TOM FORD Shade & Illuminate - Intensity One

I dont understand why this product isnso hyped while the kkw gets a bad rap.I bought the KKW highlight and became obsessed with creme contour so splurged on this thinking more money would surely equal a better product, and possiy skin care benifits;not true on the first and uncertain of the latter.
Firstly, there is no applicator that comes with it so you need to sweep on with your fingers (bacteria) or have 2 appropriate brushes since the color will transfer into the highlight if you are just using 1 brush.
Secondly, the formula for the contour is nice and rich like an emolient, very similar to kkw, and blends easily. The highlight is more like a balm that sits on top of your skin like a vaseline veil, with a very very sublte shimmer. It doesnt go on white, its clear. Then to set it you need to powder which takes away the dewy wet look.
Bottomline is save your $$ and buy a cheaper option. The Kkw is way more affordable, easy to apply and you get 4 products in one.
I wont buy this again.

I don't know what was I thinking when I bought this and why I didn't get it at Sephora, so I could have returned it.

Pros:
- the packaging looks beautiful, the mirror is great;
- the product doesn't contain skin harmful ingredients, the formula is quite impressive;
- the highlight is perfect for people who hate shimmers, it gives glass like reflection with no sparkles. Basically, it looks like well-moisturized skin that most of us had at the age of 15.

Cons:
- I don't like the formula, it's tacky and stays tacky until you put some powder on (you aren't supposed to do so, because the highlight will disappear) or till you blend it into oblivion. I have thin hair and my hair get stuck to my face when I use Tom Ford Shade and Illuminate;
- the bronzer part has a green-yellow undertone that doesn't work for my skin tone, on me, it looks like a healing bruise;
- the bronzer is not suitable for contouring - it's way too warm and it will never look like a natural shadow;
- I have a dry skin, so it isn't the con for me, but the artist at Bloomingdales told me that any person with oily complexion shouldn't buy it since it will slide off the face. It's only good for a dry skin;
- it's difficult to apply and blend this product if you already have some makeup on, it sticks to another makeup layer and drags it at any attempt to blend.

Wasted 85$ + tax.

So here is the deal folks. Is this worth the money with everything else on the market?? No probably not... Then again is anything from the brand actually worth the high cost in comparison to others?? Again no for me (aside from the brushes and even then)..

However this is a nice product. The highlight is more of a wet glass look not a standard shimmer highlight. I'm not sure who marked the title of this only for shade one because there is not an option for shade two here, Shade one is a great WARM bronzer color think of it more like SOLEIL TAN DE CHANEL with a great creamy texture. Number one for contouring????? Not so much. Shade two while yes a TAD harder to work/blend because there is more pigment as well as being darker it's a better cool CONTOUR color much less warm. Better for hollows. Number one really for me is better for a tanned looked. Worth having both? If you could afford it yes they could both have use. it depends on your needs and abilities.

Worth purchasing for the highlighting segment alone: lends an enviable ethereal glow to the skin. The bronzing shade is just a bonus! Impressive.

This is amazing! Lasts for ages! My skin looks glowing and dewy everyday all day. I would go as far to say as it's probably one of the best things I've ever bought!

I don't even know how you run out of this product. There is do much in the pan!! The contour color is gorgeous on my neutral, light medium skin. It blends beautifully... The high light is just outstanding. It's literally the most dewy, natural highlight you'll ever get. It isn't shimmery, it just looks like sexy, wet skin! Glad I took the $80 plunge... Supppppeerrrr expensive, but worth it.

Hella expensive, pretty packaging. My mum bought it and for special occasions I will use it, on top of it I still put powder bronzer. It blends really well and make my face look much more sculpted. However it needs effort to blend it , so it takes quite some time. Highly recommend it if you have a party or special occasions

This product, when used right, is excellent. It has just the right amount of glow. It's creamy and the brush makes it easy to apply the product, but the key is how you blend it. I have tried a variety of ways, but a damp beauty blender seems to give the most natural finish. I then use my fingers to apply the highlighter to the high spots on my face (which is the best part of this palette).

One of my new favourite must haves ,, really loving this product , I was recommended this and delighted I bought it lovely texture easy to work with the highlight is amazing !! Would defiantly buy this again !

I agree with a lot of the other reviewers... this highlighter is out of this world gorgeous. It's like actually having that glowy, celestial type of skin without any sort of obvious "makeup" effect. Even my most natural, skin colored highlighters don't quite compare when I'm wanting a completely natural, "bare" skin type of look. I love highlighters with an extreme passion and this is up there among the best I've ever worn. It melts into skin beautifully and makes it looks naturally lit from within, sort of the way skin looks when it's freshly washed, exfoliated, and moisturized. That baby soft, dewy appearance. It's colorless with super fine, sparse shimmer throughout. I use clean fingers to apply and smooth in since I love really working it into skin so it looks very natural and seamless. It looks beautiful in photos, and when I wear it I seem to get complimented on my skin a lot. The texture is silky, lightweight, thin, and ever so slightly tacky so it helps it stay put where needed and doesn't start smearing or transferring everywhere. I apply in all the usual highligher types of areas (tops of cheekbones, nose bridge, cupid's bow) but also use it often over cream blush to add a little glow.

The contour is on the warm side for my slightly cool toned NW5-10 skin, though I don't think it pulls orange or ruddy on me at all. But a little goes a very long way so I have to use a light touch with this. I use it under my cheekbones for an easy, effortless bit of contour. When it's done right it just adds a little bit of recession and a shadowy effect. When I first started using it I kept applying too much and it looked obvious. The right brush really makes a difference. I use the Chanel Foundation Brush #6 to apply and quickly blend, then a softer stippling style brush (MUFE 122 Blending Brush) to smooth it out and really blend everything in well. I don't love this, but I do like it. I only use it once in awhile since my go-to contour is Chanel's Notorious. And besides that I don't contour all that often. The texture is the same as the highlighter, so it's easy to apply and blend, and works well with skin's natural texture. The color is a medium, warm toned brown with a slight coppery tone. I find I use it more in the summer and warmer months when I use powder bronzers more often, so it looks more natural overall.

For reference my skin is sensitive and reactive but I haven't experienced any issues with this irritating my skin at all. Also, I have highlighted blond hair and light hazel eyes if that helps.

There's a ton of product here so it's lasted me well over a year so far, and I use the highlighter all the time and there's still about 75% of that product left in the pan. Depending on how much and how often you use it I imagine you'd get a lot of mileage out of this. Still, I wish they'd sell the two products separately as I'd keep buying the highlighter in a hot second and I doubt I'd repurchase the contour. So that leaves me on the fence as to whether I'd repurchase this again when I run out. Hopefully by then TF will have decided to package these separately, but if not I'm leaning towards a repurchase simply because the highlighter is so great.

So overall I'm giving this a three due to the difficult to use color of the contour and the amount of times I use it. But keep in mind the highlighter deserves five lippies.