Tag: Tom Ford Summer 2015

Hi there!

Here to share my thoughts on the Tom Ford Cream & Powder Eye Colour duos.

These combine two of Tom Fords most coveted formulas, the divine celestial powder eyeshadows (the TF glitters) & cream shadow to create a new hybrid product.

Some of you may already know, the cream shadows in 3 of the 4 duos are repromotes from earlier releases. So if you missed out, don’t let them slip away again! here’s the break down.

Golden Peach – Pink Haze cream shadow

Naked Bronze – Spice cream shadow

Midnight sea – Spring 2015

I received 2 for review, which i’ll be discussing in depth today.

 

Packaging

These duos come with a double decker design. On top we have the celestial shadow and on the bottom, the cream. The cream is secured with the screw on lid (which actually houses the celestial shadow) and there’s also teeny mirror up top in the event you feel like using this on the go to refresh your makeup or take your simple day time look up a notch and head out for dinner.

If you are familiar with the TF cream shadows, you’ll probably miss the luxury of a glass pot. However I feel this acrylic, plastic type packaging works out quite well for this product, making it more travel friendly and great for packing on your summer trips.

 

Formula, texture and application

The TF cream colours are highly pigmented cream eyeshadows with a soft moussey texture. They dry slowly and don’t quite set as typical cream shadows do, which means you never need to rush to blend them out. This quality also makes them great as bases for your eye makeup and are very easy to work with. (you can refer this post for more information on how to use these shadows)

The overall finish once applied is a slightly wet look with glistening shimmers. They are my summer makeup essentials!

TF cream shadows are easily my favourites among other brands I have used. They are foolproof when it comes to application and are great for rushed days as you only need literally 2 mins to get the colour on. I use my fingers to apply and blend them and i’ve found this to be the best method to get a smooth result without any visible brush strokes.

As far as longevity goes, these never crease on me unless I spend my entire day out in the hot sun. Under normal conditions you can expect these to wear a good 12 hours or more (no primer needed).

I highly recommend the TF cream shadows for even mature eye lids as they never emphasise lines and texture like other cream shadows do.

The Celestial shadows are also a Tom Ford speciality and by far the most elegant glitters I have ever come across. They never look vulgar or childish and add a sexy, sophisticated touch to whichever eye look you create. It’s an integral part of a signature TF look.

Previously these celestial shadows were only sold as part of the TF eyeshadow quads, and never available for individual sale. Making this new product all the more appealing to those of you who are curious to try this unique formula.

Worn over powder eyeshadows or creams, they adhere well onto the lids and I never see any fallout throughout wear. I apply them with my fingers and encourage a press and place technique to make them adhere well.

Onto some swatches of Black Oyster and Golden Peach.

 

Black Oyster is my favourite.

The subtle grey smokiness it creates once layered, is unbeatable.

Either way, if you missed out on Pink Haze before, then by all means you NEED Golden Peach (after all, Pink Haze is only my FAVOURITE cream shadow of all time and i’d never hesitate to recommend it!), however Black Oyster in my eyes is a must if you are picking up any of these duos.

 

To make things more informative, I also put together a few comparison swatches for you with some of my existing cream shadows and Celestials. I hope they are useful!

Here’s a look at the peachy tones (can never have too many!),

Between these I find the Tom Ford and the Shiseido ones to be the easiest to work with. They are great for day time wear, not overly sparkly and very understated. I also love how they feel when applied as well, weightless!

The Chanel Laurier Rose is one of the newly released Stylo Eyeshadows from summer. The pigmentation of this is incredible and superbly opaque! On the downside, I find it sets even before I’ve had time to blend it out.

Now onto some Celestial swatches. I have Silvered Topaz, Golden Mink and Titanium Smoke for comparisons.

See how Golden Peach is a very close match to shade 2 from the Golden Mink quad!

Now onto an eye look I created with Black Oyster. Super sexy and the perfect smokey look for a special night.

Recreating this is quite easy. Just start with a suitable transition shade (a matte taupe or grey should do) and apply it onto the crease with a blending brush, creating the ‘smoke’ for this look. Then we pat the cream shadow all over the lid using fingers and build up the intensity. Lastly take another clean blending brush to soften the edges of the cream shadow and blend lightly, you can pick up more of your transition shade to make blending easier if you like.

For the final touch, place the celestial shadow just in the middle of the lid, for extra pop! Done!

To complete this look I added some falsies for drama. Of course if you are blessed with amazing lashes you could just skip this step!

 

 

 

Bottom Line

I would categorise these as a splurge worth the investment. And to be honest, if I had to pick one eyeshadow to last me all summer, day in day out, it would be one of these. It’ll take your makeup from day to night without breaking a sweat. Promise 🙂

Product information

These duos retail at SGD85 and are currently available at the Tangs Tom Ford Beauty counter. There’s still stocks available for the Midnight Sea and Black Oyster combo. Both which I highly recommend. Snap them up while you can!

 

 

Bronzers are quite a tricky thing to work with. Either you have the correct shade, or you don’t. There’s no middle ground. And as someone who’s already pretty ‘coloured’, I somehow don’t feel the need for a bronzer as a complexion enhancer, but more of a shader. I use this method instead of contouring just to add definition to the face. Either way, so many things to consider, colour, shimmer content (if any) and texture!

I feel that cream bronzers would give you the most realistic bronzed, skin like sun-kissed effect. Or is it? Well the Tom Ford bronzers are really something else. I am glad they are now in my life, rocking my world.

 

 

 

As seen above, for summer Tom Ford has repackaged their bronzer in the luxurious white and gold packaging. In addition to that they also launched a mini version of each bronzer too, perfect for taking along with you on all those exotic summer holidays you are planning.

The white packaging is a glossy lacquered finish, it doesn’t attract fingerprints and is perfectly accented with a gold trim. Overall the feel of this very luxurious with a touch of retro glamour. I quite like this white packaging a bit more than the original mahogany in this case. What are your thoughts? Isn’t it deliciously summery?

The Tom Ford bronzers come in two shades. Gold Dust & Terra.

 

 

The main difference between the two is the finish. Gold dust is a shimmer infused bronzer while Terra being completely matte. Apart from that, there’s also the variance in shade. The more yellow toned one is clearly Gold Dust with Terra being an almost neutral bronze.

 

After repeated use I have come to appreciate how weightless these bronzers are. They are nearly impossible to over do. You can be as heavy handed as you like and the result will never look powdery or over bronzed and fake. They look incredibly skin like.

So far i’ve been finding hard to pick favourites, even though the more sensible option is to be drawn to Gold Dust with my very yellow toned skin.

Testing out Terra, I love how it gives an almost sun burnt look to the skin (in the best possible way, slightly rosy looking), like you came home from a day at the beach. It’s a brown with hints of redness, without the yellow tone. The actual colour of a tan!

For best results, just apply where the sun would hit the face, the forehead, tops of cheekbones and nose.

Here’re swatches of the two.

 

 

As I mentioned Gold Dust is the richer, more exotic colour. I see this looking amazing on Arabic skin tones, the very exotic golden ones. And also for Asian skin tones with yellow undertones.

If you are already tanned (regardless of skin colour) Gold Dust would be the perfect enhancer. The shimmer works great with sun-kissed skin and looks particularly lovely dusted on the décolletage. I have been enjoying it quite a bit.

For those on the look out for a day time, less conspicuous bronzer, Terra would be it. For a matte, the texture of this is sublime and I don’t think i’ve ever swatched a matte product that applied so beautifully. It’s veil thin & not in the least bit powdery or dry. The most perfect matte formula EVER!

This in my opinion would suit almost all skin tones. It’s quite a fool proof colour. I would specially recommend this to even the fairest of complexions with rosy undertones. It’s a very universal shade.

The Bottom Line

These aren’t cheap products. And yes it’s an investment! However, considering the amount of product one pan carries, you won’t feel so bad about parting with your hard earned cash.

As far as quality goes, these are a dream. It’s so weightless and light, never powdery on the skin. They blend in easily and just melds with it. I can’t find a single thing to complain about!

Since this summer the bronzers were released in a smaller size, I feel now is the time to give these a go. The mini version isn’t quite as value for money as the regular size, but is a good starting point if you are unsure about making a commitment.

Also can I tempt you with the packaging? I’m a little brainwashed by the white n gold mix, aren’t you? They sure do look so summery and nice!

Some Link Love

You can check out this review by my friend Dr. Ebru. I always find her reviews reliable and helpful.

Product Info

The large bronzer comes with 0.7 oz/ 19.8g of product and retails at SGD160, and the smaller one comes with 0.3 oz/ 8.5g of product, retailing at SGD102.

Available now for a limited time at the Tangs Orchard Tom Ford Counter.

Mine were samples sent for review by Tom Ford Beauty. Thank you Adeline!

 

 

A Tom Ford seasonal release will never be complete without their most popular item, the lipsticks. And this time it’s pristine white packaging as last spring!!

The Soleil summer collection, comes with 4 lipsticks. Two new colours, Skinny Dip and Rose Soleil, and also two repromoted shades, Sweet Spot & Paradiso (both which i’ve had in my stash already).

*Seen here are Rose Soleil and Sweet Spot, two new lipsticks sent by TF for review.

The packaging is as always of supreme quality. The white doesn’t attract fingerprints or discolour easy (I have carried them around in my makeup bag many a time without it getting dirty or gunky) and is sturdy and well made. I also like that these lipsticks have a nice weight to them, suggestive of it’s luxury price point.

Rose Soleil is a warm, bronze toned rose with very fine golden shimmer. When swatched this had sheer payoff and high sheen, like a gloss in lipstick form. On the lips it looks less sheer and leaves a better deposit of colour, however never quite meeting the medium coverage mark.

I found the shimmer in this quite flattering and as someone who strictly prefer matte and cream finishes, that’s saying a lot. The wear of this is better than most sheer lipsticks and lasted well into 2 to 3 hours while wearing off evenly. Overall I feel it’s quite a unique colour and was my favourite of the lipsticks released.

Sweet Spot is a light peach with a high sheen finish. I love how this melts into the lips instantly adding warmth to the complexion. Coverage was medium, and had noticeably more pay off than Rose Soleil. Again wear was around 3- 3.5 hours, all the while keeping lips subtly hydrated.

Paradiso is a warm, bright, medium coral with heavy pink tones. Between the three this was the most buildable with coverage a solid medium. This too wore well with very good staying power. I got a 3 – 3.5 hours without it looking too faded.

Here’s what they look like worn.

Application tips

I like to wear these lipsticks sheer as they were intended, without building up the colour too much. Since this is a very emollient formula, it tends to gather around the inner rim of the lips if there’s excess product sitting around.

Overall thoughts

I find these perfect for day to day wear as the high sheen make them look more youthful in comparison to a full-on opaque lipstick, and is a good option for summer lips where you don’t have to keep touching up regularly as they fade evenly.

The hydrating formula of these are very comforting to lips that are parched by the roaring summer sun and protects them from drying out. A perfect mix to see you through this season.

Other links

You can check out Sabrinas review on these, here. She has very helpful comparison swatches and a review of Skinny Dip as well! 

For swatches and first impressions on the Tom Ford summer collection, you can check out my earlier post, here.

Also drop by for a full review of the Pink Glow Eye & Cheek Compact, here.

Product info 

These lipsticks come with 3g or product and retail at SGD 72

Currently available at the Tom Ford Beauty counter at Tangs Orchard.

Happy Monday!

Here to share a quick swatch post of the newly released Tom Ford Summer collection with my first impressions as well as recommendations. As always i’ll be following this up with individual reviews but for now I hope my initial impressions prove useful to narrow down the best buys.

As you can see, this years summer release was a fairly big one with 15 products in total.

Cream & Powder Eye Colour – 4 shades (Naked Bronze, Black Oyster, Golden Peach, Midnight Sea)

Eye & Cheek Compact – Pink Glow

Cream Cheek Colour – Pink Sand

Lip Colour Sheer – 4 shades (Skinnydip, Rose Soleil, Sweetspot, Paradiso)

Bronzing Powder (large & mini) – 2 shades (Terra, Gold Dust)

Shimmering Body Oil

Cream & Powder Eye Colour

These are never before seen, brand new products where each duo contains a cream eyeshadow and a sparkly powder eyeshadow.

As you probably already know the TF cream colour singles are a popular limited edition release, and 3 of the 4 cream colours in these duos are in fact repromotes from previous collections. The only exception being Black Oyster.

The sparkling powder eyeshadows that come in these duos are the same formula as the ones in their eye colour quads and are perfect for layering on top of the cream shadow to create a ultra shimmering statement eye look.

If you already own Pink Haze and Spice cream eyeshadow singles then my recommendations to you would be the blue and grey combo Midnight Sea and the black and gun metal combo Black Oyster as they are something new and interesting.

Here are swatches of Black Oyster and Golden Peach

1st Swatch – Cream shadow layered with the powder

2nd Swatch – Powder shadow

3rd Swatch – Cream shadow

Cream Cheek Colour – Pink Sand 

This is a beautiful medium pink cream blush infused with a fine golden shimmer. When swatched I found the consistency quite balmy and thin and once blended in, the colour sheers out a fair bit leaving just a hint of a golden rosy glow.

Overall I feel this to be more of a rose tinged cream highlighter adding just a light flush of colour and not your usual cream blush that would give you a full on blushing cheek.

Eye & Cheek Compact – Pink Glow

Similar to last years Summer palette Unabashed, this eye and cheek palette comes with three eyeshadows and two cheek colours (one a highlighter).

Here’re swatches (top to bottom we have the two cheek colours followed by the three eyeshadows)

As you would imagine, this was my favourite from the entire collection. The colour payoff and formula was identical to the regular Tom Ford quads and of exceptional quality.

If you were to pick up only one item from this collection, make it this!

Lip Colour Sheers

As the name suggests these are sheerer versions of the regular Tom Ford lipsticks.

Two of the colours are repromotes of last years Spring release. The new shades being Skinny Dip and Rose Soleil (both in shimmer finish). I find these two to be the actual sheer lipsticks where as Sweet Spot and Paradiso (cream finish) somewhat in the middle between the regular TF lipsticks and the sheer formula with noticeably better colour payoff.

Here’re swatches of three of the lipsticks.

If I were to pick favourites it’d be Sweetspot & Paradiso, beautiful creamy, smooth lipsticks that are great for everyday use.

Bronzers, Terra & Gold Dust

The Tom Ford bronzers are a permanent feature in the U.S and Europe product line up. However it’s the very first time they are making an appearance in Singapore.

To make things even more exciting, they now come in a compact mini version which is a nice size for carrying around for touch ups.

Here are swatches, both layered quite heavily so you see them well on my currently very tanned arm.

Gold Dust as you can see is a shimmer infused, yellow toned shade while Terra a matte with a cooler undertone.

Between the two, I found that Terra is ideal for those who want to go for a more sculptured bronzed look and Gold Dust for those who prefer a shimmering golden bronze.

Both are quite sheer but buildable and very skin-like when applied. No powderiness whatsoever. Highly recommend you check them out as they are even prettier in the sleek white packaging.

Lastly, here’s the price list relevant to Singapore.

Cream Powder Duos – SGD85

Eye and Cheek Palette – SGD146

Cream Cheek Colour – SGD87

Lipstick – SGD72

Bronzing powder – SGD160 (Large) SGD 102 (Mini)

Shimmering Body Oil – SGD160

Collection is currently on sale (released on the 8th May/last Friday) at the Tom Ford Beauty flagship counter at Tangs Orchard. Happy shopping! 🙂

*P.S- Stocks of the Eye & Cheek Palette are yet to arrive. Although you can get on the wait list so you don’t miss out!