Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill Intense Gives You Eyes So Sexy that They can Kill– #3 #14 Swatch, Review, FOTDs

Is it me or does everybody associate the name of Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill with a spy/police detective/Quentin Tarantino movie?

Just me?

OK.

But I’m sure I’m not the only person who is exhilarated about Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill Intense Eyeshadows!

After witnessing all the hype, I finally jumped on the bandwagon and purchased #3 and #14. These are known by numbers instead of names here (or rather by different names. The names I found on Sephora.fr is Ultra Violet for #3, and Or/Noir which means Gold/Black for #14) but in the US #3 is named Purpura and #14 Gold Spirit. And guess what? Even with some tiny hiccups, I can’t get enough of them!

Eyes to Kill Intense Eyeshadow is a hybrid powder/cream type of product. It goes on lighter than a cream shadow, but it retains the ease of use of one (your pinky will do). It comes in glass pots with a black cap, and inside there is a black stopper. It is nothing fancy, but I like the weight of the glass pot in my hand. The cap, however, holds fingerprints and I have to force myself not to fixate on the fact! The stopper is easy to take off, but with my long (and clumsy?) fingers it could feel a bit awkward. That’s why after I screw the cap off, I very often just tilt the pot a little so that the stopped would fall out into the cap. I reverse the procedure when I want to put it away.

To start my experiment with “safer” options, I picked #3 which is a purple, and #14 which is an antique gold. I reckoned nothing could go too wrong with these colors! Of course I would also have loved a green, but so far this is a color family that hasn’t made its way into the range. I hope it will soon!

#3 Purpura looks mostly navy blue and gold in pot. It reminds me of lapis lazuli. Once swirled together however, it is a plum with a very metallic sheen and an amazing amount of shimmer (I see blue, red, silver, and teal).

This color is not as pigmented as it can be when used on the lids, but I don’t really mind because it’s a color that could go very wrong on me if I am not careful with the application. It is however, extremely buildable and blendable, and I don’t experience any fallout with this one. It is also a more blue-based purple, so you don’t have to worry too much about it looking like a black eye!

The elusive #14 (Gold Spirit) turned out to be impossibly elusive only in North America. I will tell you where I got mine at the end, but first let us admire its beauty!

In pot (before it’s all smudged together anyways), #14 looks like gold and black. Swatched, it is a darkened (but not by much) antique gold with a strong metallic sheen, and the sheen could be slight green depending on the angle (I know it sounds like another 5 shadows that I own, but trust me, as pretty as they all are, nothing is of the same level). The generous shimmer in this case is mainly gold and silver. The flecks are slightly bigger than what #3 contains but not by much. On my lids it is still incredibly smooth and not gritty or scratchy at all. It is also intensely pigmented. However, with the slightly bigger grains of shimmer, it could have some fallout during application, though it mostly stays put afterwards.

Here is the two of them swatched:

Just to give you a rough idea about how pretty it can be under the sun (because you really have to see it in person to know what I’m talking about), I poked my arm out of the window and took another shot:

Trust me on this one: if you go out with these on your lids when there is some sun/light, you won’t be able to stop checking your reflection on car/shop windows!

My major critique is that these don’t stay on me for 24 hours with some help. Without a primer, it stays for 12 hours with some fading on the edge, and by 16 hours it has already creased a bit. With a primer it is not at all a problem (phew), but still. The 24-hour claim doesn’t hold true without some UDPP backing it up!

In the picture above you can see me wearing #14 all over my lids, with some Busted from Naked2 in my crease and Blackout on the outer v. I lined my lower lash line with Urban Decay Zero, and then layered the shadow over it wet. This is the look I wore to the Weekend Blog Awards a while ago, and I promised you back then I’d recreate it for you.

To be honest though, with the highly reflective nature of this eyeshadow, even when I am using it on its own, it catches light in such a different way that it naturally emphasizes my (imaginary) crease already!

In these pictures I’m wearing #3 on its own. I would normally blend the edges out with a nude matte eyeshadow, but this way you can see how pretty the color is on its own, and how easily the edges are blended out by just my pinky.

Bottom line: Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill Intense Eyeshadows might not be a 10/10 product for me (minor fallout with #14, and it does require a primer to last more than 12 hours in perfect condition), but the complexity of colors, the light and smooth texture, and the tasteful way shimmer is done make it definitely worth checking out!

Have you tried/swatched any Eyes to Kill Intense Eyeshadow? Were you as impressed? If you own any what are they?

Sunny, your beauty culture translator xx

PS: The adorable Danielle from Bloomin’ Beauty posted some very interesting news for those who are interested in Eyes to Kill Intense. Giorgio Armani is apparently going to launch the Acqua Collection which includes 6 new Eyes to Kill Intense Eyeshadows! Check out more information here!

PPS: I bought these at Parfuma, which is a luxury perfume/cosmetics store in Belgium. Eyes to Kill Intense retails for 30 euros there, and it ships all over Europe (with different sums required to make shipping free). #14 is still available on the site. I asked the lady when I purchased it in store whether it is limited edition. She said it is not stated as such in the system, but apparently Giorgio Armani isn’t the best at keeping their retailers updated.

Alternatively you can try Sephora.fr. As far as I can see #14 keeps going out of stock and back in. However, it already costs 9,50 euros more, and shipping (only in Europe too) is not exactly a good deal either. I just want to say that don’t despair if you want #14 and can’t find it. I have read about a very recent purchase on a Taiwanese blog too, which means it’s really only impossible to find in North America. Mobilize your friends who live abroad. You will find a way!