Want to know why I like an eyeshadow quad? Because it has every color you need to create a variety of looks, all right there in one palette. No guessing which colors look good with each other, or fumbling through shadow singles to find the correct two hues to create your smoky eye, then a neutral shade to create a bare eye. With quads, you get four colors and countless options. And I like anything that makes life — and my beauty routine — simpler.

The Armani Beauty Eyes to Kill Eyeshadow Quad is one of my favorites. First of all, Armani’s formulas feel like silk but apply with serious pigment for lasting power. Secondly, the colors are arranged in ascending order from lightest to darkest so it’s quite simple to use them accordingly for creating your specific look. Third, I like how Armani groups their colors together, very monochromatically. Take, for example, the Effeto Nudo, my personal favorite palette of neutral hues. Every one of the four shades has an earthy/ beige undertone while a similar palette, Terra Sienna, is still rather neutral but with mauve undertones. The deepest brown – the smoking hue – in this palette has a reddish tone while the darkest brown in the Effeto Nudo has a greenish tone. So, if you know your skin tone – do you have more red or yellow – then you can match up the neutral quad that will work most harmoniously.

Add to these two perfect palettes a few colored options: Mediterranea, the most saturated variety of blues, and Blush, a quad dedicated to a coral spring or summer eye, and Pantelleria, 4 green varieties, and you can create a wash of pastel color, a bold smoky eye, or perhaps even a colored cat eye.

To create a simple smoky eye with an Armani quad, start by using the lightest shade and apply from all over your eyelid, up to the brow bone. Use the second lightest shade (second from the top) and apply just on your lid. The third shade, or second darkest, is your crease shade. Sweep from the outer corner crease toward the inner corner. The final shade – the darkest hue – is for lining or smoking. Either way, apply at the lash line and sweep out or up. You can also apply this shade under your lower lashes for extra smokiness.

There are 8 quad selections in total and all create a soft matte finish. Coming in Spring, quads with shimmery hues!

PRICE TAG: $59.00