| Review | Tom Ford Skin Illuminating Powder Duo in Incandescent
Get ready to glow for days because Tom Ford is expanding his Skin Illuminating Powder Duo range! As a person who can never have enough glow, I couldn't be more excited about these latest additions. This pretty new duo will definitely appeal to many people because the shades are so universally flattering. I have been a long-time fan of the duo in Moodlight, which has been featured many times on my Instagram, as well as on this blog. It's nice to see more shades come out in this formula.
The Tom Ford Skin Illuminating Powder Duo in Incandescent retails for $85.00 USD and is available at Sephora and other retailers. Packaged in the classic Tom Ford magnetic gold and cognac compact, this duo is very sleek and easy to travel with. Although it doesn't come with a brush, I don't mind because I never use brushes that come with products. That way, we actually get more product and we can choose the ideal brush to apply our products with.
SHADES
These Skin Illuminating Powder Duos currently come in three different colorways: Moodlight, Flicker, and Incandescent. These duos all come with a lighter highlight shade to illuminate the skin and a deeper sculpting shade that is still luminous but is meant to provide more definition to the face.
Highlight - This highlight shade is a light gold champagne shimmer that will suit most skin tones. It's not a shade that we have seen before but it's still very beautiful and on the universally flattering side. What's nice about this shade is that it doesn't lean too warm or too yellow but isn't so pale or too champagne that it wouldn't suit a more tan or deep skin tone. I think if you are really fair, the gold tones will show more strongly on you.
Cheek Color - This duo features a beautiful warm pink shimmering cheek color. The base of this shade is quite warm but the shimmers and the main pigment is a medium pink. This shade is very pigmented and easily be built up for a deeper skin tone to wear.
COMPARISON SWATCHES
The first thing I thought when I tried this duo was that it reminded me a lot of the shades in the Charlotte Tilbury Lovegasm Face Palette (full review here). The Tom Ford duo is much more universally flattering in tone and shades. Looking at the Tom Ford Highlighter versus the Charlotte Tilbury Lovegasm Highlighter, the Tom Ford one is much lighter and more champagne. Whereas, the Charlotte Tilbury one is much more of a yellow-gold. Taking a look at the blush shades Tom Ford is much more pink, while the Charlotte Tilbury has a lot more red and copper tones in it. I find the Tom Ford shades just a hair easier to wear and a touch more flattering.
Here is how the shades compare to the other duos in the Tom Ford range. You can see that the Moodlight highlighter is the lightest of all the highlighters, leaning more towards a white-gold. The Flicker highlighter is a much deeper and richer true gold shade compared to the Incandescent highlighter. The Incandescent highlighter is the only one that leans on the champagne side. The Cheek Color for each duo is quite different. Incandescent being the only pink one, makes an ideal blush. While for Flicker and Moodlight, its uses would depend on the skin tone. Moodlight's Cheek Color is a rose gold-bronze that can be a cheek color on fair to medium skin tones or a highlight on deep skin tones. Flicker's cheek shade can be used as a contour on fair to tan skin tones or a bronzer or deep skin tones. It's nice to see that I don't have anything in my collection that is similar to the Incandescent Cheek Color, the closest is the Charlotte Tilbury but on the cheeks, there is a big difference.
FORMULA
The formula of both shades in the duo is exceptional and consistent with the Moodlight duo, the original duo ever released. I had some issues with half of the Flicker duo (full review here), which had some rather large shimmer particles that emphasized texture and looked gritty on the skin. This duo does not have this issue at all, which I am very grateful for. The powders are both very soft and smooth. If you do have very textured skin or large pores, you may experience this powder emphasizing this texture. I recommend using a silicone-based pore filling primer prior to using this duo. It will help blur and minimize pores and texture. This powder can be easily picked up on a natural or synthetic hair brush, both of which provide a seamless and even application. The powders blend into the skin beautifully, leaving no visible particles of shimmer but more of a glow or beam of light. This is what I would expect for the luxury brand. Both shades are also very pigmented and can be built up to provide even more color. This gel-powder formula can be used wet or dry but when it comes to cheek products, I recommend applying them dry and spritzing your face with a spray to enhance the glow. The powders also look beautiful on the eyes for a monochromatic look.
THE LOOK
I have expressed several times in that past of my love for using these duos on the eyes and cheeks. You would think that the pink would be difficult to wear on the eyes but because of its warm tones, it looks really lovely as an eyeshadow. Pinks can often make your eyes swollen or sickly but this shade really gives your eyes a summery almost-bronze with a twist kind of look! I thought it would be too much to use the duo on the eyes and cheeks but it is my new favorite summer look! To ground the look a bit, I recommend using bronzer, along with the cheek duo and a very thin bit of brown liner would help, if you choose not to wear lashes. I just used the Highlighter shade in the inner third of my eye and then I used the Cheek Color on the rest of my lid, blending up into the crease. I used both shades wet, by spraying my brush a bit with a facial mist, it gave the shades more of a reflective finish. I applied the lashes and a bit of the Tom Ford Bronzer in Terra. To finish my look, I applied a pinky-nude lip and nude lip liner.
FINAL THOUGHTS
This palette is exceptional in quality and is on par with Moodlight, the original duo released years ago! I think the shades in this duo are wonderful for most skin tones because it is so pigmented and the shades are fairly universal. The powder is so finely milled and blends into the skin seamlessly! You get the most stunning borderline glossy glow with this duo and it just looks incredible in the sunlight. It pink cheek color really brightens up the face and the golden highlighter just gives the perfect amount of reflect to the skin. I loved creating this cohesive summer look using the duo on the eyes and cheeks. I think it would look beautiful for a summer wedding. I can't recommend this duo enough! If you were hesitant to dish out the dollars for this duo, don't think twice about it and get it! It's well worth the money and I can tell you from experience with my Moodlight duo, that these powders will last you forever! Even with regular use of my Moodlight duo, I have yet to hit pan!
Shop Tom Ford Beauty:
SHADES
These Skin Illuminating Powder Duos currently come in three different colorways: Moodlight, Flicker, and Incandescent. These duos all come with a lighter highlight shade to illuminate the skin and a deeper sculpting shade that is still luminous but is meant to provide more definition to the face.
Highlight - This highlight shade is a light gold champagne shimmer that will suit most skin tones. It's not a shade that we have seen before but it's still very beautiful and on the universally flattering side. What's nice about this shade is that it doesn't lean too warm or too yellow but isn't so pale or too champagne that it wouldn't suit a more tan or deep skin tone. I think if you are really fair, the gold tones will show more strongly on you.
Cheek Color - This duo features a beautiful warm pink shimmering cheek color. The base of this shade is quite warm but the shimmers and the main pigment is a medium pink. This shade is very pigmented and easily be built up for a deeper skin tone to wear.
Swatches shown heavily swatched and blended
COMPARISON SWATCHES
The first thing I thought when I tried this duo was that it reminded me a lot of the shades in the Charlotte Tilbury Lovegasm Face Palette (full review here). The Tom Ford duo is much more universally flattering in tone and shades. Looking at the Tom Ford Highlighter versus the Charlotte Tilbury Lovegasm Highlighter, the Tom Ford one is much lighter and more champagne. Whereas, the Charlotte Tilbury one is much more of a yellow-gold. Taking a look at the blush shades Tom Ford is much more pink, while the Charlotte Tilbury has a lot more red and copper tones in it. I find the Tom Ford shades just a hair easier to wear and a touch more flattering.
Swatches from left to right: TF Incandescent Highlight, CT Lovegasm Highlight, TF Incandescent Cheek Color, CT Lovegasm Cheek Color
Here is how the shades compare to the other duos in the Tom Ford range. You can see that the Moodlight highlighter is the lightest of all the highlighters, leaning more towards a white-gold. The Flicker highlighter is a much deeper and richer true gold shade compared to the Incandescent highlighter. The Incandescent highlighter is the only one that leans on the champagne side. The Cheek Color for each duo is quite different. Incandescent being the only pink one, makes an ideal blush. While for Flicker and Moodlight, its uses would depend on the skin tone. Moodlight's Cheek Color is a rose gold-bronze that can be a cheek color on fair to medium skin tones or a highlight on deep skin tones. Flicker's cheek shade can be used as a contour on fair to tan skin tones or a bronzer or deep skin tones. It's nice to see that I don't have anything in my collection that is similar to the Incandescent Cheek Color, the closest is the Charlotte Tilbury but on the cheeks, there is a big difference.
Swatches from left to right: Moodlight Highlight, Incandescent Highlight, Flicker Highlight, Moodlight Cheek Color, Incandescent Cheek Color, Flicker Cheek Color
Swatches from left to right: Moodlight Highlight, Incandescent Highlight, Flicker Highlight
Swatches from left to right: Moodlight Cheek Color, Incandescent Cheek Color, Flicker Cheek Color
FORMULA
The formula of both shades in the duo is exceptional and consistent with the Moodlight duo, the original duo ever released. I had some issues with half of the Flicker duo (full review here), which had some rather large shimmer particles that emphasized texture and looked gritty on the skin. This duo does not have this issue at all, which I am very grateful for. The powders are both very soft and smooth. If you do have very textured skin or large pores, you may experience this powder emphasizing this texture. I recommend using a silicone-based pore filling primer prior to using this duo. It will help blur and minimize pores and texture. This powder can be easily picked up on a natural or synthetic hair brush, both of which provide a seamless and even application. The powders blend into the skin beautifully, leaving no visible particles of shimmer but more of a glow or beam of light. This is what I would expect for the luxury brand. Both shades are also very pigmented and can be built up to provide even more color. This gel-powder formula can be used wet or dry but when it comes to cheek products, I recommend applying them dry and spritzing your face with a spray to enhance the glow. The powders also look beautiful on the eyes for a monochromatic look.
THE LOOK
I have expressed several times in that past of my love for using these duos on the eyes and cheeks. You would think that the pink would be difficult to wear on the eyes but because of its warm tones, it looks really lovely as an eyeshadow. Pinks can often make your eyes swollen or sickly but this shade really gives your eyes a summery almost-bronze with a twist kind of look! I thought it would be too much to use the duo on the eyes and cheeks but it is my new favorite summer look! To ground the look a bit, I recommend using bronzer, along with the cheek duo and a very thin bit of brown liner would help, if you choose not to wear lashes. I just used the Highlighter shade in the inner third of my eye and then I used the Cheek Color on the rest of my lid, blending up into the crease. I used both shades wet, by spraying my brush a bit with a facial mist, it gave the shades more of a reflective finish. I applied the lashes and a bit of the Tom Ford Bronzer in Terra. To finish my look, I applied a pinky-nude lip and nude lip liner.
This palette is exceptional in quality and is on par with Moodlight, the original duo released years ago! I think the shades in this duo are wonderful for most skin tones because it is so pigmented and the shades are fairly universal. The powder is so finely milled and blends into the skin seamlessly! You get the most stunning borderline glossy glow with this duo and it just looks incredible in the sunlight. It pink cheek color really brightens up the face and the golden highlighter just gives the perfect amount of reflect to the skin. I loved creating this cohesive summer look using the duo on the eyes and cheeks. I think it would look beautiful for a summer wedding. I can't recommend this duo enough! If you were hesitant to dish out the dollars for this duo, don't think twice about it and get it! It's well worth the money and I can tell you from experience with my Moodlight duo, that these powders will last you forever! Even with regular use of my Moodlight duo, I have yet to hit pan!
Shop Tom Ford Beauty:
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