Armani Eyes to Kill Excess Mascara

Armani was at one point my favourite Cosmetic brand and I bought all and everything from them. A few bad SA experiences and the arrival of new brands has meant that I only do the occasional buy. I feel saddened to have to write a bad review as I have a soft spot for the brand and in the days of Starlash I thought their mascara’s were unbeatable.
I initially really liked their original Eyes to Kill mascara, however found the formula changed after a month, going dry and clumpy. When I received the newer Excess version (£23.50) from my mother for Christmas, I was in two minds about the success I would have.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words:
As you can see it is not flattering. The formula is thick so it weighs down my lashes and also clumps them together. I’ve tried wiping the brush, but still get the same result. It also smudges and flakes on me. After less than a months use I threw this away. Hourglass Film Noir still remains my favourite mascara.

It perhaps sounds a strange thing to say but I would like to get back into Armani, I really liked the eyes to kill cream shadow formula and want to get some of the Spring collection. Armani was the first brand that surpassed everything that I had up to that point tried (this is way back around 2003). As a cosmetic fanatic there is always comfort to be found when you can find brands that are very “you”, ones you can trust and if anyone asks that question, if you could only have one brand of makeup, you would have an answer at the ready.

Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill Eyeshadow holiday 2010

The Eyes to Kill are Armani's newest shadow formula. The texture is in-between a powder and a cream. It applies really smooth and feels lightweight and comfortable on, I do apply a thin layer of primer to get it to last all day.

There are four shadows released for this winter, it seems America will have a delayed release of shade #14.
Shade 14 gold/black (£24) is a shimmery mix of charcoal/gold with a slight olive tone. The shade seems to vary depending on what angle you look at it.
The intensity of color and ease to blend is impressive.
Probably not the best picture, but this is it applied sheerly with a brush (this is after over 8 hours wear with a slight bit of primer).
I think they are meant to be releasing more shades next year which I am definitely interested in as I tend to not like the application of the majority of non powder shadows but I find this extremely easy to work with.
I bought this from Selfridges.

A mixed Wednesday: Liberty letdown, Armani pickup

I’ve been eyeing up the Le Metier de Beaute Dunes at Dusk Kaleidoscope Lip Kit for a while so finally decided enough was enough. I ordered it last weekend and just today received an email that it was sold out. I checked the site again this evening and it’s still showing for sale. I emailed Liberty to suggest that if something is sold out it might be best that they don’t show it as being available for purchase. Unfortunately, I’ve had this happen before with Liberty, surely keeping an up to date inventory is quite a straightforward procedure for a company of their size and means? At any rate I still do not have a Kaleidoscope kit, which I seem to be obsessing over; I’m hoping that Le Metier will expand its distribution so that another store will sell it online.

In other news, I bought a Rouge d’Armani lipstick. I went for a safe shade, beige 102 (£22 from Selfridges). It’s a perfect combination of pink, peach and beige and has a satin finish.
The texture feels very light on the lips but I do find it a little bit drying, it does last well however. I have to mention the packaging too; sleek as normal from Armani but this has a magnetic closure which I find strangely satisfying.

Armani Eyes To Kill mascara

This retails for £21. Available in four shades, I got shade#1 (Black), although I am tempted by the red one (shade#4) just to see what it would look like on. It comes in a sleek tube and is rather heavy !
Unfortunately I have rather bad lashes,short,very fine and not evenly distributed and kinda droopy, sounds good doesn't it ! Due to this I expect a lot from a Mascara, as I haven't got much to work with. I need length, thickness and curl. On the whole I would say that Armani mascara has always delivered the best results; the only one I wasn't keen on was Maestro. Soft lash is great for a more subtle look and Starlash was my favourite mascara out of every brand I have tried but this has now been discontinued.
I am happy to report that I am rather impressed by Eyes to Kill. It does add length, thickness and lift and I do not get any flaking or smearing at the end of the day. I think the only disadvantage is that if you try to build it you will get it go on clumpy, so luckily I am happy with the look I get from two coats of it, as below
Ideally I would rather spend less on a mascara, but for the last 4 months I have tried to find a cheaper one ( Rimmel, L'Oreal, MAC, Clinique, Boots 17 ) that works for me; instead they have all ended up in the bin and have cost me far more than had I just stuck to high end.
####UPDATE: after about a months use the formula went dry and started to apply really clumpy####

Armani Manta Ray fall collection 2009

Armani remain one of my favourite brands, at one point I had a ridiculous amount of their stuff but due to some bad customer service and poor brand accessibility ( I don’t live near any of the stores so mail order) I’ve have barely ordered Armani over the last two years.
My luminous silk powder finally ran out and as this is a holy grail for me I had to get a replacement, naturally I had to order a few bits with it :)
I got the eyes to kill mascara, which I’ll be reviewing separately as I like to wear a mascara for a few days before giving my thoughts (this costs a fun £21!). I also got the two Armanisilk lipsticks and the sheer blusher all from the Manta Ray fall collection. I did contemplate ordering one of the new Eyes to Kill palettes but at £49 each I thought that was a bit steep.
I really like the Armanisilk lipstick formula, its creamy, pigmented and lasts very well. These cost £19 each. Shade #93 is a cool toned mauve rose. Shade #92, is a cool toned vampy plum, I think it has a slight grey tone to it.
I also got sheer blush #12, this is a beautiful cool toned subtle pink with shimmer. I really love this shade, as I find a lot of pinks turn out warm on me or have different colour tones, whereas this is a true pink. I will say this applies sheer, great for me as I’m really pale so one application is enough but I do think this will work best on lighter skin tones.
Lipstick swatches L-R shade #93, #92