Giorgio Armani Beauty | Lip Maestro Intense Velvet Color #404 Spice, #405 Sultan & #406 Orient

Launching next month (September 2014), are three new Lip Maestro shades from Giorgio Armani Beauty: #404 Spice, #405 Sultan and #406 Orient. Described as “luminous matte red lacquer”, these are intensely pigmented yet velvety soft lip products that apply like a gloss, but with a lipstick’s opaque factor. Inspired by classic Hollywood glamour, these new hues are at once passionate and fierce, made modern by their unique new texture. The couture revolution for lips, is here.

From the first application stroke, you can tell that this is a truly innovative product: highly colour saturated yet with an extremely lightweight feel, lips are completely enveloped in colour from the start. The sponge applicator is slightly angled to provide excellent contact with the lips, while the lightly tapered head easily gives you precise control without needing to use a matching liner. Slightly cool-feeling at first, each shade comes to a semi-matte finish, appearing neither too flat nor glossy, but with a plush velvety tone – both in look and feel. Non-sticky once the colour sets, the lasting power of each shade is almost superhuman – looking as fresh at the 10 hour mark, as they did when originally applied. Any fading that may occur is easily resolved by a quick press of the lips to refresh the colour. My biggest fear was that such intensely pigmented shades would surely feather, bleed and/or creep into my surrounding lip lines, but once again I was pleased to note that any movement in that area was minimal at best – truly surprising (but oh-so-welcome) for such vivid red hues.

For all swatches below, note that each shade has been applied straight from the tube without any touch-ups using either a lip liner or lip brush, in order to keep the colour and texture true.

Giorgio Armani Beauty | Lip Maestro Intense Velvet Color

Giorgio Armani Beauty | Lip Maestro Intense Velvet Color

Giorgio Armani Beauty | Lip Maestro Intense Velvet Color, ingredients listing

Giorgio Armani Beauty | Lip Maestro Intense Velvet Color #404 Spice, #405 Sultan & #406 Orient

Giorgio Armani Beauty | Lip Maestro Intense Velvet Color #404 Spice, #405 Sultan & #406 Orient

Giorgio Armani Beauty | Lip Maestro Intense Velvet Color, logo detail

Giorgio Armani Beauty | Lip Maestro Intense Velvet Color #404 Spice, #405 Sultan & #406 Orient

Giorgio Armani Beauty | Lip Maestro Intense Velvet Color #404 Spice, #405 Sultan & #406 Orient

Lip Maestro Intense Velvet Color #404 Spice (CAN $38.00) | An passionate crimson red hue with slightly cooler undertones in the base, although #404 Spice is so richly vibrant (without coming off as too primary) that it can be easily worn by those with warmer complexions.

Giorgio Armani Beauty | Lip Maestro Intense Velvet Color #404 Spice

Giorgio Armani Beauty | Lip Maestro Intense Velvet Color #404 Spice

Giorgio Armani Beauty | Lip Maestro Intense Velvet Color #404 Spice, brush side view

Giorgio Armani Beauty | Lip Maestro Intense Velvet Color #404 Spice

Lip Maestro Intense Velvet Color #405 Sultan (CAN $38.00) | A fierce brick red hue with slight brown hints in the base for added depth of tone and warmth. Less intense than #404 Spice but still maintaining the same impact, #405 Sultan is the perfect transition shade for Fall.

Giorgio Armani Beauty | Lip Maestro Intense Velvet Color #405 Sultan

Giorgio Armani Beauty | Lip Maestro Intense Velvet Color #405 Sultan

Giorgio Armani Beauty | Lip Maestro Intense Velvet Color #405 Sultan

Lip Maestro Intense Velvet Color #406 Orient (CAN $38.00) | A screen-siren vampy red with blackened plum hints in the base to up the “brooding factor” of this colour, without veering into Goth territory. Not for the faint of heart, #406 Orient may be exotically deep, but still maintains a level of sophistication – especially when paired with flawless skin (or as close to it as you can get) and a sexy cat-eye.

Giorgio Armani Beauty | Lip Maestro Intense Velvet Color #406 Orient

Giorgio Armani Beauty | Lip Maestro Intense Velvet Color #406 Orient

Giorgio Armani Beauty | Lip Maestro Intense Velvet Color #406 Orient

Red is the colour of life, love, passion and complex emotions – and Giorgio Armani Beauty has taken this hue to a whole new level with #404 Spice, #405 Sultan and #406 Orient. While each shade packs a major impact, they are not without their quiet strengths as well, and can even be made daytime wearable provided you leave the focus on the lips (and why wouldn’t you with colours like these?). If you’re still on the hunt for that perfect red and not sure whether to go with lipstick or lipgloss, then look no further than these Lip Maestro shades – your quest may just be over.

Available as of September 2014 in Canada through Holt Renfrew, Sephora, and select Hudson’s Bay store. Find more information via the website

*Disclosure: Product samples provided by the company/PR for my unbiased consideration