My Lipstick Of The Year

There has been one lipstick this year that I've reached for again and again and again, and it's this one from Tom Ford:

 Um, which one?  Well, oddly enough, it's the one on the right - NOT the red shade.  It's Indian Rose.

Creamy, pigmented, and doesn't make me look like a corpse, I can't get enough of it, and it's practically a nubbin as a result.  I might even get a back up.  Yes,  a backup of a £35 lipstick.

Kill me now. 

See my original post on this shade here, and let me know what your pick of the lipsticks of 2011 is in the comments. 

This post originated at: http://getlippie.com All rights reserved.

Review: Tom Ford Eyeshadow Quads - Silvered Topaz

Oh, did I forget to mention this earlier in the week?  Oopsie ... yes, I bought an eyeshadow quad too.  It's very lovely.  Here, take a look:

A suedette pouch?  Embossed with the name Tom Ford?  Oh yes.

The same rich brown enamelled finish as the lipstick cases? Check.  For some reason, this palette kind of reminds me of a cigarette case.  I have no idea why.  It gets better when you open it though:

Palette full of taupes? Check.  What I like about this range of shadows is that there isn't really a theme amongst the palettes, some of them are all matte, some of them are all shimmer, some of the shadows are glittery, it's not strictly a one glitter, two shimmers and a matte kind of thing. This palette, however, is a one glitter, two shimmers and a matte, see below:

Clockwise from top left, there is a chunky gold glitter, a murky shimmering silvered green, a rather flat (but versatile) matte brown, and a shimmering brown-taupe.  Oh, and two sponge applicators:

Slightly less useless than usual owing to the inclusion of a brush, but still far too small to be practical.  Would you like to see swatches?  Okay, here are some swatches:

These are multiple passes on bare skin, pressed on with a finger - using the sponges was as futile an experience as I suspected it would be. The sponges you get with palettes are always rubbish, I don’t know why many top-end ranges bother.  Personally, I’d prefer more shadow and get rid of the disposable applicators altogether.  But maybe that’s just me.

Overall, I have to say that I'm not entirely blown away by the quality of these shadows for the price. Oh, they’re pretty.  They’re so very pretty!  But, for £62 (or £15.50 apiece) I'd have expected the finest eyeshadow quality I've ever seen. Or, failing that, I'd expect comparable quality with other shadows in the same price bracket, say, Le Metier de Beaute, or Rouge Bunny Rouge, or even Edward Bess/Chantecaille.   I expected buttery softness, deep pigmentation, beautiful colours and exceptional wear-time.

I find that the Tom Ford shadows aren't as finely milled as either of the aforementioned Le Metier and Rouge Bunny Rouge, (with the exception of the matte brown, which is of a very nice quality indeed), and they're not nearly as pigmented as either. I had a very hard time getting the shimmery green or taupe to show up in the swatch shots at all, which makes me suspect that these shadows will need a base to get them to show up on the eyes properly. This isn't the case with LMdB shadows, or RBR, or even the case with the most recent palette from Chanel - who have always been notorious for having poor colour payoff, when it comes to the baked European formulation we're stuck with in the UK - but even the limited edition Topkapi palette is almost £30 cheaper than these palettes from Tom Ford. Smaller shadows, thoughbut.

Anyway.

To be clear, this is a good palette, and there are an excellent range of shades to choose from. I'd even like a closer look at two or three others, actually. But, if you ask me, they're simply not £62 worth of good.  If this palette had been £20 cheaper, I'd have been delighted with it, I think. But, for apparently averagely performing shadows, coupled with a lack of heft in the packaging (it's feather light) it just makes the eyeshadow quads appear deeply overpriced, for me. At £62 a pop, I don't see anything wrong with demanding an ultra-luxe product to go with the ultra-luxe price, and Tom Ford hasn't (in my opinion) delivered on this occasion.  It's a deep shame, as I believe the company does deliver when it comes to lipsticks. Believe me, I’ve tried a couple of lipsticks in my time, and Tom Ford’s are good ones.

However, I believe that the eyeshadow quads are somewhat overpriced for what you get. Wonderful to get as a gift, but they’re not actually “game-changing” products.  Are they bad shadows?  No, no, very much no.  Would I be happy to own more?  Yes, indeedy – they’re gorgeous shades, and I have no doubt that a lot of thought has gone into putting those shades together, in the different finishes.

Would I buy more of them?  I’d need to think about it.  Think quite hard about it, actually.  The US price for these palettes will be $80, at today’s exchange rate, that’s around £50, and (somewhat ironically, admittedly), if I had paid around £50 for this palette, this review might have read very differently.  I don’t mind spendy products – the frequent complaints I get for “never” featuring cheap products on Get Lippie kind of bears this out, even though they’re incorrect – but I do want my spendy stuff to deliver.  In spades, and by the bucketload.

**********

On Edit – The above review was written after swatching only. Since then, I’ve been using the shadows every day, and they appear to have softened up somewhat, making the pigment appear deeper. This is a very good thing – and something for you to bear in mind when/if you pick one of the quads up. You will still need a base/primer though, to lengthen the wear, as wear time is about average (4-6 hours) without a primer. 

However, whilst all the shades are now offering deeper pigmentation after a few days use, I have noticed signs of “glazing” (hardening) on one of the shadows, and this worries me a bit. Normally when a shadow glazes it means it is on its way to becoming unusable without scraping first, and I don’t think I could bear that kind of wastage at this price!

So, essentially, I find myself on the fence about the Tom Ford shadows, as some of you who have read this far might have noticed.  I already know some of you think I’m “mental” for having bought anything from the range in the first place (thanks, mum!).   I like them, but I wanted to love them, and I find I don’t. This saddens me.  Other people, however, will love them. They’ll like the name, the status, the pure luxe factor of how they look, even.  They will even like the things I don’t, and I shall love them for disagreeing with me. I may even change my mind in time - unless that glazing gets worse, that is.  Then, oh yes, there may be trouble.

But I’m just flinging this review out there regardless, and letting the chips fall where they may. I suspect Mr Ford won’t be sending me a Christmas card this year, let’s put it that way.  However,  I’m looking forward, very much, to hearing what other purchasers think… even if you think I’m mental.

The Fine Print: Purchase.  I apologise - deeply and sincerely - for the use of the phrase "gamechanging" in this review.  In my defence, I am spending this week mainly auditioning auditors and I suspect that this has frazzled my synapses.  Or something.  I've just realised I have no idea what a synapse is**. 

** Okay, THIS is how frazzled my "branes" are, I've just spent the last ten minutes figuring out how I can work in a joke about "synapse, crackle, pop" into this footnote.  This was the best I could do. I've gone all meta - it's time to log off.  I'm very, very sorry.

This post originated at: http://getlippie.com All rights reserved.

Tom Ford Scarlet Rouge Lipstick - Swatches & Comparisons

On Monday I showed you pristine bullets of Scarlet Rouge and Indian Rose, and yesterday I showed you Indian Rose in more depth.  Today it's Scarlet Rouge's turn.  I own quite a few of the original Private Collection reds (Cherry Lush and Smoke Red are particular faves), but Scarlet Rouge still called out to me when I saw it.

It's a classic red creme finish with none of the micro-shimmer of Indian Rose or Smoke Red, and it leans a little warm, as it has orange undertones.  In the bullet, Scarlet Rouge and Smoke Red are fairly indistinguishable:

Flash

No Flash

You can see the difference in the finish here - those "dimples" in the Smoke Red are the microshimmer hitting the light)  however, on swatching, the difference is immediately apparent:

Scarlet Rouge is brighter, and very definitely warmer.  Smoke Red has a very blue base in comparison.  Something of the brightness of Scarlet Rouge here reminded me of Cherry Lush, so I thought I'd compare those too:

Very different in the bullet, aside from sharing the same non-shimmer creme finish.  Here's how they swatch:

Very similar in brightness, but the Cherry Lush is definitely pinker.  So no dupe here! They're both great colours though.


Scarlet Rouge is a bright, with a soft satin finish.  Perfect for scaring people in board meetings:

The Fine Print: Purchase

This post originated at: http://getlippie.com All rights reserved.

Tom Ford Indian Rose Lipstick - Swatches & Comparisons

So, yesterday, I said I bought Scarlet Rouge and Indian Rose.  Today I'll show you Indian Rose in depth.  A rosy nude shade, with almost invisible (on the lips) micro shimmer,  Indian Rose is a little easier for me to wear than the old nude shades in the private collection range of lipsticks, a lot of which leaned a little too beige for them to be easily wearable for a lot of people, if you ask me.


Indian Rose is very similar in appearance to Pink Dusk (which is still available in the new line-up), but it's a little darker, and a little less beige when swatched:

With Flash

No Flash

As you can see, in the bullet, Indian Rose appears just a tad darker, and has a hint of shimmer that Pink Dusk lacks.  In the swatches, however, the difference is a little more pronounced:

It is definitely pinker, and darker, and the shimmer adds a bit more depth to the shade, but it's not really a "shimmer" shade, as such.   Also, it's definitely still a nude, even though it appears very dark on my skin here.  The lip swatches show this better:

I admit that I do, at times, find Pink Dusk difficult to wear, if my makeup isn't exactly right, the slightly yellow base to the shade can make me look a bit "corpse-y", so Indian Rose is a good addition to my collection, as it'll be a little more neutral, and thus a little more versatile.


The new formula appears to be just as creamy as the old, and is just as pigmented.  This makes me happy.

The Fine Print: Purchase.


This post originated at: http://getlippie.com All rights reserved.

Tom Ford Lipstick - Scarlet Rouge and Indian Rose

I was accidentally at the brand new Tom Ford counter in Harrods on Saturday, and, after fighting my way through the hordes (seriously, it was three or four people deep there, if I hadn't already known what I wanted when I got there, I'd have just given up), I picked up a couple of the new lipsticks.   The new lipsticks are in brown packaging topped with a "TF", as opposed to the original white and gold topped with "Tom Ford":

Yours will come *without* the optional thumbprint. D'oh!

I've seen it look rather flat in a lot of photos, but there is actually a lovely hint of chatoyancy about the packaging, it rather looks like enamelling, also nice and expensive.  Size-wise and weight-wise, they're identical to the original Private Collection packaging. 

So, onto the shades I chose: Scarlet Rouge, which is, in case the name didn't give it away, a red.  Slightly orange in tone, it's on the warmer side for a Tom Ford red, and I also picked up Indian Pink, a rosy nude shade.  Somewhat similar to Pink Dusk, but it's very lovely.

Here's a selection of shots under various lighting conditions:

 
Scarlet Rouge is an opaque creme finish, and Indian Rose has a slight - very slight - microshimmer.

Tune in tomorrow for some swatches and comparisons with other shades in the range.  Oh, and I'll show you what else I bought from the range too ... 

Tom Ford Full Colour is currently available at Harrods, Selfridges and Harvey Nichols, the lipsticks cost £36. 

The Fine Print: Purchases.  Hard fought for, and won.  Dear Tom Ford, my bank manager hates you.

This post originated at: http://getlippie.com All rights reserved.

Tom Ford Launches Full Colour Cosmetics Range - Preview

I was delighted to be invited to the recent press launch of Tom Ford's new full colour range of cosmetics. Here are the pictures I took of the day:

Initial thoughts are that it is all very wearable, the packaging is divine, and that there are a good few pieces going on my Christmas list ... as well as some great palettes, I thought there were some innovative ideas, the brow pencil looks great, I love the contouring and highlighting gel compact, and the brushes look fantastic.

Totally. 

All that said though, I'm disappointed that fully half of the newly expanded lipstick range are nudes, and that they've discontinued some of the best (for me!) shades. I'll be picking up a backup of Pure Pink post haste. Quality of the range overall appears to be very high, but, I will say that for the price point, I'm going to wait and see before I declare it a success or not.

I can't wait to bring you my thoughts when I've had a chance to play with some items ... 

Tom Ford Full Colour will be available from Harrods and Selfridges on September 3rd, and nationwide a month later.
 
The Fine Print: No samples harmed in the making of this post.


This post originated at: http://getlippie.com All rights reserved.

Holiday Preparation - Toiletries

So, my nails are painted, the suncare is purchased ... what else do I need?  Well, toiletries, I guess!  

The haircare that I'm taking is from Tara Smith's Straight Away range - before I had Kebelo recently, (and another straightening treatment since) this was the shampoo I was using, and it was fupping wonderful stuff.  Tara's shampoos are sulfate-free, animal-friendly and free of parabens and all kinds of nasties.   I'm taking them mainly because they come in perfect travel sizes of 100ml, but they are in fact, amongst the best shampoos I've ever used.  They've been featured on here before, my friend Sarah swears by the Feed The Root Range. Oh, and they're exceptionally purse-friendly, costing just £6.50 for the larger bottles.

For showering, I'm taking:

 Tom Ford, Neroli Portofino.  Oh, and:

Tom Ford Neroli Portofino Body Lotion


Now, I'm no fan of the advertising images of this range  - in fact, I'd go so far as to say that I find most (if not all) Tom Ford advertising images at best gratuitous, and at worst downright offensive, but mostly generally totally unnecessary - but I have to say that I do love his products.  Does that make me a hypocrite?  Possibly, but hey, we all have our crosses to bear.  There is quality here, and to me, that is important.  Yes, I think they're over-priced (again, gratuitously, possibly), but  ... you make your choices and live with them, I always think.

Neroli Portofino is a gloriously summer-y fragrance that is based around the traditional cologne notes of bergamot, bitter orange and rosemary, is wonderfully light and refreshing, and the scent is rather long-lasting for a cologne.  The body lotion is second only in formulation to my Haus of Gloi pumpkin butters, being both rich, and yet easily absorbed, and it's beautifully moisturising.  I've been using the Body oil for a while now - courtesy of a sample obtained via the wonderfully generous and amazing Caroline Barnes, who took pity on me a couple of months ago and sent me a tiny decant of her own personal bottle - and this is something I've since purchased.  These all cost between £40-45 each.  A big investment, but a holiday is worth a little splurge, no?


So, you'd expect I'd be taking a bottle of the fragrance too, hmn?  Well, no, actually, I'm taking this instead:

4711.   If the Tom Ford is based on a classic cologne, then 4711 simply is the classic cologne, and at prices between £6 and £17 a bottle, then I had to take this - besides, I didn't want my toiletries to be worth more than I paid for the holiday in the first place!  I've been layering this with the TF body products on sunny days for a month or two now, and they're perfectly complementary!  I defy anyone to tell the difference between the two, after five minutes on the skin.  So there.  I'm also packing a couple of boxes of these:

4711 scented wipes, they're perfect for cooling down lightly over-heated skin, as the alcohol evaporates on the skin in the sun, it'll give a lovely calming scented effect.  And, they're £3 for a box of 12, so a total bargain for those "needing a wet wipe" moments ...

The Fine Print: Products featured in this post are a mixture of personal purchase and PR samples that I've come to love since they arrived.  I'm only taking things I love on holiday.  I'm also taking Mr Lippie. 


This post originated at: http://getlippie.com All rights reserved.

Tom Ford Lipsticks - Bruised Plum and Smoke Red Swatched

L-R Bruised Plum, Pure Pink, Smoke Red

 I posted about my wonderful Christmas present of two Tom Ford lipsticks recently (and well done to all who spotted the difference!), and I had a few requests for swatches, so here they are:

Top Direct daylight - Bottom artificial light (no flash on either)

 The sharp eyed amongst you today might notice that Pure Pink has snuck in there, it's a pesky wee thing, always wanting the limelight ... anyhoo, Bruised Plum is a wonderful deep dark plum that isn't as overpowering as you might expect from the shade in the bullet.  I feared looking like an elderly goth in this one, but it's actually surprisingly easy to wear, particularly when it's sheered out a little.  Smoke Red is a beautiful red shade, which isn't as brown as I was expecting from the name.  It's probably the one of these three that I'm going to get the most use out of, but I wear them all very happily.


I've not noticed many other blog posts that have pointed out that these are actually shimmery lipsticks, and in fact, it was only when I was looking at Smoke Red in particular lighting that I noticed it myself.  I've done my best to show the micro-shimmer in the below pics:

With the red one especially, it might help to enlarge the pics, but in Smoke Red there's a hefty dose of red micro-shimmer and in Bruised Plum there's a smattering of blue and red micro-shimmer.  I have to say that since I've noticed this my appreciation for these lipsticks has actually shot up.  The micro-shimmers just add a certain depth and vibrancy to the shades, without adding glitter or sparkle, and that's a heck of a trick to pull off in a lipstick.  Kudos, Tom Ford!  I haven't noticed the shimmer (if any) in the Pure Pink though.


As for lip swatches, here you go, Bruised Plum first, then Smoke Red:

Not a huge amount of difference in the shades, they're both firmly in my comfort zone, and I'm liking them a great deal.  If you want a lipswatch of the Pure Pink, then please click here.

This post originated at: http://getlippie.com All rights reserved.

Christmas Countdown - Bits and bobs

Continuing my Christmas gift guide, here are some other bits and bobs that I thought might make great gifts for people (including me!).

First of all, one of the more prettily packaged palettes I've seen this season:

Dior Minaudiere

I actually bought one of these for my mum last week, having seen it on a variety of US blogs recently, but if you follow me on Twitter at all, you'll know it was stolen from me when I was mugged last week.  I'm fine, but I'm still heartbroken that I lost this.  Containing three toning eyeshadows and two lipglosses, these are destined to be a collectors item of the future, I think.  They cost £59 from Debenhams, and are well worth the investment, just tuck the Dior bag well away in your shopping!

Jonathan Ward Candles

I mention Jonathan at any possible opportunity, I realise, but for me, his really have become the standard against which I measure all candles.  Clean burning, organic, lovingly presented and always gloriously scented, Jonathan's candles are extremely difficult to beat.  In particular at the moment I'm enjoying the Amber & Spice collection, of which I cleared Wholefoods out of almost its entire stock, recently!  Even the £20 "gift size" candle burns for an extremely long time, and doesn't look at all miserly. Very highly recommended indeed.

Incidentally, Tom Ford has recently introduced a range of candles based on his Private Blend Collection of scents, and I think the Tuscan Leather would be a great addition to my candle wall!

Affordable makeup-wise, ELF makeup is difficult to beat and they've brought out a lovely range of eyeshadow sets for Christmas this year:

I've got my hands on a couple of these sets already, and I think they're astonishing value at £3.50 for the sets of six shadows, to £9 for a set of 32, to £15 for a set of 100!  I adore their Studio line of brushes too, and think that a lot of pro lines will find it hard to compete with their quality at only £3.50 each.

And finally - it's not beauty related, I know, but this IS a beauty, believe you me! - there is this:

Yes, it's a filofax, but to be precise it is the Filofax Gourmet Society giftbox, which contains an organiser (in either the grape that you see here, or Slate Grey), a pen, and a year's membership to the Gourmet Society which gets you up to 50% in thousands of restaurants around the UK.  I was the lucky recipient of one of these a couple of weeks ago, and it has been in daily use ever since, I can't imagine life without it.  This normally retails at £43 (and is a bargain even then, as the Gourmet Society membership alone costs more than that) but is currently on special offer on the filofax website at £38.  I know at least three people who'd love one of these, and probably more!

So, that's it for my Christmas gift guide (for now), I may add to it later ... what are you thinking of getting people?