. It's a gorgeous shade, which has just a hint of khaki in it in certain lighting. The ivory shade is a white tempered by a hint of beige that allows it to coordinate perfectly with the taupe. It's a very natural white for highlighting. The darkest shade, for a quiet eyeliner or pretty contour is a taupe-grey hybrid.

I am enormously pleased with this quad! Others must be too because I hear it has already sold out at the Tysons Galleria Neiman Marcus. You can find it at other Neiman Marcus stores, I'm sure (or ask your sales associate to order it for you), and you should be able to find it at other Dior department store counters. I am not sure what the strategy was for the distribution of the two palettes (and who got what), but this one's worth the hunt.

Photo at top courtesy of iswii.net