An Armani Jacquard Woven Look

Last Saturday I stopped by my local Saks for a look at the Armani fall collection. Armani "National Face Designer" Francisco Zacarias was visiting the store, and offered to do an impromptu application of the new fall colors. It was the first time I had ever had an entire face of makeup done by someone else and it was a learning experience and a fun way to get out of my makeup rut. 

Because I don't have a lot of lid space he advised that instead of applying a thick line above the lashes as I normally do, a better method for me, and one that creates a more modern look, is tight-lining below the upper lashes. I'm not sure if I'm ready to give up my top liner, but this is nice for a change and definitely results in a more bright-eyed appearance. 

Normally I use powder foundation, just because I am a bit lazy and find it very convenient and easy to apply, but he recommended using a luminizer along with a liquid foundation instead, for a more youthful and dewy look. (Be careful to use luminizers and highlighters sparingly because they sometimes have the effect of causing pores to appear larger.) He used Luminous Silk Foundation #5 and a bit of Fluid Sheer #2. The whole look is simple and easy to recreate and only took about 10 minutes! 

Although these are colors from the fall collection I think the look he created with these soft icy greens and rosy tones is more spring-like. 

Eye Pencil 6 - Emerald (blackened green)

He used a mixture of the seafoam green and pale golden sage on the lid and a touch of the strawberry pink from Jacquard Woven Face Palette in the crease, tight-lined upper and lower water lines with the blackened green liner #6, and brushed some of the darkest green shade from Jacquard Woven Eye Palette #1 over the pencil liner along bottom lashes for a smokier effect. (He didn't use any of the dark purple shade from the palette.)

Jacquard Woven Eye Palette 1

Below are links to a few other posts that feature looks using the Armani Jacquard Woven Palette 1 which may be helpful:

• Front Row Beauty
• Perilously Pale
• Messy Wands
• Glitter Geek

Gloss d'Armani Pink 503

  

I really love the new Gloss d'Armani shades. Pink 503, a shimmery cool rose, is a favorite. I've only worn it a couple of times, but it seems to be longer lasting than other glosses I've tried. It's the perfect complement to sheer mauve Rouge d'Armani 525. 

Rouge d'Armani 525

Above: Rouge d'Armani 525, Gloss d'Armani Pink 503 and

Smooth Silk Lip Pencil 12

  

Jacquard Woven Face Palette 1

in sunlight

The swatch on the left is all of the shades blended together and on the right are the shades swatched individually. As you can see, the darkest shade packs a punch. When mixed with all of the other shades the resulting color is a shimmery bronze-rose. This is a versatile palette with shades that can be used as blush, highlighter, and eye shadow. 

in flash lighting

in sunlight

in flash lighting

Palette ingredients - click to enlarge: 

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Dolce & Gabbana Fall 2011 Sweet Temptations

The Fall 2011 Sweet Temptations collection includes the following items: 

Cocoa - matte pale chamois-beige, matte soft warm orange, shimmery sienna-brown, shimmery plum-brown

Cinnamon - shimmery pale pink, shimmery champagne-beige 

Candied - shimmery light yellow gold

Green Almond - dark metallic green

Cinnamon cream lipstick 

Almond shine lipstick - warm nude with subtle shimmer

Chocolate nail lacquer - dark chocolate brown

Praline lipgloss - warm nude-pink with subtle shimmer

Berry lipliner 

Shimmer illuminating powder - cool, pale dusty brownish-rose

Mocha blush

You may notice there are a few items on the list above that don't have color descriptions and that's because I haven't seen photos of them and didn't want to take a wild guess! If you haven't already, visit the Beauty Look Book for excellent swatches, photos and some very helpful comparisons, as well as features on a couple of the items that are not shown here, Praline lip gloss and Almond lipstick. I purchased five items: the eye quad, the eye duo, one eyeliner (Candied), the illuminating powder, and the nail lacquer. 

Misha's Cupcakes

As you can see, I got a little carried away with the Sweet Temptations theme of this collection. I've pretty much eaten my way through this post, and I think I may have gained a pound or two along the way! 

This product is quite unlike anything I've tried. I originally thought this was a highlighter. The name Shimmer is a bit deceptive because this is not at all shimmery, although it does give the very subtlest glow to the skin. It is a nude/flesh-toned pink with brown tones. The very fair-skinned might be able to use this as a natural-looking blush/bronzer/contour. It goes on a bit darker than it appears in the pan. On my medium-fair skin I can brush this on liberally and use it in the same manner as a bronzer. 

 

Cinnamon duo is a nice basic palette, and these shades are especially useful as overall lid colors for simple, everyday looks. I will probably use these mainly for brow bone and inner-corner highlighting. The texture of the pink shade is a tad chalkier in comparison to the champagne beige. There are many similar shades on the market, but I do like that these are not metallic or frosty. They have a nice balance of shimmer to brighten the eyes, while avoiding an overly reflective appearance. 

mmm...coffee cake

Candied eyeliner looks like a white gold, but on the eyes it comes across as more of a light yellow gold. I like to use light shimmery shades like this to brighten up the inner third of my eyes, but wouldn't use this all on its own. I used it today on the entire lower lash line and applied some dark shadow along the outer half for definition. The pencil worked well as a base for the shadow to adhere to. 

I like Candied for that little extra shimmer factor, which can transform a look from dry and dull to bright and sparkling. If you don't like yellow gold tones but would like to try one of their highlighting eye pencils, I would choose instead Shimmer eyeliner, which is a pearly champagne-pink.  

Compared to Nars Alhambra and Sugarland duos below: 

chocolate covered graham cookies

Chocolate nail lacquer is a very dark brown that is essentially the color of Hershey's chocolate syrup. The formula is thick, gives a glossy finish and covers adequately in two coats. 

Looks chocolately good!

in flash lighting 

Cocoa eye quad contains a shade I've never tried before, a matte orange. Since I bought this sight unseen I thought it was perhaps a peach but, as you can see by the swatches it is truly orange. I was surprised, though, that it is not difficult to wear and can be toned down with the buff shade. It can also be used in the crease and is useful to blend out the edges of either of the brown shades. I would not recommend Cocoa to those who avoid warm shades, as two out of four colors in the palette are extremely warm. The texture and pigmentation of these is very nice, although the plum brown seemed a bit powdery. The sienna brown was smoother and seemed more better pigmented. The buff shade was finely-milled, with no chalkiness.  

Above is my first attempt at using this quad this morning. The shades blended together produce an overall burnt umber effect. I used all four colors here, and the Candied eye pencil on the inner corner. Although both browns in the quad have shimmer, it is very subtle, so the look created is for the most part a matte one. (Sorry, these photos aren't the greatest to show what the colors really look like.) 

a slightly better view of the Cinnamon duo and Candied liner

in flash lighting

Have a great weekend!