Later this week Tom Ford spring 2017 finally hits Singapore. A host of exciting new releases as well as newly reformulated blushes and shade extensions!
I was lucky to get a look at these gorgeous goodies earlier this week. Swatch, play and test run! Truth be told, Tom Ford releases are what I look forward to the most each season, there’s always something exciting and innovative and this season did not disappoint!
Among the new collection are two new Shade & Illuminate Cheek palettes, six Lip Contour Duos & three brand new Cheek Colours.
I’ll be focussing mainly on the Lip Contour Duos as they are limited edition, with a quick look and swatches of the rest.
No words needed, but these are the stuff of dreams! Absolutely stunning saturated shades from nudes to corals to pinks.
The packaging is identical in size and design to the blushes. Small, compact and easy to store. However as far as portability and application on-the-go is concerned, I find the applicator duo quite useless. The lip brush is sparse and doesn’t perform as well a regular lip brush would (colour applies rather streaky and uneven). I also instinctively shy away from sponges for sanitary reasons.
So far i’ve been using these with clean fingers. Plus I don’t really feel the need to touch up through the day so it’s been working out fine for me.
The lipsticks apply creamy and smooth as seen in the swatches above. What’s interesting though is they are ultimately matte! and set into a velvety finish. I believe this finish lends a modern edginess to the overall look created. Something unexpected and tasteful.
On a side note, I wouldn’t recommend these duos to anyone with dry, dehydrated or flakey lips. The formula isn’t hydrating (even though they apply creamy) and tends to emphasize flakes.
So far my top pic would be Tantalize. The contrast between the shades allows endless possibilities. For an instance, a Korean ombre lip. Just fill in the entire lip with the lighter shade and dab on the bright coral in the middle and blend. Easy peasy!
P.S – For more pics of this collection & previews, join me here on Instagram!
Also exciting is the new blush line up, with all existing shades freshly reformulated. The most noticeable difference was that the shimmer content is now minimal and no longer have the ‘glowing from within’ look that TF blushes normally achieve. Overall they look matte/satin once swatched, with an exception to the shade Flush that is now satin with chunkier, noticeable shimmer.
The colours of the older shades do seem slightly different as well. Flush is noticeably more pink, with Ravish looking more brown as opposed to it’s usual rose tone (If you never owned the old Ravish, PICK IT UP NOW).
I haven’t had the opportunity to see all the reformulated shades (Frantic Pink, Love Lust & Savage are missing here), but overall I do believe the new blushes are slightly more powdery.
Here’re swatches of the three new shades alongside the (new) old ones.
Gratuitous (new) is a mid tone plum in a satin finish.
Disclosure (new) is a pink rose.
Inhibition (new) is peachy nude.
Savage is a warm rust.
Wicked is a neutral mid tone pink.
Flush is a bright pink coral in a satin finish.
My top pick from the new blushes would be Inhibition. It fills the gap for a good everyday neutral. Literally love at first sight!
Bottom Line
It’s the Lip Contour Duos that are on my must-have list. Even though the palette form can be tricky to work with, the product alone screems high end, high quality, luxurious, which Tom Ford represents. Hypnotic colour that’s bold and audacious!
The pricing too make these even more tempting (SGD85), technically two lipsticks for the price of one.
The Shade and Illuminate duos (not featured in this post), were two blush & highlight additions to the existing Shade and Illuminate palettes. I found the colour very glossy and a little too sheer for my liking. My first impression, they aren’t must haves. Specially in the kind of humid weather we live in Asia, they run the risk of looking oily on the skin. I’ll be swatching and reviewing this separately after a longer test run, so stay tuned 
Other Info
All products discussed here will be available at Robinsons Tom Ford counter on the 25th February with Tangs carrying the line from the 2nd March.
*I urge you to run, not walk to the counters to grab the Lip Contour Duos. LE products tend to disappear from the counters within a matter of hours, and these are too beautiful to pass up!
