Tom Ford Winter Soleil 2017

I knew I needed to get hold of the new Tom Ford palette as soon as I laid eyes on those sneaky preview images, because of that glorious purple!  And to make it all so much more interesting, Tom Ford has mixed it up with some unconventional warm hues.  The latest Winter Soleil 2017 Collection sees the return of the eye & cheek palette and sheer cheek duo formats in new colours; as well as a brand new tinted lip oil.

Tom Ford Eye & Cheek Palette in Violet Argente is the most striking of all the palettes in this rectangular clutch format due to its bold purple shimmer shade juxtaposed with a warm brown and terracotta red.  The previous palettes that Tom Ford had released were all neutrals of varying intensities and hues, so Violet Argente is a nice change of pace.  These palettes are my favorite travel companions as they pack a complementary blush and highlighter in a sleek portable size, and I really welcome the addition of a fun colour (not to mention my personal bias towards purple) to the family.

Here are the swatches:

• The blush shade on the left of the palette is a neutral-toned blush pink with a hint of shimmer
• Eyeshadow quad in the middle of the palette swatched in clockwise direction starting from top left – pale pink shimmer with a semi-translucent base
• Top right eyeshadow – medium terracotta red with pink micro-shimmers
• Bottom right eyeshadow – medium-dark purple with violet micro-shimmers.  This shade lacks opacity and does not apply smoothly.  It took multiple swipes and pats to achieve the intensity and even coverage shown in the swatch above.
• Bottom left eyeshadow – medium-dark brown with a frosty finish
• The highlight shade on the right of the palette is a frosty pale pink that shows up easily and blends out well

Violet Argente has been highly criticised on social media because the star shade on the palette seems to fail many people’s expectations.  Indeed, as noted in the description above, it takes much more work than one should when it comes to using Tom Ford makeup.  But its characteristic does not differ much from Tom Ford’s other glitter shades, and when used layered over one of the other shades, it shows up quite easily.  If you insist on using it as an actual purple shade, that is still possible with a good fat pencil brush as demonstrated in the eye look above.  I started with the terracotta red over the inner 3/4 of my lid, followed by purple on the outer corner.  Blended the outer V with the brown, taking it down along my lower lash line.  Finished with the pale shimmery pink on my inner corner.

Here’s the full makeup look featuring the eye look shown above, accompanied by the blush and highlighter (which the camera has failed to capture) shades on my cheeks.  On the lips is Guerlain Rouge G in Glamorous Cherry from the Holiday 2017 collection [reviewed here].

Tom Ford Sheer Cheek Duo in Lavender Lure is the latest shade offering of this nifty blush/highlight travel duo.  The small squarish compact contains a blush in the bottom and a complementary highlight on top, and the two may be used blended together as a luminous blush.  They may be used both wet or dry, though I’ve never felt compelled to use any of my blushes wet before.

Compared to its predecessors, Lavender Lure is the coolest-tone of them all.  However, I did not find it very much different from Bicoastal, with just a very slight change in undertone, but if you already have one, you probably don’t need the other.

And to round up the colour makeup offerings from the latest Tom Ford Winter Soleil Collection, are a handful of Lip Slick.  There are 4 tinted shades to choose from, and all are formulated with Jojoba and Coconut oils to protect and nourish lips.  The product is a light liquid that is dispensed by a twist-click mechanism at the bottom of the pens, and applied via the roller-ball tip.

The 2 shades that I have are Hibiscus Kiss and Bitten Berry.  As you can see from the swatches above, Hibiscus Kiss is more fuchsia, whereas Bitten Berry is a muted plum.  The colour sheers out substantially though, leaving no more than a mere whisper of a tint.  The Lip Slick does feel very pampering on my chapped lips though, but it does not last and goes away with a mere sip of water.

Here is another makeup look featuring the Tom Ford Sheer Cheek Duo in Lavender Lure on the cheeks, and Bitten Berry Lip Slick on the lips.  On the eyes is an upcoming SS2018 makeup palette that I’m currently working on… *multitasking*.  I do think the Lip Slicks can be a nice alternative to glosses, if you use it over a liner, or lipstick (although in the latter I would recommend using a clean brush instead of the rollerball).

Tom Ford Winter Soleil 2017 Collection is out in counters now.  Everything here will be available for at least 6 months, until the next Summer Soleil collection arrives.  Did anything here pique your interest?

_{This post featured products that were generously provided for my consideration.  Regardless, all opinions expressed here are my own honest, unbiased views.}