I’m headed to the Windy City for a few days to disconnect from the electronic world and to connect with family and girlfriends. To say my batteries need a little recharging is an understatement!  I look forward to several days without a computer, without blogging, and general doing without.  Instead I’m sure there will be some indulging in Chicago style pizza, shopping on Michigan Avenue and general laughing till it hurts.  A recharge we could all benefit from having time to time. Come back mid next week – I’m sure there will be a lot to discuss!

Tuesday I shared with you the vibrant shades in many of the Spring Collections.  Today I share with you the Giorgio Armani Beauty Spring Collection which was “inspired by Giorgio Armani’s love of light and its effect on color, gold takes center stage. Soft pastels are instantly updated with a hint of antique gold in a myriad of ways”.

These two eye palettes are classic Armani – elegant and understated.  The Eye Palette #1 (Top) features shades of pearl violet, jade green, sheer gold and greige.  The Eye Palette #2 is in shades of grey, metal fiber, copper pigment, crystal brown.

Here are my cell phone images:

Depending on your comfort zone of cool or warm shades, these palettes are both gorgeous and very wearable for any woman over 40.  Best Things in Beauty also has some wonderful images. Another piece in the collection that I fell in love with is the blush.

Tourmaline Pink blush is actually a pretty, soft and clear shade of pink with subtle shimmer. It’s not brightly colored and can actually be used as a highlighter too, because of  the soft shimmer and sheerness.

A few other pieces in the line are two eye liners that are antique gold and copper.  Both are quite light in color when thinking of the typical eye liner so using them as an accent can be a fun way to execute an updated look.  There are four new lipglosses in Beige, Brown, Rouge and Pink.  I was quite surprised by the Beige and Brown shades – especially the brown – it’s almost a muddy brown and really is a shade you may think of only used on a couture runway. Women with darker skin would possibly look best in this shade, but I would have to see it first on someone with darker skin to judge that.  The Pink shade is more lavender than pink and the Rouge, while deeper looking in the tube is a lovely coppery rose and my personal favorite of the lip shades.

Meet the face behind some of the most famous faces – Nico Guilis.  Nico, a well known makeup artist whose work has graced the faces of such celebrities and models as Sienna Miller, Katherine Heigl, Bar Refaeli and magazines such as Allure, Rolling Stone, Nylon and more.  As the makeup artist for The Luxury Collection’s premiere original short film “Here”, she is also a world traveler herself.  Nico became a makeup artist at the very young age of 14 and was inspired by her weekly oil painting classes and her mother’s makeup studio. She quickly rose to the top in her field after assisting other well-known makeup artists and now has a solo career and lives in New York.

Since Nico is in the beauty business and has access to nearly any product available, I figured she would have invaluable insight as to what are some fabulous travel beauty products that are must-haves.  Nico shares her list of essentials with Fab Over 40.

“The key to being a well prepared traveler is to have essential items that fit in one bag and can refresh and hydrate you after long travel days/jet lag.” Nico Guilis

• Coco Rouge Baume – Chanel’s lip balm
• Chanel Hand Cream
• Chanel Bronzer
• Rose Water Face Spray
• Mascara
• Chanel Ultra Precision Eye Cream
• Chanel Eclat Mask (hydrating mask)
• Hair Powder
• Roll-on essential oil
• Moisture and tint
• Sunglasses