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Saturday, August 30, 2014

Tom Ford Autumn 2014 Collection
Nude Dip quad and Stroked contouring cheek color duo


Tom Ford limited edition collections set off the inner hoarder in me. Sure, half of the time, they sell out before they even grace the counters across the states, but doesn't that just add to the thrill?

Taupe eyeshadow? Check.

Beigey highlight? Check.

Coral-orange blush? Check.

Really, Tommy. You know the way to my heart... and wallet.


The star of the collection is -- without a doubt -- the quad in Nude Dip ($79.) Not to sound too overly-dramatic or anything, but there is a national Nude Dip crisis at the moment. However, word on the street is it will be available at department stores' websites early September, so keep your eyes peeled. Thankfully, I was gifted this as a birthday gift, and I couldn't thank the person enough! I was saved from calling every TF counter from coast to coast trying to track down this baby.

Let's just say that if this wasn't sold out nearly everywhere, I'd be submitting an order for a back-up. That's how much I love this quad. However, I'm getting ahead of myself here. Let's take a look at the gorgeousness.



Shimmery, metallic, smooth, pigmented, and long-lasting... just how I like my eyeshadows to be. Neutrals, too, of course. There's usually one shadow that under-performs in most quads, but not with Nude Dip. All four shades translates beautifully to leave a metallic sheen on the eyes that is never over the top. One can tell from the swatches that they are highly pigmented (with practically no fallout!), even when applied dry. I haven't tested nor worn them wet, but I would assume that they boast an even bigger punch. I'm usually not the biggest fan of wet/dry shadows, but these are nothing short of amazing.


Whether or not you're a fan of neutrals shadows, I really do think this is one limited edition product from Tom Ford you don't want to miss. Despite Nude Dip looking like a cool-toned quad, it actually leans neutral, thus, complimenting any blusher harmoniously. It's a simple palette, but one can create several eye looks while supplementing a transition shade (and possibly a browbone highlight) with it.


My favorite [quick and easy] look using all four shades in Nude Dip is:
  • ivory gold in the inner coner
  • taupe all over the lid and outer 2/3 of the lower lash line
  • dark chocolate brown in the outer V (blended out with Urban Decay Naked in the crease)
  • champagne on the inner 1/3 of the lower lash line
  • Urban Decay Skimp as brow bone highlight
No liner, just mascara. Simple as that.


Blush duos (or contouring cheek color duos, as he likes to call them) are new to Tom Ford's makeup line. In fact, so are powdered highlighters, not taking into account the highlighter from the Unabashed palette. I initially held off on purchasing Stroked ($77), because I thought the blush looked similar to Love Lust. Long story short, the highlighter beckoned, and I responded.

Now that I have Stroked, I couldn't be any happier with my decision. Tom Ford's blushes usually run $57 each, so paying nearly 1.5 of a blush for two pans of product is quite the deal. Sometimes, the quality of a product is compromised when in a "palette", but I'm happy to say that the quality of both the blush and highlighter is what I would have expected his cheek products to be -- pigmented, finely-milled, easy to blend, and with great lasting power. I really cannot rave about this duo enough!


The highlighter was a pleasant surprise, and I wish he would release highlighters as part of his permanent range. It is a beige highlighter with just the hint of peach undertones to make it suitable and flattering for both warm and cool toned folks. It reminds me a lot of Chanel's highlighters, since it is more glowy and subtle than it is frosty and metallic.

Just for comparison purposes, I have Love Lust, Savage, and the blush from Unabashed to compare the blush from Stroked to. As you can tell, there are no dupes in the bunch. The blush in Stroked applies more coral on my cheeks, even though it seems more terracotta in the pan.


There was another contouring cheek color duo released along with this collection in Softcore ($77) which I passed on, because the highlighter is quite similar to the one from Stroked, so I couldn't justify owning both blush duos. The blush in Softcore is also darker and berry-toned, so if you typically gravitate towards such a color family of blushers, you might fancy Softcore over Stroked.

All in all, another winner of a collection from Tom Ford. My picks would have to obviously be the quad and Stroked blush/highlight duo, but then again, I'm partial to my brown eyeshadows and peachy-coral blushers. He also released two lipsticks, Negligee and Twist of Fate, a polish in Black Cherry, and an extreme mascara in Mocha Rush -- all limited edition -- along with this collection that might pique your interest if you are in the market for something other than an eyeshadow palette or cheek products.

9 comments:

  1. All of the gorgeousness! WOW! That quad is just stunning. I'm glad to hear it performs beautifully! And the cheek duo is beautiful, too! Someone gave you the best birthday gift EVER! :D

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    1. Indeed! :) It was a great birthday even without the TF quad, but it certainly made it that much better this year <3

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  2. ��Fabulous review and pictures����

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  3. Its stunning...... I LOVE it ALLLLLLLLLLLLL.
    Must have Must Have

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    1. Just get it all and we'll be set till Chanel releases the holiday collection! ;P

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  4. This is an amazing review and fabulous pictures!! I love it!! thank you for putting so much energy into your gorgeous posts :)
    hmmm I got the 2 blushes, the Nude Dip and the 2 lippies but it's normal for me, I am totally crazy and love Tom Ford to the point I can order and the quality never disappoints!
    There are only a few brands that drive me crazy like that, it's TF, Suqqu and Burberry (the eyeshadows), these 3 I just have to get all collections when I can and I always use everything I get! :)
    Hugs sweetie!

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    1. Hello, my dear! Thank you for your kind words! I try, I try :) Everytime I attempt to shorten my posts, they always seem to turn into a 3-page essay LOL.

      I agree! Suqqu and Burberry eyeshadows are amazing -- I have the Blush Nude quad on my wishlist now thanks to you! :D Have you checked out Elegance Paris? That's a line I've been obsessing over these days. <3

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  5. Wow, how did you get it to look so satiny on your eyes? I tried this quad and it was frosty on me.

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