Giorgio Armani Flash Lacquer 608 Review and Swatches

Hi, guys! I apologize for my unintentional absence from here and online in general; the term was truly miserable, crowned by finals last week which finished eating my life, and then after those got done I had to recuperate and start finalizing plans for my trip! And now I am at the beach with my mother, inhaling salty air and battling beach hair. I have lots of things to show you, though, so let me just dive right in.

I've not been a gloss person since early college. They're generally too sticky, too migratory, too sheer, too fleeting, too smelly, too juvenile. But then I tried Lipstick Queen Big Bang gloss, which was a revelation: translucent but not particularly sheer, not sticky, pleasant gel texture, long-wearing, and pretty. Then came Burberry Mallow Pink, the most gloriously perfect pink-coral. Slightly tackier than LQ in texture, but beautifully pigmented, understated shimmer, moisturizing and beautiful wear: it has been my most-worn lippie pretty much since I got it. It's my daily choice at least twice a week, and given that I have 30+ lippies, that's high praise.

Recently, Chanel released new shades in their Aqualumiere line which, from swatches online, looked very promising, and the new Armani Flash Lacquers, described as being lightweight and comfortable, called my name. When Nordstrom had 14% cash back on Ebates for their birthday, I picked up glosses from both lines, opting for the fuchsia Savage Grace from Chanel, and the MLBB rose 608 from Armani. The latter is the focus of the post today.

30 Days: Day 11

Hey, y'all! I'm writing this (note; the post itself was written awhile ago) from Bandon on the Oregon coast, a lovely little town. My mother and I came for a few days for a much-needed vacation, and so far it has been lovely. I've taken lots of pictures, but unfortunately forgot to bring my camera cord, so a full post will have to wait until I get home, at which point I will also catch up on comments and other blogs. Until then, though, have another 30 Days!

Show us your lippie collection! (Where "lippie" includes anything tinted you wear on lips, because I forgot to include lip balm and am too lazy to take more pictures.)

Full-coverage lipsticks: L'Oréal Infallible Le Rouge in Bold Bordeaux, Sephora Rouge Cream in Sexy Game, Clinique High Impact Lip Color in After Party

I rarely wear any of these, because I tend to not go for opaque lipstick, since I find it to be much less forgiving. I absolutely loathe the L'Oréal lipstick, and will post my scathing review once I take some more swatch pictures (the ones I have right now are after I fiddled with it for awhile to try and make it work, which is not as accurate a portrayal as I would like). The Sephora lipstick is a pretty color, it's just, again, really opaque, and I may throw it out. The Clinique is also very dark and vampy, but I find I can apply it sheerly when I want, and it was my first department store beauty purchase, so I'll hold onto it for sentimentality's sake if nothing else!

Currently Coveting: Rouge d'Armani Sheer Lipstick

We all know by now how much I love sheer lipsticks, right? And I recently shared how much I love Armani's Rouge d'Armani lipstick formula. So you can only imagine how hyperventilatingly excited I am about their new product, Rouge d'Armani Sheer.

image via NM

I haven't read any reviews about it so I have no idea how it performs, but Armani says the formula has "a creamy texture" and is "feather light and translucent, as hydrating as a balm". That, plus the gorgeous promo pictures, have got me interested!
$30 for 0.14 oz, available from Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, and Armani

Armani Rouge d'Armani in Plum 600 Review and Swatches

I'm sorry I haven't been posting much lately! I joined okcupid last weekend, and have had a terrible time keeping up with that and school starting, much less blogging! It's been fun, though :-) I'll try to catch up on blog stuff this week. Today, I bring you a beautiful lipstick.

The actual color is between these two pictures

Armani Eyes to Kill Mascara Review and Pictures

I tend to hate mascara. It's a pain in the ass to apply, it clumps, it flakes, it smudges, it loosens the curl of my lashes, it irritates. I have naturally long, dark, abundant lashes, and I'd failed to find a mascara that gave me what I wanted (curl, definition) without what I didn't (clumps, flakes, heaviness). Until now.

New York Shopping Ramblings

I've got a ton of posts heading your way in the next few days/weeks, but I thought I'd start the deluge with this one!

I had a marvelous day of shopping in NYC on Sunday and managed to pick up a few products as well as sniff some perfumes, spot a makeup celebrity, and get a makeover. Herewith, some musings on the stores and my experiences:

We went to Bergdorf Goodman first, since it's home to Le Métier de Beauté and a Guerlain boutique, as well as a slew of other beauty and fragrance counters. The beauty section is on the lower-level, and the design is rather different from typical department stores, with lots of smaller rooms (connected by open archways) which made the shopping experience much more intimate. The LMdB counter is right at the base of the escalator going down, so that's where we went first; the saleswoman was nice enough, if a little distant, and I ended up picking up a couple of items: Corinthian eyeshadow, the Queen of Taupes, and a Lip Crème (Fraise!) for L, my shopping companion.

We then walked around the store and checked out some of the other counters (though not Clé de Peau, since I cannot afford anything at their counter). I made us stop by the Guerlain boutique, which supposedly has the full range of their fragrances (300 in all, though from the looks of it, they're not all displayed) and cosmetics. I sprayed the pure parfum versions of L'Heure Bleue, Mitsouko, and Nahéma on blotters just for kicks (and to see if the two former smelled noticeably different from their edp formulations; to my untrained nose, they did not, which I'm going to say means I don't have to order the parfum version from The Perfumed Court, at least not until I get really obsessed with fragrance, if that ever happens!*), though I think I should perhaps have stuck with the edt of Nahéma, since I quite disliked the parfum. I also sniffed the bottle of Vol de Nuit, though I was starting to suffer from some olfactory fatigue by that point, and also swatched a few of the Rouge Automatique lipsticks (Guet-Apens is in my future!) and tried the Kiss Kiss gloss upon L's recommendation, only to deem it, as usual, "too sticky".

Fragrance Friday: Estee Lauder Sensuous Nude and Armani Code

Oh hey there, Fragrance Friday, what's up? I recently placed an order with The Perfumed Court (their sample sets are unbelievable; I suggest not checking them out until you've got a few hours to waste) and thought that I should try and review some of my current perfume samples to make way for the 10 I've got coming. Today's features: Estee Lauder Sensuous Nude and Armani Code.

Image via Estee Lauder

Estee Lauder Sensuous Nude is a "skin" scent. It's soft, musky, slightly sweet, and subtle. It kind of reminds me of Narciso Rodriguez For Her, in that they both have a pleasant, muted muskiness tempered by sweetness, but where For Her showcases rose, Sensuous Nude displays coconut and mild floral fruitiness (bergamot, jasmine, pepper, and sandalwood are some of the notes). It's not the most interesting or unique scent, but I do find it appealing, and I think it'll be especially wonderful in summer.
$50 for 1 oz, $65 for 1.7 oz, $90 for 3.4 oz, available from department stores and Estee Lauder

Image via Sephora

Armani Code Pour Femme is one of the perfumes I actually have a full bottle of, not just a sample. It's a nice perfume for winter and evening, as it's got a pretty strong woodsy vanilla base, but the bright citrusy notes keep it from being too heavy. It's also not terribly complex, and it doesn't change much over the course of wear, but its darkly citrus notes and not inconsiderable sillage make it a scent that always makes me feel sexier. I also like that it doesn't pull too too sweet on me, as many perfumes do. I don't think it's special enough to warrant a repurchase (and I wouldn't buy a full bottle now, unlike then), but it's nice to have nonetheless. (This opinion reveals me to not be a perfumista, haha! I'm learning, though, or at least trying to!)
$39.50 for 1 oz, $65 for 1.7 oz, $78 for 2.5 oz, available from Sephora and department stores