| Review | Tom Ford Soleil Eye and Cheek Palette in Soleil D'Ambre

| Review | Tom Ford Soleil Eye and Cheek Palette in Soleil D'Ambre

Are you ready to heat things up this spring 2018? Tom Ford is, with some red hot tones for spring! Warm tones have been on trend for the past year and seem to be continuing on to 2018 pretty strong with more and more warm toned palettes being released. However, this one seems particularly unique because it isn't entirely warm tones, I'll explain soon. 

The Tom Ford Soleil Eye and Cheek Palette in Soleil D'Ambre retails for $155.00 USD and is available at Neiman Marcus and Tom Ford. I am told this is a retailer exclusive palette for Neiman Marcus, I will update this blog post if anything changes. Like its previously released counterparts, this full-face palette is housed in a luxurious white lacquered, rectangular case with a gold clutch-like magnetic clasp. It has a weight to it but still remains portable and travel-friendly. I adore this packaging, it is so chic and classic. It looks clean and simple but still so high-end and luxurious. 

The Soleil Eye and Cheek Palettes in Soleil D'Ambre contains 1 blush, 1 highlighter, and 4 

eyeshadows. 

CHEEKS

Blush - This red blush is insanely pigmented and soft. It looks very intimidatingly red but a light tap into the product is enough to start slowly building up your flush. I like to use a duo-fiber brush because the bristles are very fine and light, it feathers on the pigmented blush very lightly and with a lot of control for blending. The color blends into the skin seamlessly and flawlessly! It gives your a very glowy flush that looks healthy and fresh. The blush is a slighty pink-toned red with a fine pink shimmer throughout it. It wears all day long and creates such a fresh looking flush, perfect for spring!

Highlighter - My goodness! I don't even know where to start with this beautiful highlighter! After my first application of this highlighter with a fan brush, I was in awe! It is so pigmented and incredibly smooth! It has no obvious glitters of shimmers just an intense glow! You can always apply it subtly by picking up less product but if you want some serious glow, you really don't have to work very hard with this product! It doesn't emphasize texture or pores, it just gives you the most beautiful gleam! The shade is a slightly pink-cool champagne shade. It will look amazing on all skin tones and because it is so pigmented I can see this working on darker skin tones! I seriously can't take my eyes off of my cheekbones, the highlighter just makes your cheekbones catch the light in the most perfect way! 

The shadows are best described by looking at the Private Blend Shadow finishes (read my full review on these here). Below I included the finish that each shadow is most similar to.

Soft Pink Shadow (sateen finish) - Typically, the lightest "highlight" shade in Tom Ford palettes don't have the best pigmentation or texture but I was shockingly surprised by this one! I picked up very little onto my brush to highlight the inner corner, not expecting much, but very surprised to see full pigment in my inner corners! This light silver-pink brightens the inner corners of the eyes or can be sheered out as a brow bone highlight. The pink is not as strong when applied to the eyes, it appears more silver-white with a pink tint. This shade has more density and pigment than the sateen finishes released in the Private Blend Shadow Collection and it adheres to the eyes very well! 

Gold Glitter Shadow (pailette finish)  - This glitter shadow appear in the pan as an "old gold" or "tarnished gold" shade but on the lid, it gives a pale silvery-pink sparkle. When applied to the lid, it gives a "wet" effect and glistens in the light beautifully. These glitter shadows tend to not be very pigmented and are often intended to be used as a "topper" shade. While it is sheer, the effect is truly stunning especially alone but is also a beautiful finishing touch on top of eyeshadows. The particles are very fine and I don't have an issue with fallout even with a brush application. However, this texture is best applied with your fingertips. 

Slate Taupe Shadow (vinyl finish) - Typical of these vinyl finish shadows, this eyeshadow is intensely pigmented and metallic! It has such an amazingly smooth and creamy texture. It sits on the lids beautifully providing a metallic glow that looks like molten metal. I love the texture and finish of this shadow. The color is also very unique, it is a slate taupe shade with a purple tone and a subtle patina gold tint! It almost appears too cool toned to work with this palette, however the purple tones in it pair so well with the red tones of this palette and the ! This is also great for a one-shadow look, the color is so intense and eye-catching! 

Cranberry Shadow (suede finish) - This shadow is best described as a cranberry shade, it is a red shadow but with a pink tone and a subtle copper shimmer. It's quite a rusty red shade. It is very pigmented, like all the other shades. It blends very nicely but takes just a pinch more time to blend than some of the other shades. I like to blend this color out with the blush in this palette. It creates an interesting warmth to your overall look.

DUPE FOR PINK GLOW (2015)?

This new addition to the Soleil Eye and Cheek Palettes in Soleil D'Ambre is giving me some throwback vibes to the summer of 2015. Anyone remember this palette? The Limited Edition Eye and Cheek Compact in Pink Glow. Looks like this Soleil D'Ambre palette is kind of inspired by Pink Glow, at least in my opinion. I know Pink Glow was highly coveted and to this day, I still get comments on pictures of it about how people regretted not purchasing it. I must say, there should be no regrets because as beautiful as this palette is, the new product formulas have exceeded this palette in beauty and quality. 

Here's a comparison of the two: Soleil D'Ambre (on left) vs. Pink Glow (on right ) 






BLUSHES 

Pink Glow vs. Soleil D'Ambre - To me, they're almost identical, the pink glow might be a tiny touch warmer but on the skin, there's no way of telling. They both seem to have a subtle pinkish pearl and are almost the same shade of red.

HIGHLIGHTERS

Pink Glow is much warmer, peach-tones with gold shimmers. It also is not nearly as pigmented or glowing, I would consider it a subtle highlighter, especially on my medium skin tone. Soleil D'Ambre is a very cool-toned, almost like silvery pink-champagne shade. This one is highly pigmented and has a very intense pearl to it.

LIGHT EYESHADOW

Pink Glow's lightest shadow is not nearly as pink, it is a very soft pale pink-champagne pearl. It's just a touch cooler than the Soleil D'Ambre highlighter. The Soleil D'Ambre lightest shadow is much more pigmented and is a soft pink shade and seems to have more shimmer.

GLITTER EYESHADOW 

Pink Glow has a much warmer golden shimmer and Soleil D'Ambre is more of a pink-toned taupe champagne. Both seem to have the same level of opacity and need to built up for a full coverage.

RED EYESHADOW

Again, I would say these shades are pretty similar. Pink Glow is not as pigmented and requires a bit more layering and it appears more metallic. It also has a touch more purple in it whereas, the Soleil D'Ambre has touch more warmth. When applied, I don't think there is a noticeable difference. 

OVERALL THOUGHTS

The new Soleil D'Ambre wins by a long shot! In general all the textures, shades, and finishes perform much better than Pink Glow. The new palette is much more pigmented as well! It also includes an additional shade, the taupe shade. It has surpassed the 2015 formulas and create essentially a very similar look! If you missed out on getting Pink Glow, this is the next best thing! In fact, it's even better!

This palette definitely doesn't feel like a spring palette with the shades included however, it is a beautiful palette! While it appear like a very warm palette in the pan, when applied all the products seem to have a cool-toned property to them with a slightly pink and purple tint. It creates quite a balanced look but leaning just a pinch cooler. What I really love about this palette is the pigmentation. I often find that with full-face palettes, they are often catered to only a light to medium skin tone. The pigmentation is so intense in all these products that I can see this working very well on a deep skin tone! This palette, unlike the previous releases, can really span a large range of skin tones. The texture and finishes of all the products are all creamy and decadent. It feels luxurious to use and wear. The products all last very well on the skin and can be worn up to 8+ hours! I find all the shades compliment each other very well to create a cohesive and complete look. The highlighter and blush are really out-of-this world stellar! I can't get enough of them, they really create a fresh-faced look, perfect for spring! While the price of this palette is very high, it is probably one his best to-date! 

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