Giorgio Armani Beauty Fall 2012 Collection

A return to timeless classic fall colors, a return to elegance. The new Giorgio Armani Beauty Fall 2012 Collection is a lot like the fashion we are seeing for fall, a masculine femininity and even though it’s an oxymoron in terms no one pulls it off better than Giorgio Armani. The masculine shades create a  sultry, smoky eye while softening the face with the nude and soft pink shades of blush. Linda Cantello tells Fab Over 40;

“Giorgio Armani is very inspired by nature, and I think there is a reason for that: we look best with the colors we find in nature. Giorgio Armani loves and is able to capture these kind of colors that are neither greys, neither beiges, that are indefinable colors, which is what makes them so interesting.”  Linda Cantello, international make-up artist for Giorgio Armani Cosmetics

When I first saw these new Neo Black and Neo Brown compacts I was thrilled! I began my beauty crush on Giorgio Armani Beauty when it first arrived on the beauty scene several years ago and one of my biggest loves then were the incredible layered compacts that we haven’t seen in awhile.  In classic Armani fashion the compact is a high shine black with the GA insignia clasp. The top layer is the cheek color and then lift that and the second layer is where you’ll find the trio eye shadows.

Neo Brown (#2) is the palette shown at the top.  The blush is a warmer tone of pink with just a hint of peach and a subtle amount of shimmer. The shadow trio is a light taupe in a satin finish a medium red brown with a matte finish and a dark charcoal brown as the third shade, also in a matte finish.  What I noticed right away as these mattes are not dull mattes, but instead have a nearly undetectable shimmer, making them not as flat as a typical matte. In the box you receive a chart for creating a day or evening eye look. For day they suggest the lightest shade all over the eye, then the middle shade on the lid and line the eye with the darkest shade.  For evening the chart suggests lining the upper and lower lash line with the darkest shade, placing the middle shade on the lid and the lightest shade just below the brow on the outer edge, rather than all over. Then take the lightest shade and place it in the inner corner of the eye to brighten it up.

Neo Black (#1) is the palette shown at the bottom.  The shades are a light greige in a satin finish, a medium grey and a charcoal black. For the face the shade is a neutral beige that can sculpt the cheek and add warmth to the face rather than a pop of color, as the eye shadows are where the color is concentrated on. There are three lip shades shown with the collection – #111 a nude shade, #408 a deep plum and #526 and rosy brown.  This collection is a true classic.