TOM FORD

I asked for a sample while in Las Vegas. I wanted to see what the hype could possibly be about. I tried it using my Beauty Blender. Meh. I put the sample away and enjoyed the newest Guerlain (round bottle) foundation sample much better. Then I pulled out the Tom Ford Shade & Illuminate sample (in champagne) again This time I used it with my mini Artis palm brush. Wow. This was beautiful. No oil produced in my t-zone all day. Pores remained blurred And my skin was beautifully radiant and smooth. Not plastic looking. I purchased it! No regrets either. The hot humid Georgia summer is on its way and this will be perfect. SPF 50, nutrients, and the canvas it creates is gorgeous. Try it first. Get a sample. This is expensive. I purchased on 4 payments, no interest to lesson the blow.

I don't tend to use liquid eyeliners, especially in black, because I am not so skillful with them and at my age black tends to emphasize fine lines and other things I don't want emphasized on my eyes. When I was in Bangkok this December, before China shut down the whole world with their criminal negligence, I was able to get a nice makeover from the SA at the Tom Ford counter and he introduced me to this eyeliner. He used it to tightline and emphasize the outer corners of my eyes, to lift them. It was the best effect which I was also able to easily recreate by myself, at home. I love the skinny end of the pen for tightlining, it is absolutely perfect. The color is very pigmented, matte, and it doesn't bleed, even with my watery eyes. It's bloody expensive, but I have been using this a lot since December and it's still going strong. I have bought cheaper liquid eyeliners which dried up on me in a couple of weeks, so if you take that into account, this pen is not that expensive.

This is my first Tom Ford lipstick and I had pretty high expectations given the price point, the reputation of the brand and the hype from reviewers. In that sense, it only met my expectations in terms of the color and the packaging: Twist of Fate is not your average nude or coral color, it definitely has something over other brands whose lippies have similar shades to this. I am a collector of this type of shade, so I have a lot of other high and low end brands dupes to compare it with. It is special and it emphasizes my lips and complexion in a way few other lipsticks do. The packaging is also gorgeous. However, I am less than impressed with the formula: I find it a bit chalky and drying for a lipstick that is not matte. Granted, I have been wearing mostly in cold weather, but still. I would repurchase and continue to try other lipsticks from Tom Ford because I think the colors of this brand are special and unique compared to what else is out there, but I still think the price point is a bit exaggerated given the poor performance of the formula overall.