I stumbled upon my old Armani concealer as for finding a swap equalizer on Makeupalley. The reviews were quite good and the swatches online even better. Receiving it, I found a quite-near HG concealer I happily brought with me during the summer holidays
So newer-better-more-improved...and all the WOW and HG stories online made me buy the latest Armani Cosmetics Maestro Eraser in colour 4. The older one is the High Precision Retouch.
Ok, the size is bigger! But is bigger always better?
So they are joined sisterly online at the Armani Cosmetics site:
A bigger size and a higher price. Also, one extra colour to choose from.
Swatches:
Slightly yuckie Mid-blending swatch: to show new Armani ONLY needs a TINY dot for lotsa product
Last swatch: blended (only the bottom is slightly unblended for reference)
- The old High Precision Retouch is a better match for my skin.
- Both have similar to the same smoothing qualities over skin: I liked the old being diffusing enough but not too fake, and the new one diffuses similarly
- Both have the same thin-ness: both quite liquid with a emulsion quality.
- Maestro Concealer needs less product for more coverage
After buying the new colour I have to say I am still really impressed by Armani's outstanding quality. However, it is quite similar in my opinion, only the older version being a better colour match. Perhaps I should visit a counter once more to swatch all colours in both types, and see if the colour numbers match up too. The new tube-squeeze formula is more hygienic than the older almost-eyeliner-like brush, but you can work with hygiene by patting your eyeliner tip on a sanitised spatula. And, it's a matter of preference as well as the eyeliner tip-applicator is really handy for being on the road and the option to apply your concealer really precisely without having to bring too many other tools.
CONCLUSION:
A fantastic new product, but just as good as the older High Precision Retouch in texture and coverage.