I got my hands on the new La Femme Bleue Armani Spring Collection 2011, and it's stunning - even better than I anticipated! I will be featuring the pieces today and over the next few days.My shopping fortune came with help from Kathy Shoreman, super Sales Associate at Neiman Marcus at Tysons Galleria. She not only sent me swatch photos via her iPhone, she personally delivered my purchases. I am starting to feel like a princess - and that has been one of the only benefits (so far) to my knee surgery!
La Femme Bleue Eye Palette ($58) is much more subdued than it appears in the photo immediately below. As with most Armani powder eye shadow palettes, it provides complementary eye shadows that can be worn in various combinations for an elegant look.
While these shadows appear, with the exception of the white shade, to be vibrant, the intensity is controllable. Use a light hand, and you will have a soft wash of color. Use a heavier hand, and you will see the colors pop. It's up to you.Kathy told me that the Armani artist at her store had applied the colors on her (she is fair-skinned and blond), and even her husband (accustomed to Kathy coming home with a new look every night) remarked on her pretty look. When the guys start to notice, we take notice! After playing with the shadows, I can see why he was impressed. They are lovely.
La Femme Bleue, 4 eye designing colors, as seen on the Giorgio Armani Spring/Summer 2011 runway, offers distinct jewel tones that apply sheerly for a soft daytime look, but are buildable for an extravagant runway smoky eye. The shadows are pressed in a metallic signature Armani palette. Giorgio Armani's Micro-Fil formula combines color impact and exceptional layering properties, thanks to micronized pigments that can be layered and blended infinitely. They form a fine film of full, rich color intensity and create a translucent luminous effect.
I applied t
he four shadows to my arm for my swatch photo with a sponge-tipped applicator, and I applied them fairly heavily to get the photo, which was taken inside in one of the few snatches of sunshine we had this morning as the clouds rolled in - again. The violet/purple shade at the top is a blue-violet, a shade I can wear. The green is drop-dead gorgeous, a shimmering tropical treat. The white is white, with shimmer. On the lids it has more punch than it does on my pale arm. I'm going to call the accent shade chocolate-grey (I am not sure how else to describe the hybrid color). It's a beautiful shade. You can use it lightly to contour, or more heavily to line the eyes. It looks fabulous smudged lightly under the lower lashes on the outer corner of the eye. All four shades will be useful.I can"see" the violet/chocolate-grey combination and the green/chocolate-grey combination on myself. I think we will love the versatility of this palette for creating spring looks.
You can find La Femme Bleue Armani at the Giorgio Armani Web site, Neiman Marcus, or wherever you normally purchase your Armani Beauty products. I will be showing you the rest of the collection later today and tomorrow. Stay tuned!
Photos at top courtesy of Giorgio Armani Beauty