Armani Eyes to Kill - 4 shadow palette No. 9

 

So here I present you with my latest purchase from Armani cosmetics. From the Eyes to Kill range (featuring a variety of shadow palettes and mascaras) this quad in particular stood out to me because the rich mossy greens and the deep black. Now I'm a girl with green eyes and I find these are some of my preferable tones as they give an intense smokey eye finish, while using a colour which doesn't make you look like an 80's throwback(blue shadows being the usual culprit).

The inside of the quad lifts to reveal two sponge applicators. I tend to avoid these for a number of reasons, the primary two being that they are impossible to clean and they don't provide as much control as a professional makeup brush. There are branded though so are very sweet. (The small half moons are magnets to hold down the upper quad - a consistent design through Armani beauty products).

Just as a side note, the packaging of Armani cosmetics is second to none. Its a high shine and glossy finish which doesn't tarnish in your make-up bag like alot of designer beauty products may do, but I wouldn't recommend carrying an eyeshadow palette around with you unless you need it. They tend to be a little more expensive and can be shattered if dropped, rendering them useless (I believe there's a tutorial online about fixing them so I'll keep an eye out).

So the colours...

Here I used all 4. The second colour as a base with the deeper green mixed with the black for contouring. The browns have been used underneath...

I used the YSL Youth Liberator eye serum first, followed with the Touche Eclat No. 1 as a base (I shall review both of these in future!). The colours themselves applied very easily using a standard flat application brush, however there was a little drop down underneath which could be quickly fixed using the Touch Eclat. Either that or a sheet of tissue placed underneath the eye would solve the problem. 
After applying the softer green I applied a slight amount of the warmer green to the outer contour, but didn't see much difference when layed on top of the lighter green - perhaps this would be better on its own but it did seem to provide a little base for the black. Initially the black seems very dark but does require alot of building to get the pigment deeper. This also makes a nice eyeliner when used with a liner brush for a softer finish.
The brown underneath the eye gives a nice subtle finish and added green blended to the outer shade of black brings the whole thing together.

Overall, I found these shadows easy to use. The colour clung to the brushes very well and laid down upon the lid easily, though did require a little building to increase intensity. Unfortunately I did find the black a little disappointing but I'm yet to find a deep black I am entirely happy with so perhaps I'm just pickey!
Overall though,I would consider this quad a good buy! I think I may invest in more in future.
Armani Eyes to kills quad £49.50
I shall be wearing it with the Armani Maestro shade 201!

Armani beauty can be purchased from: http://www.armanibeauty.co.uk/