Armani Face&Eye Summer 2013 Palette Review and Comparison

While Armani fans were waiting eagerly for the long expected nail polish launch, the company released a gorgeous Face&Eye Palette for this summer. It had been a sudden hit and already reviewed by many lovely blogs (e.g. Cafe Make-up, Beauty Look Book, Temptalia) but I would still like to share this it with you today, as it is one of my top picks within summer collections. I also would like to point out to a feature of the top layer highlighter/bronzer, which seems to me that is not covered by many.

Similar to last year's Face&Eye Palette releases, this one also consists of two layers. On the top layer there is a shimmery bronzer/highlighter. Highlighter has an irregular sun ray pattern with Giorgio Armani's signature embossed on it. To me it looks like molten gold in a pan embracing summer sun. 

The second layer keeps three eye shadows and two sponged tip applicators. One of the sponge applicators has only one sponge, making it three application sides in total, one for each eye shadow. These are useful for on the go touch up.

Eye colors in the second layer of this palette are:

#1: Shimmery warm champagne

#2: Natural peach with golden shimmer

#3: Shimmery bronze-brown  

All are very smooth to touch and pigmented. #1 is a great highlighter shade for my eye make-up as it is lighter than my NC20-25 skin tone. #2 gives just enough color for a soft look all over the eye lid. #3 can be used to define crease as well as on its own for a stronger eye look. All of the shades have enough shimmer to appear complex yet not over the top.

Below is the eye look I wore several times last week (yes I can't get enough of this one). It is a soft polished look, that is great for day time, work but it would work great for beach parties and summer banquets. There are only three eye shadows but the look comes with them is universally flattering and modernly chic.

For this eye make-up I used #2 all over the lid, extending it a bit to my crease as a base color. I then defined my crease and outer corner of the eye with MAC 217 using #3, blending it outwards with #2. I then highlighted the inner corner of the eye using #1 and used this shade also sparingly under the brow bone.

I applied a mixture of #2 and #3 along the lower lash line. I finished this look by sliding a brown pencil along upper lash line and setting it with #3. I also used Chanel's Stylo Eyeliner Or Rose along my lower water line and the dark green Armani Mascara for upper and lower lashes. 

Next I would like to show you some recently released palettes with similar colors for comparison. The following palettes have similar concept of peachy neutrals: Armani Eyes to Kill Palette No.10 and from Chanel's Hong-Kong collection, Pearl River.

The similarity between Armani Eyes to Kill No.10 and summer palette was the reason why I hesitated before I purchased my Face&Eye palette. On the other hand considering that this quad is one of my favorites of ETK releases, I could still justify buying the other after trying the top layer highlighter at the counter.

For the following photo, I swatched only the closest shades, denoted by the numbers. It can be seen that the peach color of Chanel's quad is more orange, denser and more matte compared to the similar shades from Armani ETK No.10 or the second layer of F&E Palette. Second highlighter shade of Chanel quad is a bit more pigmented but very similar in color with the others, and the defining brown shade of this palette is much cooler and darker. Armani ETK #10 is very close to F&E eye shadows but they are not the same to me. I find F&E eye shadows to be more pigmented and even smoother, therefore the defining bronze shade (#3) is denser and the peach shade (#2) also shows more color on the lids. The effect on the eyes of these two are almost the same. If you don't have any of these and want to buy one, I would go for the F&E Summer Palette because I don't think the first shade (A10-1) adds much to the the palette for the end result an I found the eye shadows of F&E to have better quality.

Now let me talk about the top layer, which made me fall in love with this product. Let alone the design, which I can't emphasize enough how pretty it is, I can't believe how versatile this powder is. For me it works as a bronzer all over the cheek and as a highlighter to the high points of the face at the same time.

Let's take a closer look. I missed to see that it is ever mentioned in the blogs that this powders has an ombre property. It is much lighter on the left hand side, which gives only a slight wash of color and a gorgeous shimmer, and more pigmented on the right hand side, which works great as a shimmery bronzer for me. Please check out the swatches below to see what I mean. I find this to be a genius idea. It also means that, if you are fairer/darker, you can sweep your brush more to the right or more to the left. Isn't that great for summer and changing skin tone throughout this season? The highlighter/bronzer on the top layer makes sure you get the right color to make your cheeks play with the sun light regardless of your tan. I am loving this.

Final thoughts: If there would be a rating in Color Me Loud, this summer palette from Armani would surely get an A+ from me. Eye shadows are great to give a polished effortless summer look, which I can see working for a wide range of skin tones. The top layer has an ombre color concept, going from lighter to darker, making it a suitable highlighter (even a bronzer) for your changing skin color throughout the summer. This one is limited edition and selling out very quickly so be sure to reserve yours soon if you decide to get it (as I am writing this post, it is still available online at Armani's web page and I have spotted a few left at the local counters in Germany).

Have you checked out this palette? What do you think about combined releases of face and eye products like this one?