Giorgio Armani Fall Collection 2011 - Jacquard Woven Face Palette

Have you seen the Armani Jacquard Face Palette yet?  It's part of the Fall 2011 Collection along with two eye palettes (Jacquard Woven Eye Palette 2 was reviewed by Cindy here).  It contains an ivory highlighter, a bronze and a beige shade for contouring and a bright red pop of color.  The colors in the palette look so beautiful and they glisten in the light.  Just like the eyeshadow palettes, these feel so smooth and almost creamy.  You can see how pigmented the colors are with just one swipe of an eyeshadow brush.  

Giorgio Armani Jacquard Face Palette

one brush swipe

It took me a bit of experimenting to get the right combination of colors out of this palette.  The first few times, I was getting either too much of the white highlight or the red color and I end up looking like I'm frosted.  Only good if you're a cupcake!  After a bit of experimenting, I finally figured out a way to get the right combination. I apply a blend of the middle shades first then layer a touch of the highlighter on my cheekbones and a light application of the red blusher on the apples of my cheeks.  

The SA suggested that this palette could also be used on the eyes but I'm not daring enough for that!

Now that I have the application technique down, this blush is a must have!  It gives me a nice flush of color and a light glow.  Stunning enough to wear on a night out and subtle enough for a day at work.

Your Regular Makeup Addict,

Claire

LMdB Peau Vierge Anti-Aging Complexe SPF 20 has everything you need!

I was lusting over this tinted moisturizer for a while.  Is $125US
worth it for a tinted moisturizer? Granted, it's like having four
products in one. It has skincare in the form of Retinol, SPF, base
makeup and highlighter all in one. I'm sure if you buy all those products it would amount to more than that.

After months of waiting and deliberating, I was able to try it! 
I have to say I don't really notice and difference on my skin after
I wash this product off. I know, I know, I probably have to be more patient to see any real difference this would make to my skin.   

I do love the glowy, dewy finish this tinted moisturizer gives me. 
Whenever I wear this it makes my skin look so smooth and make it
look like I have no pores. I also love it for going out at night. I just add a bit of foundation on spots where I need it for extra coverage. However, this would probably not be my first choice to wear on a nice sunny day. This product contains very fine light reflecting particles that sparkle in the sun if it hits you just right.

I have combination/oily skin in the summer and this product doesn't 
cause me to break out and it feels like I'm wearing nothing on my
face. On days that I need more moisture, I do apply a light moisturizer on top of it.  I was told by the SA that for this product to work, it must be applied directly to your face. 

This is shade 2 (formerly light-medium)

All in all, this is a great tinted moisturizer to have if you've got 

the money to spend. I love the idea that it contains skin care as 
well as makeup. It gives you the flawless, luminous finish that it 
promises.

If you're not so concerned about the skincare properties that this 
product provides, the Laura Mercier Illuminating Tinted Moisturizer 
and Jouer Luminizing Moisture tint are nice alternatives for a fraction of the cost.

Your Regular Makeup Addict, 

Claire 

Sneak Peek - Next Review (what, already?)

I don't know how you guys will feel about me reviewing a palette that is very difficult to track down and NOT available in Australia but I must share the love!

Le Metier De Beaute - Splendid Frost

 Ok, at least stay tuned to look at the pretty pictures! Watch this space ^.^

xoxo Cindy

Giorgio Armani Fall Collection 2011 - Jacquard Woven Eye Palette 2

As I sit here at home, watching Community (you must watch this show or you're NOT cool enough to follow my blog...just kidding (not really)), i thought, what better way to multitask other than watching my current favourite show AND make a blog entry :D


I was given the newly released Giorgio Armani Jacquard Woven Eye Palette #2 for my birthday and I am ever so grateful to my friends! I am loving this palette and I will tell you why.


These shadows, they are like butter... so smooth, so finely milled, and applies so beautifully. The texture, blendability, and pigmentation are amazing. The woven pattern is so delicate that I just want to stare at it forever.

Giorgio Armani Jacquard Woven Eye Palette 2

 
The palette consists of four colours - a shimmery silver, a frosty light blue, a gorgeous taupe and a red-based dark brown. To tell you the truth, this is quite a difficult palette to pull off for warm-toned girls. Out of the two eye palettes released, this one leans more cool.

Swatches Photographed with Flash

Swatches Photographed without Flash

This is how I would wear this palette: silver in inner corner of eyes, light blue on inner half of the lid and lower lashline, use the taupe to smoke out the light blue, then use the dark brown as eyeliner and also lightly smudge on the outer lower lashline.

This limited edition palette retails for 135AUD and is available at David Jones Perth City and Claremont Quarter.

Bottom Line: This palette is the most expensive makeup item I own. However, Giorgio Armani is renowned for producing high quality makeup and their collections are always highly anticipated amongst makeup aficionados. If you like great quality, highly wearable colours for everyday wear and have the extra cash to spend, then you have to pick this up ASAP. I suspect that the face and eye palettes will be flying off the shelves despite the high price tag.

Till next time!

xoxo Cindy

Shu Uemura Nova Diva Collection 2011

As fall collections begin to hit stores, I am filled with anticipation because I think that fall collections offer some of the most gorgeous selection of colours and hues!

This year's fall collections don't disappoint.

Giorgio Armani's Jacquard Collection consists of the most gorgeous delicately woven face and eye palettes (95 AUD and 135 AUD respectively), two limited edition blushing fabrics (74 AUD) and some other items that did not register because i was so busy staring at the palettes...

Guerlain offers a WHOPPING collection of 9 eyeshadow palettes, 3 Rouge G lipsticks, 3 eyeliner pencils and one liquid liner. I can't honestly remember the last time a collection of this size has been released by Guerlain.

Shu Uemura has just released the Nova Diva Collection for fall. It hit stores just last week and I have managed to buy a few items from the collection. The official promo pics are shown below.

Aren't they just gorgeous??? The full collection includes:

•  Prima Palette - Beautiful Limited Edition Black Refillable Empty Palette that is adorned with white lace pattern
• Cream Cheek in Amber
• Cream Shimmer Highlighter in Radiant Pearl
• Shimmer Eyeliner in Cosmetic Silver
• Rouge Unlimited Supreme Matte in Sensual Red - ultra red shade, Angelic Pink - lush matte pink, Evil Pink - bad-girl pink, Darling Beige - rich, creamy beige, and Alluring Brown - tempting beige.
• Limited Edition Eye Lashes - Tutu Lace Flare -layered black lace with subtle gold glitter

I purchased the lace palette, cream cheek & cream shimmer highlighter, and the limited edition eyelashes.

The lace pattern on the limited edition quad palette is actually very subtle in real life.

The cream cheek in Amber is incredibly soft and pigmented, and it blends like a dream. The colour is a peachey beige that will flatter warm undertones best but i think neutral/cooler skintones can make it work. The colour will look best on light-medium skintone. Darker girls might find that they need to pack on the colour to see any noticable effect on their cheeks.

The cream cheek highlighter is my favourite item from this collection!! It has a sheer diamond white base with multicoloured shimmer (note: NOT glitter, yay! Hate glitter myself LOL). I find that the cream cheek highlighter is probably a tad less blendable then the Amber, which is probably due to the presence of microshimmer in the product. However, it is still very high quality and foolproof for those of us who are not used to cream products. The sheer base allows this highlighter to look natural and just glows where you have applied it. The cream cheek highlighter can also be layered on top of a matte cream blush to add a bit of a glow to your cheeks. I LOVE makeup items that have multiple uses!

The top swatch is the Amber cream cheek, layered with the Radiant Pearl cream cheek highlighter. Apologies for the crappy pictures in advance, I am new at this! ^.^ The Amber cheek colour has been sheered out before lighting dabbing on radiant pearl.

The middle swatch is a heavy swatch of the Amber cream cheek. I heavily applied the cream cheek in Amber on my wrist and I am happy to report that the result still looks really natural and beautiful.

The bottom swatch is of Radiant Pearl. Once again, this is a heavy swatch to show the multicoloured shimmer of Radiant Pearl.

I must admit, I purchased the tutu lace flare fake lashes purely because it is such a collector's item. Will I ever get to use it? Probably not. But it just looks sooo pretty in the box and also in the poster.

Bottom Line: Shu Uemura has definitely hit it out of the park with his fall collection! Oh my gosh, I am drooling over everything he has released! The quality of the packaging is top notch, and the cream cheek in Amber and highlighter in Radiant Pearl proves to be such versatile and wearable colours that I can imagine myself reaching for it often. His products are just such good quality and I can't get enough!!!

Recommendation: The Radiant Pearl Cream Cheek Highlighter & Prima Palette are both must have items from this collection. Radiant Pearl is the most unique highlighter I have ever come across. The prima palette is just drop dead gorgeous and will definitely thrill Shu Uemura fans. Cream cheek in Amber is nice to have if you don't already have similar colours and the tutu lace flare lashes is not something you can wear often (or if at all), so you can definitely skip this if you are not a die-hard fan of Mr. Shu!

I hope you have enjoyed my review of the Shu Uemura Nova Diva Collection 2011. I hope to review more products from this collection (especially one of the lippes!!) in the future.

Stay tuned for our next entry which will be the Giorgio Armani Jacquard Woven Eye Palette #2.

Ciao!

xoxo Cindy

First Post

Welcome to A Girl's Guide to Makeup! I know, I know, its a bit of a lengthy name but i think it rolls off the tongue don't you? ^.^

My name is Cindy and I am one half of A Girl's Guide! The/My other half, the awesome Claire, will be blogging all the way from Canada. We are both self confessed makeup addicts and we hope to review the latest offerings in the makeup world!

We hope you will join us as we navigate the world of makeup. We will do our best to make this fun and share with you our honest reviews and opinions. Stay tuned for our next blog post and first ever makeup review.

In the meantime, stay beautiful (inside and out)!


xoxo,
Cindy & Claire