Beauty recycle: dusting off a few old and new favourites

On the regular

On a typical day you'll catch me wearing a basic makeup look which I'm able to complete in less than five minutes.

On Saturday night I upped the ante by experimenting with a slightly smoky purple eye.

Recycle, reduce, reuse.

Shop my stash..

• NARS' Eyeliner Stylo in Koala
• YSL's Volume Effet Faux Cils Mascara
• Giorgio Armani's Flash Lacquer in Pink 524
• Burberry's Trench
• Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill in shade 3
• Estee Lauder's Pure Color in Electric Orchid

To get the look above, pick a deep purple, a slightly brighter and lighter purple and a neutral colour to be used all over. Also make sure you grab your favourite liner, mascara and lippie.

• Start by applying a neutral eyeshadow from your lash line and stop at your brow bone. Burberry's Trench, MAC's Shroom or Maybelline's Silken Taupe are your best bets.
• Next grab an angled eyeshadow brush and focus on applying the deepest shade of purple at the outer corners of your eyes. Sweep and blend any excess colour along your crease and stop about half way in.
• Then grab a stubby eyeshadow brush (MAC's 239 is quite simply the best) and pat the lighter shade of purple on the centre of your lid. Repeat the sweeping and blending method in your crease and stop just shy of the inner corners of your eyes. Want more colour? Line your lower lids too.
• To illuminate the inner corners of your eyes, blend in a small amount of your base shade.
• To finish line your upper lash line, paint those lashes and dab on a neutral gloss :)

The final look

When was the last time you shopped your own makeup stash?

A glimpse at the lips: Giorgio Armani's Flash Lacquer in Pink 524

Armani's Flash Lacquer in Pink 524

A gloss it is, but amped up -- even after the lip slick dies down after an hour or so, you're still left with a sheen without the tackiness. Armani's Flash Lacquer in Pink 524 is a muted, translucent pink with purple and grey undertones. The inspiration behind Flash Lacquer stems from stained glass; personally, Flash Lacquer conjures up thoughts of ice -- a smooth sheet that won't allow you to fall through.

Pink 524

Wearing Pink 524

The doe foot applicator is generous with its application as it flexes around the curves of my lips; it also lays down enough product during the first pass. The few times I've worn Flash Lacquer I've noticed total wear time hovers somewhere between three and four hours -- not the best, but not the worst either.

Pink 524 would probably be the most universally flattering shade from this particular Armani lip range, because it is a near dupe of the colour of my lips and yours too (potentially). A "my lips, but better" scenario.

The Bagful breakdown:

Total amount for Giorgio Armani's Flash Lacquer in Pink 524:

• $29.00 USD / $49.00 AUS

Value for money spent (performance and quality):

•  7 out of 10 bags – wish it stuck around (literally) for a little while longer.

Would another purchase be on the horizon?:

• The Bronze All-Over palette sure is pretty.

A glimpse at the lips: Armani's Lip Maestro in Ecstasy 504

The conductor ambled up to his podium as a wave of silence moved across the audience. Tap, tap, tap.

The maestro has arrived -- the music streamed out; string, wind and percussion intertwined into one.

Armani Lip Maestro in Ecstasy 504

Armani's Lip Maestro is a gloss which dries down to a semi-lacquered finish, lasts hours and eventually turns into a lovely stain. This is the sort of lippie that takes you from morning to night. The last time I found something such as this, I didn't think anything could come close.

Like those cheesy infomercials out there, you can "set it [lip maestro] and forget it." Lip maestro's formula is non-drying and non-sticky, two big thumbs up in my book! With that said, I still like to apply chapstick on my lips prior to putting anything else on them.

Flat doe foot applicator

Swatch of Lip Maestro in Ecstasy 504

Wearing Ecstasy 504

Ecstasy 504 is a vibrant and bright fuchsia pink. Initially it appears red (see swatch above), but a few minutes after the glossiness wears down the lovely pink hue is finally in clear view. If you're worried about feathering/product migration, line your lips with Makeup Forever's Lip Line Perfector; it'll stop your lipstick dead in its tracks.

Total amount for Armani's Lip Maestro in Ecstasy 504:

• $49.00 AUS / $32.00 USD 

Value for money spent (performance and quality):

• 8 out of 10 bags – I had to take a couple of points off for price and colour selection (Ecstasy 504 is one of the twelve shades available for purchase).

Would another purchase be on the horizon?:

• I wouldn't mind trying a lighter colour for work, perhaps Blush or Casual Pink will do?

A glimpse at the lips: Giorgio Armani's Rouge d'Armani 400

In the makeup "wins" column, Scott can place precisely one hash mark (so far). On Christmas morning I found two tubes of lipstick, which were never on my radar, in my stocking; Scott went out on a limb and visited the Armani counter by himself. Assisted by a very kind and patient assistant manager, Scott educated her on my likes and colouring. At the end of his brave Christmas shopping excursion, Scott nabbed two pretty hues: Rouge d'Armani 400 and 601 (to be reviewed very soon).

Rouge d'Armani 400 is a perfect true red -- almost equal parts orange and yellow, with a hint of blue. The formula is creamy, semi-glossy, dries down soft, moisturises and lasts. It lasts so long (more than eight hours) I had to remove it before bed time. The other refreshing thing about this particular hue is it wears evenly; I sometimes find richly pigmented lipsticks last well on my lip line, yet the opacity of the shade will wear out at the centre of my lips. Not cute.

The only negative thing I did experience was a bit of feathering, but in the lipstick's defence it happened after eating an oily pasta dish. Under normal dining circumstances I would've been fine :)

Wearing Rouge d'Armani 400

The Bagful breakdown:

Total amount for Giorgio Armani’s Rouge d’Armani Lipstick in 400:

• $52.00 AUS / $30.00 USD

Value for money spent (performance and quality):

• 10 out of 10 bags – An intense red that lasts and doesn't dry your lips out.

Would another purchase be on the horizon?:

• Flirty Lashes compiled a complete list of new Armani products due to hit shelves this month. Must acquire the Blushing Fabric.