Giorgio Armani Summer 2012 Collection - Bronze 2012

This weekend may be unseasonably cold and the strong winds are keeping me inside the house at the moment so I am using this time to spend with my blog and really begin to make some decisions about what is going to be in my initial purchase for the summer months.  I have been talking about needing at least one new bronzer very soon and that I have decided to think ahead and order early this time (already some of the Lancome summer collection is out of stock and bronzer season hasn't even begun to hit yet).  Since I am working ahead of the game this year, I am afford to be choosy and it frees me up to order online and have the time to return the product if the formula or shade really doesn't suit me.  Keeping this in mind, I decided to look at the Armani Beatu collection much earlier than usual, I have time to order some of the top-rated bronzing products and decide if this is collection worth all the fuss that I hear about it.  To anyone who wonders why I am making such a fuss over bronzers, just let me say that I have had a few bad tanner experiences in the past and I could have passed for a Jersey Shore cast member.  Count your blessings if this has never happened to you!

This collection is named Bronze 2012 and contains a top-rated bronzer, multiple blue eye makeup choices, and some nude lip choices to balance out all the strong eye makeup shades.  I know that I will not be buying any of the blue eye makeup since I have never looked good with this type of eye look and the shadows from Armani are said to be very pigmented so I can't create a look that is mostly neutral with sheer splashes of blue (I have been working on a look like this with some shades from Urban Decay and it isn't working out very well at the moment...).  I am most interested in the bronzer and the lip glosses from this collection.  After I buy a good bronzer than everything else shopping-wise will just be icing on the cake and I can have fun playing around with products.

Here is the newest collection from Armani...

Eye Palette 1 - A harmonious blend of deep sea blue, algae, lagoon turquoise, and shimmering crest-of-a-wave white, colours to awaken eyes with a splash of natural radiance. 

Eye Palette 2 - A cooler harmony in the black lacquered signature compact, with four shades layering pearly blue and gray with frothy white and inky navy, to intensify lash lines.  The pioneering Giorgio Armani Color-Fil Technology allows delicate micronized pigments to be fused with a translucent base to offer unrivalled depth of colour delivered in sumptuous featherlight texture.  This palette contains a light blue gray shimmer, deep sea blue, medium silver shimmer, and a shimmering white.

Face Palette - The ultra-fine powders of the Face Palette with Giorgio Armani's Micro-Fil Technology come in a complementary duo of shades.  'Seashell Pink' and 'White Foam'.  Cheeks are warmed with a sun-kissed flush.
- deep bronze pink/pale white shimmering highlighter

Eyes To Kill Intense Eye Shadow - Now available in four limited edition shades.  For the first time: Eyes To Kill Intense unveils a pearl blend that radiates four spellbinding colours.  Each of the Eyes To Kill Intense - 'Obsidian Black, 'Obsidian Gray', 'Ecailles', and 'Madre Perla' - is based on a revolutionary technology that acts like a kaleidoscope, producing multidimensional colours.  This season's must-have 'Madre Perla' is a blend of precious white pearls that instantly radiates ever-changing pink, purple, blue, and green light for hours.  It can be swept over eyes and temples like a radiance veil as seen in the Giorgio Armani Spring/Summer 2012 show, 'Nacre'.  Neither a cream nor a powder, this incredible hybrid formula acts like a colour suspension that delivers a dreamy, ethereal beauty to eyes with a 24 hour hold.
- 20 Obsidian Black - pure black with deep green shimmer
- 21 Obsidian Gray - medium gray with aqua shimmer
- 22 Ecailles - bright aqua blue with silver shimmer
- 23 Madre Perla - shimmering white with pink shimmer

Gloss d'Armani - Now available in four limited edition shades.  Lips are quenched with the new Gloss d'Armani harmony in the softest spectrum of 'Pink Quartz', 'Rose Crocoite', 'Raspberry Zincite', and 'Red Andradite'.  Giorgio Armani introduces a new watercolour effect, for the first time by blending inky translucent lacquers with robust micronized pigments.  Liquid beauty comes to life.
- 509 - medium nude pink
- 510 - medium cool rose
- 511 - deep cool berry
- 512 - deep warm red

I am on the fence with this collection, I really want to like it but there is something that isn't doing it for me.  I think my major issue is the Face Palette, I'm not sure what type of product this is.  The shades look more like blush shades but Armani has always noted accurately what type of product it is and this one isn't considered a blush.  I first thought that this was a bronzer when I saw this picture since the shade on the left is a deep bronze with pink in it but the description of the shade makes it sound like it a pink with bronze in it.  I'm not sure what I am going to do regarding this product but I can't see myself ordering it without being sure of what I am getting.  Of course, both of the eye shadow palettes are out, I don't even need to touch again on why these aren't going to work for me. 

I am really interested in the Eyes To Kill Eye Shadow, I have seen rave reviews of this product in Temptalia's blog and the photos really intrigue me.  I love the Madre Perla shades and I think that this is my top pick for the whole collection.  I know that I will get lots of use form this shade and I want to try this formula for myself.  Lastly, I am liking the 509 and 510 shades of the lip gloss and can myself getting a lot of usage from them.

Well that didn't quite go as planned...my bronzer issue is nowhere near solved but I picked out more products that I would love to own (but don't need in the least!).

photo courtesy of Nordstrom