While this summer palette from Armani is essentially the same as their 2011 holiday palette (only with black of mother-of-pearl instead of white), I'm in love with it…and the whole summer collection, for that matter.  I rarely connect to the descriptions that come with collections – I find them to be fairly empty – but the copy for Armani's Les Ecailles really spoke to me and is definitely part of the inspiration for the Museum's summer exhibition (coming soon!).  "This summer, Giorgio Armani Cosmetics reveals a new facet to uncover the mysterious allure of the sea: women’s beauty linked with the depths of the sea, where reds and oranges disappear, giving way to cooler liquid tones."   Linda Cantello, International Makeup Artist for Armani, says, "This collection is inspired by the play of moonlight on the ocean, by myriad shades from inky depths, by white and black pearls. The complexion is pale and luminous, lips are soft and feminine."  I love these two ideas:  the mystery held by the depths of the sea and the patterns light makes when it reflects off the ocean.

Onto the palette, which contains "a harmonious blend of deep sea blue, algae, lagoon turquoise and shimmering crest-of-a-wave white: colours to awaken eyes with a splash of natural radiance."

With flash:

Inside:

With flash:

As with the holiday 2011 Madreperla palette, this one draws on Armani's spring/summer 2012 fashion collection.   As one review says,  "The theme was aqua—or perhaps more accurately, what happens to aqua when moonlight hits it and causes all sorts of ripples and reflections."  I chose to highlight some of the darker-hued pieces from the collection:

In looking at the spring-summer collection again, I noticed that the colors on the runway are identical to some found in the summer makeup collection.  For example, these blue and aqua dresses are the same shades of the two middle colors in the summer palette. 

And this shimmery blackened teal blouse  is exactly the same as the summer collection's Eyes to Kill eye shadow in Obsidian Black (shown in natural light on top and with flash below):

(runway images from vogue.com)

Again, while a mother-of-pearl palette is more or less a repeat of holiday 2011's star product, I feel Armani took it in a new direction.  When you see the palette with the rest of the colors in the collection and compare them to those on the runway, it does feel more inspired and distinct from the white mother-of-pearl palette we saw a few months ago, rather than merely recycled.

What do you think?

I thought this was an odd choice for Armani, as I'm not sure if the brand is really known for using jacquard in their fashion.  It certainly doesn't seem quite as iconic as, say, Chanel's use of tweed.  However, I was pleased to see these palettes for their fall 2011 collection since their last few offerings have been a total snoozefest (I'm looking at you, ugly holiday 2010 compact).

I got one of the eye palettes (#2).

With flash:

Here's the description from Neiman Marcus:  "Jacquard – intricately woven color.  Light, transparency, density and color, woven together create the luxuriously sophisticated jacquard look for Fall 2011.  The famous jacquard fabrics, made primarily of silk, were constructed in a variety of complex weaves juxtaposing light, color and texture in a highly sophisticated design.  From textiles to cosmetics… Never before was Armani fabric artistry so close to makeup."  That's all well and good, but why now?  I set out to discover whether jacquard was featured prominently in Armani's fall 2011 fashion collection.  As far as I can tell, it was not (although it is  in Armani's ties.)  But I did find that he constructed a metallic jacquard shorts suit for Gwyneth Paltrow for the Iron Man 2 premiere last year:

(image from style.popcrunch.com)

If you squint really closely at the computer screen, you can almost make out the jacquard pattern:

(image from my.opera.com)

So  yes, it does seem that jacquard would be somewhat relevant to this makeup collection.  Also, I think fall is the best time of year to present a fabric-inspired pattern.  For summer you're looking for more lightweight fabrics that don't really have much of a texture (hmm, I do concede it would be cool if someone came out with a linen-patterned palette).  For fall, you want to break out the tweed, corduroy, cable knits, etc. – anything with a heavier knit and texture.  So jacquard may be fitting, shorts suit or not. 

What's next for Armani?  While last year's holiday palette was disappointing, this year's promises to be much better.  You will most certainly see it in the ever-glitzy holiday exhibition here at the Museum.  🙂

Armani loves to break out the Swarovski crystals this time of year (see last year's holiday palette) but like the 2008 palette this doesn't seem to have much to do with Armani fashion.  There isn't any sort of attempt to connect it to Armani's work in the product description:  "Shimmering and glittering palette adorned with fine crystals. Inside, an embroidered silky powder highlights the face and the décolleté. Featuring festive eye shadow shades."  Well, that's great but I'm a little disappointed there wasn't any link to the fashion.  In any case, here are some pics:

Inside:

Second tier:

I just couldn't resist getting a lipstick as well as the palette!

This is truly a beautiful design, however, I'm disappointed not only by a lack of connection to Armani fashion but also by the sloppiness of the crystal placement.  If you look at both the palette and lipstick case, the crystals aren't aligned properly – they're completely off-center.  I didn't bother to demand a replacement since I figured they're probably all like this, but as a collector you want your items to be in pristine condition.  Oh well.  

Even though it's still warm, fall is in full swing in the makeup world.  And that means tons of animal prints – not just in fashion but on compacts, like the "manta ray" pattern Armani's fall 2009 eye shadows.   "Inspired by the precious and luxurious materials used in Giorgio Armani fashion accessories, the palettes offer a beautiful selection of color harmonies inspired by nature.  The collection features subtle hues that offer a new take on the timeless color 'Greige,' created by Giorgio Armani."

Meh.  I'm just not sure how the pattern is much different from Armani's previously released fall offerings – it looks pretty similar to the python or croc palettes from years past.  I understand that it's Armani and the company wants to express how the designer is inspired by "precious and luxurious materials" in their accessories, but 1. this is a bit repetitive, and 2. I don't think Armani has used an actual manta ray in their accessories.  Thus, I don't think these are a must-have for the Museum.  Let's hope Armani comes out with an interesting holiday collection (and preferably one that uses something other than crystals!)

I was a little disappointed in this palette, especially after seeing the spring offering, but I do appreciate the different colors and texture of it.  While most makeup brands are pushing a beached-based bronze look (and Armani does do this somewhat with its Mediterranean palette), I feel this bronzer represents a departure from the usual advertising.  The texture and reddish-brown tint evokes a dry, desert landscape instead of a beach – something you'd wear out West to the canyons of New Mexico, rather than, say, the islands of the Caribbean.   While I'm guessing the overall effect of the product is essentially the same as other bronzers, I like that Armani offered a different approach and representation for a summer staple (a staple for us pale people, anyway!) 

The creators behind the big couture houses' spring palettes seem to be suffering from the winter blahs.  Armani's Pink Light palette for the spring 2009 collection is nothing more than Armani's signature slapped on top of a plain black compact.  While all of the colors in the collection are great for spring (lots of luminescent, fresh pinks living up to the Pink Light title) the packaging for the palette could have been a bit more creative.  I guess they wanted something very simple to go with the basic colors in the palette.  "This limited-edition palette is embossed with Mr. Armani's signature, a distinct design for a classic spring palette."  I don't know about distinct, but I guess the colors could be described as classic for spring.  In any case, I'm excited about the upcoming Bronze Mania collection, which features a very interesting, desert-like patterned palette.