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Tom Ford Fall 2012 Blush: Narcissist

September 6, 2012
Tom Ford has released a new blush for fall, a vibrant hot pink satin called Narcissist ($55 for .28 oz/8 g). The pigment is rich and intense but easily blendable with a soft loose brush (I’ve used MAC’s skunk brush to apply). It is indeed very bright on the skin/face (probably the brightest blush I own) but if applied and blended, it gives a lovely healthy pink flush. There is a soft satiny texture to the color – those familiar with Tom Ford Blushes know the texture is phenomenal. Although these are probably the most expensive blushes on the market, I think they are among the best in texture, pigment, and color. Some of his blushes have a more visible shimmer (like Ravish and Wicked, see them all swatched on Karla Sugar). Narcissist does have shimmer but it’s so subtle it’s not really apparent on the face. I like that it has shimmer because it prevents the color from being flat. Narcissist Blush and the two nail polishes, Minx and Dominatrix are the only items I purchased from the fall collection (sight unseen). The high price points make me unwilling to splurge without testing first. Also, the fall collection seems to be a mixture of intense bright colors I usually don’t wear (not really me, but still pretty). Rouge Deluxe has all the new items swatched.

My Tom Ford Fall 2012 picks:

Lightly tapped into MAC’s skunk brush, you see a lot of pigment:

Without a flash:

With flash:

Tom Ford Narcissist is the brightest pink I own. Here are a few others for comparison:

Overall I really adore Tom Ford Narcissist. The color is gorgeous, pigmented, blendable and looks beautiful on the skin. I can’t say I think it’s a must have though, simply because the price is so high. At this time I don’t know whether the fall items are permanent or limited, but I purchased mine from Saks.
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Tom Ford Fall 2012 Nail Lacquers: Minx and Dominatrix

August 30, 2012

This fall, Tom Ford has released two new shimmery metallic for nails: Minx, a complex metallic warm wine-brown, and Dominatrix, a medium-deep but bright metallic purple ($30 each, both limited-edition). My experiences with Tom Ford’s nail lacquers have been mixed. I have a few of the creams and some of the metallic from last spring (see review/swatches here) and felt the formula was just ok. Still, I decided to give the new shades from fall a try since the promotional photos looked stunning. I’m glad I did. The new polishes for fall are exquisite with excellent smooth coverage. The colors are edgy and dramatic but still wearable for every day. They are perfect for fall and unique compared to other releases we’ve seen this season.
Both shades are highly metallic and shimmery, but in a refined way. The texture is rather sheer and transparent with one coat, but the color goes on with full coverage when you add the second. I like that the colors are visibly shimmery but don’t show brush strokes or streak (like Chanel Attraction). I was particularly impressed by the high-shine finish that both of these polishes have (without a top coat).

Minx is a deep burgundy-wine-brown metallic. It’s quite unique in my collection. It has more brown and less wine compared to other vampy shades.

Dominatrix is an intense medium bright purple. Out of the purples I have it is most similar to Dolce and Gabbana’s Midnight, but the Tom Ford is deeper and more intense while the DG is a bit lighter and flashes blue shimmers. More photos and swatches below. Swatches are done with two coats.

Minx swatched with two coats, a gorgeous metallic wine/brown:

Dominatrix swatched with two coats, it’s a medium-purple with some brightness:

In terms of duplicates, I couldn’t find any in my collection. I don’t have Tom Ford’s Burnished Rouge to compare, but from seeing swatches elsewhere, I suspect that Minx is less red.
Comparisons swatched below, same set, two views: Tom Ford Minx, Tom Ford Dominatrix, Dior Silver Purple, Chanel Vendetta, Dior Shadow, OPI Dutch’Ya Just Love OPI?, Dolce and Gabbana Amethyst, Dolce and Gabbana Midnight, Dolce and Gabbana Royal, Dior Icone, OPI Holiday Glow, Dior Aztec Chocolate, Dior Apparat, Dolce and Gabbana Dahlia, Chanel Strong, Chanel Rouge Noir, Chanel Cosmic Violine, Tom Ford Burnt Topaz (most of these have been reviewed/swatched in the past, sorry I didn’t have time to link each color, but try the google search function on the sidebar)

I personally am really pleased with both shades. I do think they are must-haves for the season, even with the high price tag (which I wasn’t too keen about). I purchased both from Saks NY. The collection should be arriving in stores soon at select counters. As far as I know, both are limited-edition.

Have you checked out Tom Ford fall? Thoughts? (The fall blush review to follow soon.)

Given my new loves for these, I must go re-try my older shades. Perhaps it was the application method that I need to work on.
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Tom Ford Cream Color for Eyes in Platinum and Spice

April 2, 2012

Tom Ford’s new Cream Color for Eyes come in four different warm metallic shades, $40 each. These come encased in a small round potted container similar to that of many other cream shadows. I purchased Platinum and Spice sight-unseen based on a few photos online, to me these seemed the most neutral-toned, the others appeared to be very warm in color.

Platinum is a warm taupe-nude-silver. It applies very sheer but is layerable. I’ve used it as a base all over the lid for a subtle contoured glow on the eyes. It looks very nude on my skin, partly because the formula is semi-sheer. Spice is a warm bronze, also sheer, but buildable. I find it very warm-toned, but not too reddish like some bronzes can be.

 
 

The texture of these are a soft almost mousse-like cream. They have a softness that is like Chanel’s Illusion d’Ombre but without that bounce you find when you press your fingers into the Chanel. The Tom Ford Cream Colors have a soft sheer but layerable texture. I found them most similar to Laura Mercier’s Metallic Crème Eye Colours in terms of how they apply and layer on the eyes. 

The finish is smooth and very light-weight. Not quite a full cream, not like a liquid eye color, not like a gel. It feels like a mix between a cream and a mousse. Color applies smoothly and sheer with the fingers or a brush but is easily layerable. The colors are shimmery but not frosty. The finish just glows which I think is very pretty. 

Lasting power seems fairly decent for a cream shadow … that is if you just don’t touch the eye area once applied. I wouldn’t say they are budge-proof if you touch your eye makeup. However, for me, they did help my makeup last longer throughout the day. 

My first impressions were … well, luke warm. The colors were pretty, but at $40, I felt the packaging was a bit lacking. There is no applicator for the product and the actual packaging seems a bit cheap (the top has a sticker slapped on for the TF logo, most other brands at least have the brand name or logo embossed onto the actual lid). Still, the packaging is sturdy and functional. My first attempts at applying the product resulted in a barely-there look. No matter how I layered, it seemed that the color disappeared as soon as I did any sort of blending. 

After playing with these for a week now I’ve grown to like them more. Particularly Platinum which works as a base or as a stand alone color. For me, the first layers have to be blended (either with a finger or brush) and the color does disappear, however, I’ve found that putting a second layer on top of the first helps the color show up better. Second layers are applied with a patting-motion rather than blending to help the color show up better. 

I couldn’t find dupes for either of these shades. I did pull a few other cream shadows to help compare the finish/texture a bit. 

L to R: Bobbi Brown Smoky Topaz Long-Wear Cream Shadow, Laura Mercier Platinum Metallic Crème Eye Colour, Tom Ford Platinum Cream Color for Eye, Tom Ford Spice Cream Color for Eye, Armani #4 Eyes to Kill Eye Shadow, Chanel Epatant Illusion D’Ombre, Bobbi Brown Sand Dollar Long-Wear Cream Shadow, MAC Constructivist Paint Pot.

Overall I’m pleased with the performance of Platinum. It’s a highly versatile cream shadow. Spice is a shade I still need to work with a bit more. The warm tones are suitable when layered with other colors, alone it’s a bit too warm for me right now. The are both rather pricey at $40 but you do get a lot of product. I probably would have preferred a powder shadow in these colors rather than a cream, but they are still very pretty.

Have you checked out the new collection from Tom Ford? What were your thoughts?

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Tom Ford Gold Dust Lip Lacquer

March 29, 2012

Tom Ford’s Gold Dust Lip Lacquer ($30) is a warm sheer smooth glossy gold with slight coppery tones. Gold Dust is one of two shades available in the lip lacquer squeeze tube format. I haven’t tried the other version (which is a clear sparkle) but have heard many good things about it. Gold Dust has a soft vanilla scent (more subtle than the lipsticks) and a very smooth finish/texture. It’s fairly pigmented when swatched on the hand but sheers out to a barely-there golden sheen. It’s fairly warm and borderline yellowish but I think it’s sheer enough for almost anyone to pull off. I have mixed feelings about this. I love the scent and texture but was a bit surprised at how little color shows up on the lips. Granted I think the lip lacquer style/formula from Tom Ford isn’t meant to be a high-impact color type of gloss, but rather an enhancer. So for the intended purpose I think it’s awesome. For a gloss, I would have liked a bit more pigment, but it does give a beautiful sheen and will work well as a layering gloss.

Close up photos, swatches and more details on the packaging below.

Comparisons to some other gold glosses.

Have you tried Tom Ford’s lip glosses or lip lacquers? What are your thoughts? For reference, if you click back on the archives, I reviewed and swatched some of the regular glosses about a month ago.

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Tom Ford Burnt Topaz, Gold Haze & Silver Smoke Nail Lacquers

March 28, 2012

Tom Ford’s Spring 2012 Collection includes four new metallic nail polishes and I purchased three from Saks.com in Burnt Topaz, Gold Haze and Silver Smoke ($30 each). Tom Ford initially launched sixteen non-shimmer cream shades of nail polish when the complete beauty line was rolled out to select Neiman Marcus and Saks stores. I purchased two shades sight unseen online (African Violet and Pink Crush) and was less than impressed with the color and formula for the price. I did not feel compelled to review them. The formula was difficult to apply smoothly and I felt the colors were unoriginal. Upon professional application I did find the formula extremely long lasting without chips or peeling, but still the formula wasn’t so great. Several months later I was able to see the entire line in store at Neiman Marcus but the poor lighting conditions of the displays combined with the messy leaking lids on the testers prevented me from looking further.
When previews of the new spring collection surfaced, I saw nothing but raves. I thought perhaps the metallic shimmer formula is better to work with. Plus the colors looked really gorgeous. Unfortunately, I personally found the metallic formula just as difficult to work with as the non-shimmers. Application does improve with a good base coat (I tried it with Le Metier’s and Deborah Lippmann’s on several swatching occasions). However, I’m spoiled by the smooth flawless formulas of Dior, Chanel and OPI. I personally find that the Tom Ford doesn’t apply smoothly or evenly with ease. It does even out after two coats. Note this is my personal experience … others might not have experienced the same.
My personal issues with the formula aside, I do find the metallic colors striking. Just not well suited for spring. I know there are no rules when it comes to seasonal makeup … often times colors are timeless and can be worn year-round. I just feel that these are more inline with a fall mood rather than spring or summer.
The colors, swatches and comparisons. Left to right: Burnt Topaz, Gold Haze & Silver Smoke:

For those of you who haven’t seen these in person, the Tom Ford Nail Polishes come in a square bottle with tops that come off. Underneath is a twist-cap (which I find are prone to leaking, at least mine were):

The brush is a good length and size for precise application, if only the formula would glide onto the nail better. There are really good brush comparisons to other brands on Edelich.com – Tom Ford Nail Polish #08 African Violet.

Swatches:

Burnt Topaz is a coppery metallic warm brown. The shimmer is complex and beautiful. Streaking doesn’t show up too bad which is nice for a metallic.

Gold Haze is a pale gold metallic. It leans slightly warm on me. It’s not as yellow as Chanel Gold Fingers and has a softer finish/feel to it.

Silver Smoke appears to be a warm silver in the bottle but on my olive skin shows up as more of a cool-toned silver. It’s also highly metallic.

Comparisons below (you can click for larger viewing):

Overall I think the colors are lovely, but for the high price I expected better formulas. I’m not completely disappointed though. The colors are striking even if they are not my cup of tea for right now. I don’t have a lot of these shades from less expensive brands like OPI, Essie or Zoya, but I do suspect that these are very easy to dupe. The colors unfortunately don’t appear to be all that unique. Still, if you are lucky to be near or happen to visit a store with a Tom Ford counter I still think you should have a look. It’s definitely worth while to stop and play. I still think his lipsticks are the best part of his makeup line, with the blushes as a close second.
Have you tried Tom Ford Nail Lacquers? What were your thoughts?
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Coming Soon … Tom Ford Metallics for Spring 2012

March 26, 2012

Just arrived from Saks.com: Tom Ford Metallics. My picks, sight unseen include Burnt Topaz, Gold Haze, Silver Smoke Nail Polishes ($30 each), Gold Dust Lip Lacquer ($30), and Cream Color for Eyes in Platinum and Spice ($40 each).

I’m going to test these in the upcoming week. In the meantime check out these for more photos, swatches and thoughts:

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Fragrance Collection To Date

February 7, 2012

Photographed in one post by request: my fragrance collection. All 15 fragrances I own (minus one from Tocca which I gifted away and not including the little tiny samples I have accumulated). Where reviews are applicable I will link them. All photos were taken with my iPhone 4S Hipstamatic App.

Row 1:
Jo Malone Sakura Cherry Blossom
Row 2:
Row 3:
Row 4:
Row 5:

I rotate my fragrances more frequently than I rotate my foundations. My nose is fickle and tires quickly of the same scent when I wear them. I’ll alternate depending on mood. The longest I’ve worn a single fragrance is 4 days in a row (Jo Malone Wild Bluebell which I consider magical b/c I use it quite liberally and have barely made a dent in usage). I find the Jo Malone fragrances to be the most simple/pure which allows for easy layering. Out of all of these, my Jo Malone Tea Fragrances are my most worn. Have I used up any yet? No … but I’m more than 1/2 way finished with some of my limited edition Jo Malone tea fragrances.
What fragrances do you own? Or have owned/used up? I feel like my fragrance collection grew overnight and I completely blame my friend LJ along with other fragrance bloggers. Can I count some of my Jo Malones as 1/2 a fragrance because of the size? I know my L’Artisan Holiday Trio is getting used up very fast (each are in the miniature sizes which I will count as 1/3 of a full-sized one). I almost always purchase the smaller option for fragrances even though the larger sizes are often a much better buy. I’m curious to know how many fragrances do you own?
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