Armani Luminous Silk Foundation $58 Review & Swatches

"As seen in the press, capture the glow of perfect skin with this award-winning foundation. Luminous Silk foundation is an oil-free fluid with exclusive Micro-fil technology. So weightless, it redefines foundation. Its hydrating fluid glides on seamlessly with a silky texture and all-day, buildable coverage. For all skin types.

•weightless and luminous oil-free fluid
•natural finish
•all-day sheer to moderate coverage

application techniques:
Apply with the unique blender brush for a radiant, air-brushed finish." ~from the Armani Beauty website.

The sample foundation I received is shade #4.5 in Sand which is a match for MAC NC25.

Swatches

Here's some of the foundation right out of the tube.

The Verdict: A
This foundation is really light weight and goes on beautifully. You can build coverage from light to heavy and it doesn't cake either. I did not have any issues with this foundation oxidizing and I found it easy to apply by stippling or blending it in with a sponge.

It wears for a good 6 hours and although I haven't tried it out myself, I've heard it doesn't give you a "ghost-face" in photos taken with flash.

Sample Product Packaging
As alway's Armani's packaging is simple and tre chic. Even the sample has it's own outter packaging that seems to be made from heavy black construction paper.

The sample itself is a small squeezy tube. No complaints here. It's easy and tidy to dispense the foundation.

Armani Fluid Master Primer $55 Review & Swatches

I received this as a sample with a previous Armani Beauty order and I've finally gotten around to trying it out. Yea - took me forever and a day.

"An innovative primer for the face that smoothes skin's surface, refines pores and creates a flawless canvas on which to apply foundation.

•silky, gliding texture imparts a matte, yet transparent glow to skin
•smoothes away fine lines and imperfections
•perfectly even facial canvas for ideal application of foundation
•high comfort and make-up hold

application techniques:
Perform usual skin care routine to ensure a cleansed and moisturized face. Apply a small amount of product to the back of the hand. Using the fingertip, begin application to the center of the face, working outwards to cover the entire facial canvas, in upwards strokes." ~from the Armani Beauty website

Swatches

Here's a drop of the clear primer. The consistency is gel-like but it doesn't feel thick.

The Verdict: B-
I found this to be kinda meh. There's absolutely nothing wrong with it but I'm not wowed either. The primer is easy to spread over the face and is fairly lightweight. It holds foundation in place but I noticed that foundation tended to cake around dry patches. It didn't create that smooth surface I was looking for.

I have to say at least it didn't make my t-zone turn into an oil slick. My nose did start to get a bit shiny around the 2 hour mark and I had to blot with an oil-sheet.

Sample Product Packaging
As alway's Armani's packaging is simple and tre chic. The sample has it's own outter packaging. Now that's jsut too cool. The material of the box feels like heavy black construction paper.

The sample itself is a small squeezy tube. No complaints here. It's easy and tidy to dispense the primer.

Armani Eyes to Kill Mascara $28 Review

I can't remember where I got ahold of a sample of this stuff...I think it was a freebie from some other beauty purchase but regardless I loved it so much I had to get the full-sized mascara too!


The website description from Armani - "Dress the eye with powerful, plush, voluminous lashes. Fine, fluid Microfil technology creates intensely captivating lash texture. Micro-waxes combined with a fineness agent allow for smooth and easy application, revealing weightless volume and length."


There are several colors to choose from but I purchased the basic black. They named it #1 Steel Black. Which I thought was fitting because the mascara case feels like cool steel too. I think it's probably made from some type of heavy grade aluminum.


Here's a shot of the brush. The bristles on the brush are arranged in a spiral pattern and they're equal length all the way through except at the tip.


Look! It's a mommy and baby! Here's a shot of the sample and full-size mascaras side by side and a comparison of the brushes. I was impressed that the sample-size brush is the same size and quality as the full-size brush. The only noticeable difference besides the size was that the case of the sample is plastic while the case of the full-size is aluminum.



The Verdict: A-
My eyes are very sensitive and they get irritated or dried out very easily. I feel absolutely no discomfort with this mascara! It's weightless, doesn't flake or clump and defines my lashes all the way to the tip! What I really love is the fact that it dries very quickly. When I blink, I don't get that "gummy" feeling of my top lashes sticking to my bottom lashes.

If only this mascara would give my lashes some curl, I could die a happy woman. But unfortunately this mascara kinda undos my curl and my lashes are super duper straight naturally. It doesn't bother me much as I just go crazy with the eyelash curler to counter the mascara's straightening effect.

Despite that, I still really love this mascara because it's so comfortable I really don't even notice it's on - and this girl's all about comfort!

Giorgio Armani Lip Wax $26 Review & Swatches

Forget everything you know about lipstick, lipgloss, lip balm, and lip conditioners. I've never tried anything like this before. The Giorgio Armani Lip Wax $26 is simply AMAZING! I got it in shade #4 Raspberry.


On the Armani website it has the description: The incredibly smooth and silky texture of lip wax glides over lips leaving rich, tailor-made color. A modern vision of lip color, lip wax compact lipstick is a blush of color for lips. The ultra-fine and soft Micro-fil veil ensures a smooth and seemingly weightless result. To obtain a more precise distribution of color, apply with the Giorgio Armani lip brush. For a sparkling shine, add a layer of armani lip shimmer.


It's hard for me to describe but I'm gonna give it my best shot. Upon visual inspection, it appears to be any typical lip lacquer in a pot but the feel of this is very different. The lip wax barely softens upon contact and it imparts a deep color. I just use my fingers to apply this and it wears very much like stain minus the watery application. There's no smell to it and it doesn't hydrate nor dry out lips. Once it's applied, it's absolutely weightless and I actually forgot about it until I saw myself in a mirror. It's true stain because all it does is transfers color to lips. It's almost like staining your lips from drinking red wine.

Swatches

This is my natural lip color.


I applied the lip wax lightly by dabbing it on with my finger.

More dabbing.


Fully applied using a lip brush. The color's actually a lot more intense in person. I couldn't capture it fully with my camera.

The Verdict: A+

From my previous post you know that I'm dying to buy more of these babies. I'm hooked on this stuff!

The stain looks so natural and just sinks into the skin. You can build layers of color with this and go for a subtle or full-on look. The end result is a matte lip look. Also the color lasts forever. Literally. I had lunch with this stuff on and it was still on afterwards.

Giorgio Armani Beauty Parcel

Wahoo! Guess what came in the mail today? My order from Armani Beauty!


Can't wait to try everything out - I already swiped on some of the Lip Wax and OMG. It is unbelievable. I will buy more. I will buy them all.

I also purchased a full-size Eyes to Kill Mascara after loving the sample I received awhile back and I'll be trying out samples of the Fluid Master Primer and the Luminous Silk Foundation.

Shipping Experience: A
I was very pleased with the packaging from Armani. The items were well-cushioned and there was no empty space in the box for the items to be thrown around. It passed my "Shake for Sounds" test :) Also when I opened the box, none of the products were crushed or damaged.