Be a Tom Ford Beauty Now at Select Neiman Marcus Stores

Neiman Marcus, meet Tom Ford…Beauty. As in the new Tom Ford Beauty line. 🙂 The highly anticipated collection recently launched in select Neiman Marcus stores (call ahead to check, in the U.S. at 1.888.888.4757), and with the San Francisco Union Square joint being one of them, I zipped over there yesterday to take a closer look.

You might remember when we sneaked a peek at a couple of pieces from the line back in October. Most of us liked the direction Tom was taking, but we weren’t totally on board with the high prices.

The new counter seems to fit the products well. Like the packaging, it’s sleek, elegant and somewhat masculine, with welcoming dark chocolate brown backgrounds and accents in gold. It looks to me like someone wanted people to get in there in play, as everything’s laid out in clear, easy-to-access displays, so you won’t have to go digging through trays.

A high price on beauty

If you’re a BOGO babe who lives for bargains, well, this sure ain’t no discount line. Products range from $30 apiece for glosses and nail polishes to — brace yourself — $250 for a skin care serum (OUCH!).

The line’s a fairly comprehensive compilation of skin care, brushes, makeup and nail polishes all aimed at achieving a very specific Tom Ford Beauty look, a look characterized by dewy skin, a sculpted face, strong brows and a focus on the eyes. It’s bold, sensual and glamorous, and feels kinda tropical to me, like NARS on a disco holiday in the South of France.

Nudes feature prominently in the color collection — a smart decision, I’d say, especially considering the prices. Seriously, if you’re gonna throw down dozens of dollars on a single product, you want it to be something you can wear every day. Very few gals will spend $75 for a palette they can only take out once a year.

Making me over

Last night at the store, Tom Ford Account Executive Alberto Mayoral sat me down for a makeover, what he called “the complete Tom Ford experience!” 🙂

“Alberto,” I said, “I’m not afraid of color.”

He must have taken me to heart because he went with a purple eye using the Eye Colour Quad in Violet Dusk ($75), a neutral cheek with Cheek Color in Ravish ($55) and a reddish burgundy lip with the Lip Color in Crimson Noir ($48).

I like how it turned out — colorful, but at the same time, not all up in yer grill.

Where to start?

A good question. Alberto suggested starting with universally flattering shades, like with some of the colors in the Eye Color Quads in Silvered Topaz and Titanium Smoke, both great for smokey looks, and Coca Mirage for something more neutral ($75 each).

For cheeks, look to the Cheek Color in Flush, Frantic Pink or Love Lust ($55 each).

For lips, the nude Lip Colors in brownish pink Deep Mink, yellowish pink Coco Ravish and peachy Pink Adobe ($48 each).

Looking at some of the products…

Some of the new products that caught my eye…

Traceless Foundation SPF 15 and Traceless Foundation Stick ($78 each)

Tom Ford has two foundations, a liquid Traceless Foundation in SPF 15 and a Traceless Foundation Stick. For my makeover, to even out my skin tone, Alberto started with the liquid foundation, with its sheer-to-medium coverage and dewy finish, and followed up with the Foundation Stick to diminish my dark circles. Both can be used all over the face, but Alberto used the stick for extra targeted coverage.

I love how light both of the foundations feel and how alive I think they look on my skin, but I’d also like a little more coverage. MORE >>

Shade & Illuminate ($75)

To sculpt my cheeks, Alberto busted out a cream bronzer/highlighter combo called Shade & Illuminate, which is designed to be worn a variety of ways — on top of bare skin, foundation and/or powder.

To structure my face, he applied the darker shade to the curve beneath the apples of my cheeks and the highlighter on my cheekbones. MORE >>

Brow Sculptor ($42)

This gem comes with all the brow bells and whistles I could ever want… Available in four colors, it’s a slanted, waxy pencil designed to create bold, but soft, brow looks.

It even comes with a hidden brow brush AND a sharpener (!) in the case. MORE >>

Noir Absolute ($35)

One is the loneliest number for this, the solitary gel liner in the collection. It looks like a matte black, but it also contains something called “blue optic,” which is supposed to help it emphasize the whites of the eyes. MORE >>

Cheek Color ($55)

Blush ho that I am, I fell hard for these soft, super-pigmented Cheek Colors. MORE >>

Nail Lacquers ($30)

The 16 nail polishes in the line range from nudes to more intense blasts of color, and — this is kinda cool — several of them appear to match the lipsticks. MORE >>

Where to find Tom Ford Beauty…

If you don’t live near a Neiman Marcus store, you can also shop the collection online at neimanmarcus.com and bergdorfgoodman.com.

Rumor has it that you can also find them somewhere inside London’s Heathrow Airport…supposedly in Terminals 3 and 5.

Yes, that last bit was weird. 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen