Brand new TF cream shadows! 🙂
Just kidding. They aren’t cream shadows…but they look like they are, don’t they?
I can’t be the only person out there who thought that these new Tom Ford Shade and Illuminate Lip Duos were actually cream shadows. In fact, I may or may not have tried one of them on my lids (FYI, I don’t recommend doing this, although, off the record, it was kind of fun!).
Are these cream shadows or what??
Tom’s new Shade and Illuminate Lip Duos look like eyeshadow duos, cost about as much as his eye products (they’re $60 each), and they even come with little sponge applicators.
Thing is, they aren’t for ‘ze ? eyes… No, these are for ‘ze ? lips!
Tom ford whipped up a new formula called “powder gelee,” which I think might be fancy talk for a cream-to-powder lip formula, for these swanky six, all of which are new for spring 2017.
Tom Ford’s powder-gelee formula features emollient oils and a blend of polymers that provide rich color release and adherence.
These duos go on creamy but dry to a velvety matte finish. I think they look a lot like the Chanel Velvets, but they feel lighter than Chanel’s do to me, which I wouldn’t have guessed possible, because the Chanel Velvets feel sooo barely-there noticeable.
If you don’t like to feel like you’re wearing lipstick when you are, I think you’ll like how these feel.
Next-level highlighting and contouring
Tom Ford is BIG into contouring, with darker colors to sculpt and create angles, and lighter colors to accentuate and draw the eye to the high points of the face. It’s a structured, architectural makeup aesthetic, and it’s the kind of aesthetic these duos are designed to bring to lips.
The two coordinating colors are for doing easy ombre matte lips. You use the darker shade to outline your lips and the lighter shade to highlight the inner areas. Or, you can just be a lazy lip lady like me and use the colors separately/by themselves, because let’s be real — I ain’t got no time to carefully blend two lip colors together. Plus, I left lips with dark outlines behind me in the ’90s.
Still, part of me loves how Tom Ford took these to the next level, and I gotta hand it to the Tom Ford girls who have the chutzpah to highlight and contour their lips, because that’s some hardcore makeup commitment, baby!
Layering is SO key
OK, I admit it — these lipsticks are a lot of fun to apply. Normally, I’ll always choose a lipstick bullet over a palette, and I talk mad smack about silly sponge applicators, but for some reason, loading this sponge and swiping it across my lips is hella satisfying. I can completely cover everything in one layer (they’re crazy opaque!), and my lipstick and lips look preternaturally smooth, like I made a sketchy side deal with a trio of witchy sisters for eternally youthful, velvety lips.
Oh! — and they smell like Vanilla coke!
Mmm, Vanilla Coke… (But they’re unflavored.)
Now here’s the kicker: these aren’t the longest-lasting lip products in the Tom Ford fam, so you might want to have your favorite lip balm, lip pencil and maybe even a long-wearing sticky gloss handy, because these don’t last long if you wear them on their own. I only get about an hour or two at the most, so I suggest lining your lips with a lip pencil first and popping a layer of TF Shade and Illuminate on top.
And if you have dry lips like I do, lay down a lip balm before you use the lip pencil, because when I skip the balm, my flakes go bat-sh@t cray.
Yup, the formula is drying.
Final verdict
Props to Tom for creating an innovative formula that looks lovely on lips (especially in pics), but I think these really should last longer for the price.
I’ll always have mad love for Tom Ford lippies, but there are other lipsticks in the TF line that last longer, leave my pout less parched (like my main squeeze, Sable Smoke), and are probably a better deal overall for your moolah.
Adventures in Pilates…
That Pilates class I went to on Sunday in Petaluma was pretty cool. It was my first time ever at Pilates, and it was definitely a different workout than I’m used to.
I like to run, and I’ve been liking the HIIT classes I’ve been going to. Basically, I’ve always liked workouts where the music’s blasting and you grit your teeth and go into beast mode, but Pilates wasn’t like that at all. It was very elegant and concentrated, and very focused in a different way.
The particular class I went to was at Urban Guerrilla in Petaluma (my friend Bernadette teaches it). Most of the class utilizes these machines called Reformers, and there’s lots of leg work, core work and arm work with resistance, which is cool.
I don’t know if I’ll do it again right away, because I’ve been in a mode to slowly increase the intensity of my workouts lately, but maybe when my core gets stronger I’ll be able to go in there and push myself harder in different ways.
I didn’t leave the class drenched in sweat, but I left feeling good. All of my muscles felt stretched and…longer (WOW, like the calf stretches!). When we did the calf stretches, I was the one who went, “arrrghh!” from the burn, and Bernadette said, “Did you go for a run yesterday?”
Yeah…I did.
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
First of all, yes, they should last longer and yes, they do look like cream eyeshadows. And while they are pretty, my lips are so thin that any attempt to contour them leads to me crazy oberdawing them and that is not a good look.
And Pilates… It is very effective, I know, but just like you said I prefer loud and fast classes or excercise. With the exception of a little yoga here and there, but that is relaxing more than excercise.
Layering really helps to get them to last longer.
I like Nikita.
Yes, that one’s beautiful.
Nikita is the best one…but TF in general is way overpriced.
Sorry about your burning bum! 😮
That one is super pretty.
I love TF — when they do things right, they’re perfection.
I wish they were eyeshadows because the shades are really pretty. But I don’t think I’d spend $60 on a product that doesn’t even last that long.
These are pretty but I too prefer a bullet over a lip type palette. Also, like you said, for $60, these need to last alot longer! I haven’t ever tried a pilates class but I imagine that all of your muscles are BURNING by the end of the class lol
I love Tom Ford…usually and get excited for each new release. But I gotta admit there isn’t one single thing this spring that’s exciting me. I guess I get to save some money.
I tried pilates once, I was bored out of my mind. I like music and sweating and lifting weights and swinging kettle bells and fast skating and fast horses. If my heart or adrenaline isn’t pumping I’m not that interested in it.
Oh my, that’s so true, Karen! These kits look exactly like eye compact I used to play with when I was a kid! My favourite shade is that orange-y coral in Tantalize!
xoxo
Shows how much I know, I really thought you were going to talk about eyeshadows and lip duos in one post…HAHA They really did look like shadows to me.
The concept is really cool and I’m intrigued to try them for myself, especially since I love to collect makeup I don’t even use haha. If I had to pick a favorite to try, I’d probably go for Nikita or Impulse…they look so pretty.
I definitely like the sound of some vanilla cake, and while I don’t mind reapplying lip color, um, sixty dollas?! For an hour of drying lip color. Come on, Tom. I’d rather get one of his goregous lippies in the tube =)
Thank you for sharing about them, Karen! I always enjoy reading about the latest products, even (especially?) when I’m on a tighter beauty budget.
As for pilates, I have zilch core strength and it kills me every time I try it. Hubby and I have been doing yoga this week which is a lot easier for me. But I also prefer the more upbeat, high intensity type of workouts.
Have a great night!
I’m so pleased you tried reformer Pilates! Before I had Sally I worked at a physiotherapy clinic & we had regular Pilates classes – I’d do one or two classes a week, have done for years. Sadly I can’t do more high impact stuff like running (my fibromyalgia doesn’t like it lol) so Pilates is perfect for me for exercise & pain management.
Hi Janet,
Is there any way to make pilates more intense? Would I just up the resistance? I really like to sweat!
How are you and Sally doing?!
I always did Pilates in a small physiotherapist led class, so they catered it very specifically and it was always pretty challenging lol.
But once you have the basics down, there are certain exercises that work you more, also you could up the resistance or the number of reps. Generally the strengthening exercises feel more like a sweaty workout than the stretching exercises.
Sally & I are doing ok, she’s been a bit fussy and crying/screaming more this week. Currently I’m wearing her in a wrap carrier on my chest, because she’s extra fussy at night (it’s about 9pm here). The wrap works miracles with calming her down.
I loved the colors in Saboteur, but I’m not into all the work. Plus I eat every few hours.
I love Pilates on machines, you get a much better work out then you think you are and it really can help sculpt the limbs. I can’t wait to go back. I wanted to earlier this year but the dog needed surgery so I needed to rein in my spending.