Tom Ford Beauty

Unsung Makeup Heroes: Tom Ford Beauty African Violet Nail Lacquer

March 3rd, 2014 by Karen 21 Comments

Tom Ford African Violet Nail Lacquer — Tom Ford Nail Lacquer in African Violet ($32)

Purple eyeshadows; purple liners; purple lipsticks; flowers; candy; sweaters; one-eyed, one-horned flying purple people eaters! PURPLE EVERYTHING!

And purple paw polish, too. 🙂

Of the millions (well, hundreds) of promising purple paw polishes in the universe, the one that electrifies me like a Tesla coil from the tips of my ears down to the tips of my toes has to be Tom Ford’s bright creamy Nail Lacquer in African Violet.

It borrows its name from one of Mother Nature’s most perfect purple creations, in my opinion, the Saintpaulia ionantha plant, or African violet, which, coincidentally, happens to be cat-friendly, according to the good folks over at VCA Animal Hospitals.

Speaking of cats (’cause we alway circle back to the kittehs around here), this particular African Violet has never elicited any complaints from my favorite fashionable feline.

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A Quick Look at In the Buff, Paradisco and Pink Dune, Three of Tom Ford Beauty’s New Lip Color Sheers

February 27th, 2014 by Karen 16 Comments

Tom Ford Beauty spring 2014 Lip Color Sheer — Tom Ford Beauty Lip Color Sheers ($49 each)

Kind of a funny story… One of El Hub’s childhood friends is visiting from out of town tonight, and we only had about 2.5 seconds to clean the house (OK, more like 20 minutes) before his flight landed this afternoon.

You know you’re doing an improv cleaning job of your condo when your idea of tidying things up is hiding the telltale indicators that you’re a crazy cat lady (“Don’t forget to hide his outfits.”) and spraying Nest Birchwood Pine Room Spray in every room and hallway. LOL!

I probably should tear myself away from makeup temporarily to socialize… While I do that, here are pics of a few of the new Tom Ford Beauty Lip Color Sheers that came out for spring.

Yeah, these are crazy expensive at $49 each, but it’s T.F., so that price point is business as usual. But if you love sheer, luxurious lipsticks, these might be your dream come true.

Tom Ford Beauty Lip Color Sheers from the left: In the Buff, Paradisco and Pink Dune

Tom Ford Beauty Lip Color Sheer in Paradisco — Paradisco

Tom Ford Beauty Lip Color Sheer in Pink Dune — Pink Dune

Tom Ford Beauty Lip Color Sheer in In the Buff — In the Buff

Keep an eye out for these shades, along with the rest of the Lip Color Sheers collection, at Tom Ford counters and online.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Unsung Makeup Heroes: Tom Ford Nail Lacquer in Viper

February 24th, 2014 by Karen 13 Comments

Tom Ford Viper Nail Lacquer — Two coatsssss of Tom Ford Nail Lacquer in Viper ($32), writhing and hissing now at Tom Ford counters and online

Not even seasoned snake charmers could tame Tom Ford’s Nail Lacquer in Viper ($32).

OK, so I’ve been on a personal quest, Indiana Jones-style, to find the Tom Ford Nail Lacquer that shouts the loudest to my soul. Before I started, I estimated that this would take approximately forever, or roughly three months, whichever came first, but then I got bit by Viper, which may have ended my personal beauty mission forthright…

Why?

Well, this creamy blackened purplish berry stalks Tom’s permanent line like a cobra stalks a mouse in a field… It’s dangerous! — and if you drop your guard for a second, you’ll be hypnotized.

Equally at home on a bad@ss gal’s nails in a bar fight (a gal who artfully escapes the melee on her Harley without anyone noticing), or a lady in box seats at the opera, or a girl wearing pleather leggings and black Chucks. It’s elegant, tough and edgy — and surprisingly approachable — all at the same time.

The long-running Unsung Heroes series features some of my favorite permanent collection products from a variety of bodacious beauty brands.

It’s also dynamic. When I tilt my fingers juuust right, I see a shiny, vibrant purple, like wet grapes on a vine. A second later, it’s deeper, like a bowl of ripe blackberries about to be devoured by greedy, hungry mouths…

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A Friday Face of the Day With the New NARS Matte Multiples

February 21st, 2014 by Karen 28 Comments

Wearing the new NARS Laos and Cappadoce Matte Multiples on my cheeks — Those are the new NARS Laos and Cappadoce Matte Multiples on my cheeks.

I took a couple of the new NARS Matte Multiples out for a spin today. 🙂

I wanted to see if they’d work on top of NARS Radiant Cream Compact Foundation, and they did! They buffed and blended easily, and now it’s just a question of seeing how well they wear over the next few hours…

Cappadoce, the golden bronze, I’m wearing as a bronzer, and I’m wearing Laos, the rosy coral, as a blush.

Um…yes, I am wearing warm coppery bronze colors on my eyes, again, this time via Tom Ford’s eye quad in Cognac Sable. Apparently, I’m going through a phase, LOL!

Tom Ford Cognac Sable Quad — Tom Ford Cognac Sable on my lids, MAC Superslick Liquid Liner in Definitely Feline on my upper lash lines and MAC Costa Riche on my water lines

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Tom Ford’s $49 Rouge Fatal Lip Color Is So Flawless That It’s Almost Criminal

December 4th, 2013 by Karen 38 Comments

Tom Ford Rouge Fatal — Wearing Tom Ford’s Rouge Fatal Lipstick on my lips

There’s something very villainess about Tom Ford’s $49 Rouge Fatal Lip Color…

It’s almost criminally hot in a naughty, awesome way — like something you’d see on a bad-@ss Bond girl wearing a floor-length sequined cocktail dress in an exclusive underground casino as she blows a slo-mo kiss across a crowded room to her handsome nemesis shortly before she hands a beat-down to some numb-nuts who tries to prevent her from entering a secure area.

BOOM! And then you see that flash of red again right as she smiles before delivering the fatal blow — a kick from her three-inch spiked heels directly in the poor guy’s groin.

Ouch.

Not gonna lie, I totally want to be that chick. 🙂 Mostly because the bad gals get to have more fun with their makeup. They get to go bold, just like this lipstick.

Creamy crimson Rouge Fatal hails from Tom Ford’s new four-piece Jasmin Rouge 2013 color collection of powerful red lips and nails, and wearing it makes me feel like a decadently daring (crazy cat lady) glamorous gangster.

While the $49 price Tom asks for his lipsticks makes me go, “blergh!” I have to say that despite this not being the most unique red in the criminal universe, it does make red lips really, really easy.

I was so excited to try it on that I skipped the usual prep work I do before putting on a powerful red lip like this (exfoliating with an olive oil and sugar scrub, moisturizing with a rich lip balm and lining with a coordinating lip liner). I just threw it on, and hello! — it looked really, really good. 🙂

Tom Ford Rouge Fatal swatch — Swatch o’ Rouge Fatal

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Tom Ford Shows His Softer Side This Fall With In the Pink, One of Two New Ombre Eye Color Trios

September 24th, 2013 by Karen 16 Comments

Tom Ford In The Pink — Question: What’s the secret to this Ombre Eye Color’s supreme softness? Answer: It must be In the Pink.

In the Pink, a Tom Ford Ombre Eye Color trio ($60), has powder shadows so soft that they make velvet jealous. We’re talking softer than soft — even the glitter, which is weird, because I usually associate glitter with grit.

Running my fingers across these pans is like a fingertip massage… While some eyeshadows scoot along the skin in fits and starts, these skate, and whether I’m patting or swiping them on my lids or along my lash lines, I always come away impressed.

The second of Tom’s two new Ombre Eye trios released for fall (the other being She Wolf), In the Pink is the soft-spoken option. While She Wolf howls at the pale moonlight (AWOOOOO!), In the Pink purrrrs, its dainty paws padding as if on clouds.

Like She Wolf’s shades, these — a matte pale pink, shimmery shell pink and a sheer, silvery pinkish glitter — were designed to be worn together for an ombre effect.

Of course, you could break that rule and wear the colors alone, or create interesting effects by layering the glitter atop or beneath the matte or shimmer.

It would be our little secret. Tom would never know. 🙂

In the Pink lights up my lids without announcing to the world, “She’s wearing eye makeup!” And that’s what I like about it. It’s understated and sophisticated.

Lighter lovelies who don’t mind paying extra for luxury lines, and who like the way they look in neutral and cool-toned shades, might find it particularly appealing. Pair it with cat eye liner and your favorite berry lip, and you’re ready for fall.

Tom Ford In The Pink Swatches — Tabs, and swatches from the left in matte light pink, shimmery seashell pink and the sheer, silvery pinkish glitter…

I like In the Pink well enough but, truth be told, if I were forced to Sophie’s Choice it and had to pick one of Tom’s two trios this fall, I wouldn’t hesitate to join She Wolf’s pack.

Sure, In the Pink is a solid trio of everyday eye makeup, but its colors are more dupe-able — and probably for less than $60. She Wolf, on the other hand, is something that doesn’t come along every day.

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Dark, Like Midnight at the Center of the Earth, Is Tom Ford Beauty’s Eye Defining Pen in Deeper

September 17th, 2013 by Karen 15 Comments

Tom Ford Defining Pen in Deeper — I don’t want to get too deep on you here, since it’s still early and we’re just talking about makeup, but I’m wearing the new Tom Ford Beauty Eye Defining Pen in Deeper on my upper lash lines…

Consider Tom Ford’s Eye Defining Pen in Deeper if…

You regularly hang out with Jay-Z, Bey and their entourage and frequently say things like, “This round of Cristal is on me, guys!”
You have yet to find your end-all, be-all perfect liquid liner, and money is no object in your ongoing quest.

At $55, this bad boy requires serious beauty budget wiggle room.

Yep, you read that right — $55 for a black liquid liner.

Deep breaths. I know, it’s effing outrageous, but it’s typical of Tom “Too Expensive” Ford.

For that many tacos, it better perform.

So does it? Will it blow your highlighted ombre hair back?

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Three Different Finishes Howl in Tom Ford’s Ombre Eye Color in She Wolf

September 16th, 2013 by Karen 26 Comments

Tom Ford She Wolf — Hungry like the (she) wolllllf! That’s Duran Duran’s — err, I mean Tom Ford’s new She Wolf eyeshadow palette on my eyes, by the way.

Heart pounding in her chest, she moved silently, low to the ground, her predatory senses extending out around her in search of her prey…

The alpha female had dreamt of this moment for days while she tracked her target, visualizing the attack and playing it over and over in her mind. Closing her eyes, she could almost feel her fangs crunching down in that first intoxicating bite…

As she rounded a corner, the hair on the back of her neck bristled. It was time. She locked eyes with a lanky, Bieber-haired teen behind the counter and growled, “One medium popcorn, please. Hold the butter.”

Wait — what?

Oh, yeah! I wore Tom Ford’s Ombre Eye Color in She Wolf ($60) to the movies last Friday (saw Riddick), and yes, I felt like a predator on the prowl… Never mind that I was hunting popcorn. 🙂

I can’t be sure if it was due to the delicious, salty popcorn or the grayish taupe on my eyes, but in the middle of the movie theater, the urge to stand up and howl was strong.

Thankfully, I resisted.

Wassup, ombre?

This new trio from Tom’s fall collection takes the idea of “three” in an interesting direction, with three powder shadows in three similar shades and three different finishes. Worn together, the shadows create a complex ombre effect that transitions from one shade to the next.

A big surprise

I wasn’t sure what to expect from these shadows or how they’d work with my warm skin tone. The trio includes a matte grayish brown (the darkest color), a grayish taupe with a light sheen (the middle shade) and a sheer, glittery silvery gray (the lightest of the three).

Gorgeous! There isn’t a throwaway in the bunch, and while the colors really do look like a gray wolf’s fur, I think they’re probably best suited to light-skinned lady humanoids and cool skin tones.

Not that they shouldn’t also work well on warm skin tones. They actually do, which I didn’t expect at all. She Wolf just might be one of those rare wolves that gets along well with almost everyone.

Kind of makes up a little for the $60 price tag (that’s Tom Ford for ya!)…

How to wear it

Each of this palette’s shadows can stand on its own, but She Wolf’s true power comes to bear when you wear all three of them together to create that awesome ombre effect. By themselves, the colors are cubs, but together they’re a wolf pack. 🙂

I like patting the darkest color in the outer corners of my eyes, the mid-toned one in the center of my lids and the glitter on the inner side for a gradient that moves from dark to light, and from matte to sheen to sparkling glitter.

TrÃ© cool.

Another thing? The palette loves layering. Try applying the glitter first as a base all over your lids, and then pat either the medium or darkest shade (or a mix of both) right on top. The glitter will peek through the other colors, but slightly toned down.

Just another fun way to wear it.

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