Review: Armani Eye Tints - Gorgeousness in a tube!

In one of my last blogpost I was bemoaning how repetitive releases have become, so I’m very happy that today’s post is dealing with a new and exciting product – the recently released Armani Eye Tints.

I was very excited when I saw the press release for the first time. I think Armani does both new textures and eyeshadows extremely well, and when both come together, something magic like the Armani Eyes to Kill eyeshadows happen. A cheaper version of those can be found in their parent company L’Oreal’s lineup (in the form of the Infallibles eyeshadows), but I find the Armani colour choices always be a bit more sophisticated and unusual. While a lot of companies have come out with cream eyeshadow in pots, the last one in a tube I can remember was the limited edition Guerlain Ombre Fusion Cream Eyeshadows in the summer of 2011. In the drugstore, Max Factor still does them, but their ingredients are actually very different from the Armani ones (same with the ones from IsaDora).

The complete range of the Eye Tints, pic courtesy of Armani: Obsidian, Minuit, Jade, Emeraude, Onyx, Green Iron, Shadow, Flannel, Cold Copper, Senso, Rose Ash, Cold Ash (l.t.r.)

What is it?

Armani claims that the tints combine “the purity of a powder, the staying power of an ink and the feel of a cream” with a 16-hour staying power. There’re 12 colours in different finishes in the lineup – some are more matte, some are more metallic and some are shimmery. They have a flock applicator that can be used for application all over the lid or even as a liner. Colours can also be layered or mixed. The press release states that the “texture goes from liquid to solid in an instant” without a “sticky feel or residue”.

How does it perform?

I got No. 2, Minuit, a velvety midnight blue with mulicolour glitter, and No. 7, Shadow, a gorgeous greyish purple that shimmers purple or grey depending how the light hits it. I tried applying with the applicator, my fingers and a Mac 217 brush, and have to say that I prefer application with a brush. That way, you’ll achieve a thin layer of product that can be layered according to your preference. With both wand and fingers you tend to wipe away the product in places which makes for a patchy application. The first sensation upon applying the thick cream is a cool feeling. I guess that comes from the high amount of water in the formula evaporating. Armani likens their eye tint formula to another of their forerunner formulas, that of their Maestro fusion makeup. Similar to their eye tints it has a high amount of pigment in a base that sinks into the skin, leaving a layer of pigment behind.

Upper row: Senso and Minuit - Middle Row: Shadow and Minuit in direct sunlight, both swatched heavily first and the blended - Lower Row: Shadow and Minuit in the shade — Upper row: Senso and Minuit – Middle Row: Shadow and Minuit in direct sunlight, both swatched heavily first and the blended – Lower Row: Shadow and Minuit in the shade (on NC20)

What I found unique about the Eye Tint formula was that the layer of pigment doesn’t accentuate any fine lines or crepeyness of my not as young as they once were eyelids. Happily, and contrary to Armani’s claim, they don’t go from liquid to solid in an instant. You have some time to blend, but after a minute or so they don’t budge. I’ve worn them alone and with powder eyeshadows on top, and they perfom both excellent as a base and as a stand alone shadow for a simple wash of colour. It will budge, though, if you touch your eye – but then, doesn’t every shadow?

I find their pigmentation outstanding (see the swatches of all shades below) and can’t therefore see a fault in Armani’s pricing – a little goes a long way with those. Sure, the tints aren’t cheap, but then they’re consistent in Armani’s range of eye products. Their staying power is ok – I’ve worn them to a spinning lesson and even with that at the end of the day they held up quite nicely in the 10 hour range for me. I wore them over my usual Urban Decay Primer Potion though – but I never wear eyeshadow, no matter its texture, without it.

Do I like it?

I really enjoy both tints I got. I particularly enjoy its range of sophisticated colours and ease of application. The Eye Tints also meet my requirements for staying power. I won’t spring that kind of money when the colour isn’t outstanding though! (But I’m guessing that we’ll see that kind of eyeshadow from the lineup of L’Oreal as well – and I’m looking forward to it!)

There’s definitely a learning curve in applying more than one Eye Tint in one look. Christine from Temptalia told me she mixed different shades on a palette and not directly on the eye. When I tried to blend Minuit on top of shadow, I recognised that it’s really easy to overblend the eye tints with a patchy result. Look for a really soft blending brush when trying to do that and use featherlight motions! Kate used her Eye Tints succesfully in looks where she wore a powder eyeshadow on the lid and an Eye Tint in the crease – it looks stunning and I want to have the same, please.

Does Astrid like it?

Astrid chose No. 10, Senso for her first Eye Tint – and is quite sure that she’ll get her second one soon! To test its staying power she first used it while doing her running session and it held up admirably. For her, Senso also works without a primer – that’s a case of ymmv (your mileage may vary) that you all will experience. Our eyelids weren’t all created equally ;-). We both found truly stunning how much the colour of the tints change depending on your skintone. In our hand swatches, you can see that Senso is a brownish taupe on her, while on me its a really rich warm brown. I was blown away by her look when Senso appeared like a great neutral taupe on her lids. She also experimented with different eyeliners on Senso and told me that a green liner makes Senso appear more brown, while a purple one will make it seem more purple. I’m slightly jealous that Senso doesn’t look like that on me and will definitely try Shadow with different liners to see if I can make it seem more grey or purple respectively!

Astrid wearing Senso. Do you see that taupe gorgeousness?!

Availability: Douglas, Armani counters in department stores, Sephora. Prices are around 32,95 Euros and 38$.

INCI: Water, Propylene Glycol, Talc, Synthetic Fluorphlogopite, Lauroyl Lysine, Octyldodecyl Stearoyl Stearate Dimethicone, Boron Nitride, Zea Mays Starch, Dipentaerythrityl Tetrahydroxystearate, Calcium Sodium Borosilicate, Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Sorbitan, Isotearate Phenoxyethanol, Stearath-20, Argilla/Magnesium Aluminum Silicate Magnesium Silicate, PEG-75 Stearate, Silica, Calcium Aluminum Borosilicate, Silica[Nano}/Silica, Xanthan Gum, Tin Oxide, Caprylyl Glycol, Acrylates Copolymer, Cetyl Alcohol, Ceteth-20, Alumina, Glycerin, Glyceryl Stearate [and pigments according to colour]