Available in Ireland since about April, I'd had my interest piqued Giorgio Armani's Eyes To Kill Eyeshadow range prior to that with tantalising pre-release info. "A breakthrough super shine, high voltage color film that glides on and vibrates around the clock. Powder-free Eyes to Kill Intense blends and layers to create a deep color water resistant, crease proof finish and a spectacular eye," trumpeted the brand. OOooOOoh, I thought, I'd like a birra that.
But at €26 a pop, these shadows clearly ain't the cheapest. However - and for this I lay the blame squarely at Christine from Temptalia's door - I found my resolve was weakening with each review and set of images she posted. And on a sunny day a few weeks ago, walking down Grafton street, I suddenly found myself in Brown Thomas, and what was even more odd, at the Giorgio Armani counter swatching the bejaysis out of the display samples.
The first thing that struck me about these fellers long before I saw them in the flesh was that they appear to be amazingly, remarkably similar to L'Oreal Paris' Colour Infallible range. Lancome have also done limited edition products in the past year or so called Ombres Magnetiques, which I haven't tried, but which are apparently also very alike.
Well, it's not that remarkable really - the three brands are under the same parent umbrella and in the case of L'Oreal Paris and Giorgio Armani both pots of product even have the same little inner cap which helps to tamp down this hybrid cream-meets-pigment shadow. In touch and on-the-eyelids-actually-wearing-'em tests, both products I've tried are identical in texture and I'm pretty sure the formulations are more or less the the same.
What gets you to pay €26 as opposed to €10.49? Well, luxury cachet and a glass pot, I guess, but crucially, the real clincher is how amazingly gorgeous and fabulous they look. Where Colour Infallible has one shimmery shade per pot, Eyes to Kill is a marbled presentation of two high-shine colours that will swirl together for a dramatic result.
These really do offer a big point of difference for a beauty lover because you ain't seen anything like this before - yeah, sure, we've had baked swirls and marbled whatsits. But we haven't had marbled nuggets of gleaming gorgeousness in this formulation and for many, that'll be more than enough of an enticement. So, that's the why on the €26, capiche?
Here's my purchase, shade 1 Blue Blast, on the bottom right, and I've compared it to of the most similar colours in the L'Oreal Paris range, All Night Blue and Flashback Silver. Note, this particular image was taken with flash.
Advertised
You can't get an exact match for cheaper and that's quite smart thinking on both brand's part really - there's no possibility of a straight dupe, unless, of course L'Oreal Paris give us a gold in Colour Infallible and then we'll have to think again!
Blue Blast, Flashback Silver and All Night Blue
Again, this image was taken with the flash so I could pick up on the colour properly. The Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill product looks differently depending on the light because of the two shades interracting.
These swatch excellently which is grand if you want to wear your eyeshadow on your hand, but how does €26 worth of creamy powder hybrid work on the eye? Really well, you'll be glad to hear. You can check out Blue Blast in action in this smokey eye look, where it's worn alongside All Night Blue. I like using them together, because the formulation's the same (or if it's not the same, it's as near as), so they blend perfectly.
Worth it? This is an issue between you and your pocket. I do want to pick up another couple, definitely. There's a khaki shade that's calling my name, hard. If you can't stretch to the money - and it is a lot, lets not be kidding - then the L'Oreal Paris offerings are blimming brilliant all on their own. They don't offer the multidimensionality of the Giorgio Armani product but on the other side of that, you won't have to eat beans on toast for dinner for a week.
This is shaping up to be a very long post so I'll leave you with a little look at the colours in the Giorgio Armani Eyes To Kill Eyeshadow range. Unfortunately the pic doesn't match the numbers below, I don't think - tis a mystery.
Advertised
- Blue blast
- Sienna Red
- Earth Explosion
- Rich and Rare
- Gold Blitz
- Pink Pulse
- Silver fire
- Lapis Lazulis
- Magic Marble
- Obsidian
- More than Purple
- Moonlight
Psst: I'd urge you to check out all of Christine's swatches and take note of the shades you like before you go to purchase, by the way - the testers are well muddied at this stage and it's a bit hard to work out what's what as they're not nicely separated-out colour-wise anymore.
