Gucci just launched a very extensive makeup line with some gorgeous, wearable colors and beautiful packaging. The color range consists of a lot of bronzes, golds and jewel tones and the packaging in black and gold is just lovely. I picked up the Magnetic Color Eye Shadow Duo in Azalea 030 ($49; gucci.com), which is a mix of a shimmery gold and a plum/berry metallic.
The compact isn't loaded with logos unlike the lipstick and I quite prefer it this way. It also doesn't feel heavy, although I do love heavier compacts quite a bit - the material just feels like good quality plastic with a magnetic closure mechanism. It doesn't feel too light or cheap either, just the right amount of weight for an eye shadow compact that's easy to carry around in your bag. The duo also comes with its own velvet pouch with the Gucci logo all over. Onto the product itself, I do think that both eyeshadows in the Azalea duo are quite wearable, pair well with each other (gold all over the lid and the plum on the crease, is what I'd do), and look great just as a sheer wash on the lid. Upon swatching the first time, I found them very smooth, buttery with a silky texture and no grittiness from the shimmer.
The pigmentation is mediocre - not too sheer, just good enough for the color to show up like how it does in the pan, although both colors sheer out quite a bit upon blending. One thing to keep in mind is how very differently they both perform with and without primer. With a primer, I had absolutely no problems with the texture, blendability, smoothness etc, but without one, I had a hard time blending the colors out. They also looked a lot drier and powdery on my lids when I skipped a primer. The fallout was minimal, but without a primer, the eyeshadows can look very flat, especially if you have dry skin, so I would definitely recommend using a primer underneath to get a smoother looking overall finish and for easy blendability and longevity.
The engraving on the shadows starts to fade after a few uses and the sponge applicator that comes along is actually of good quality and will work in a pinch, the brush applicator is too small, but not scratchy. Overall, I will get quite a bit of use out of Azalea, its a gorgeous palette for fall, but I won't be trying more duos or quads until I try out the singles first or at least until I swatch them in person to feel the texture. I only have swatches for now, since my camera was completely out of charge every time I did a look and wanted to click pictures. Too bad since I was also testing out a couple of other products the same time and I'll have to do it all over again! The below swatch is one swipe of each color using the sponge applicator from the compact.
Gucci Beauty is available at online at Gucci.com, Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue.
Have you checked out anything from Gucci Beauty yet? What do you think of Azalea?
The compact isn't loaded with logos unlike the lipstick and I quite prefer it this way. It also doesn't feel heavy, although I do love heavier compacts quite a bit - the material just feels like good quality plastic with a magnetic closure mechanism. It doesn't feel too light or cheap either, just the right amount of weight for an eye shadow compact that's easy to carry around in your bag. The duo also comes with its own velvet pouch with the Gucci logo all over. Onto the product itself, I do think that both eyeshadows in the Azalea duo are quite wearable, pair well with each other (gold all over the lid and the plum on the crease, is what I'd do), and look great just as a sheer wash on the lid. Upon swatching the first time, I found them very smooth, buttery with a silky texture and no grittiness from the shimmer.
The pigmentation is mediocre - not too sheer, just good enough for the color to show up like how it does in the pan, although both colors sheer out quite a bit upon blending. One thing to keep in mind is how very differently they both perform with and without primer. With a primer, I had absolutely no problems with the texture, blendability, smoothness etc, but without one, I had a hard time blending the colors out. They also looked a lot drier and powdery on my lids when I skipped a primer. The fallout was minimal, but without a primer, the eyeshadows can look very flat, especially if you have dry skin, so I would definitely recommend using a primer underneath to get a smoother looking overall finish and for easy blendability and longevity.
The engraving on the shadows starts to fade after a few uses and the sponge applicator that comes along is actually of good quality and will work in a pinch, the brush applicator is too small, but not scratchy. Overall, I will get quite a bit of use out of Azalea, its a gorgeous palette for fall, but I won't be trying more duos or quads until I try out the singles first or at least until I swatch them in person to feel the texture. I only have swatches for now, since my camera was completely out of charge every time I did a look and wanted to click pictures. Too bad since I was also testing out a couple of other products the same time and I'll have to do it all over again! The below swatch is one swipe of each color using the sponge applicator from the compact.
Gucci Beauty is available at online at Gucci.com, Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue.
Have you checked out anything from Gucci Beauty yet? What do you think of Azalea?
Very pretty, i'm still deciding what eyeshadows I want, I already received a blush, lipstick and a lipgloss, i'm thinking about getting the Autumn Fire palette.
ReplyDeletewww.lilyseymour.com
Hi Lily,
DeleteI've been wanting the blushes but then thought I'll wait for swatches before buying. Which lipstick & blush did you pick up?