| Review | Tom Ford White Suede Eye Quad & Mini Lip Set (Nordstrom Anniversary 2019 Exclusive)

| Review | Tom Ford White Suede Eye Quad & Mini Lip Set (Nordstrom Anniversary 2019 Exclusive) 

On the first day of its public release, I already received some inquiries of my thoughts on this set. I was hesitant to get this set since the eye quad included is "White Suede", which I already own when  White Suede Quad came out exclusively at Neiman Marcus earlier this year (you can read a full review with swatches here). After seeing many photos of the set, the eyeshadows looked so different, I had to grab one and conduct an investigation. Has Tom Ford tried to pull the wool over our eyes again, by releasing a different quad under the same name? This is something that doesn't surprise me, as Estee Lauder owns Tom Ford and they often do this with other brands like MAC. It is very annoying for fans of the brand to see two different products under the same name. Especially because the first release of the White Suede Quad was so limited! It was only available at specific Neiman Marcus stores and many only received less than a handful of palettes! Well... let's dive in to see if this set is really worth its value.

The Tom Ford White Suede Eye Quad & Mini Lip Set (Nordstrom Anniversary 2019 Exclusive) retails for $88.00 USD and is available at Nordstrom for a limited time only. The quad is housed in the classic cognac and gold eyeshadow compact with a magnetic closure. This is unlike the first White Suede palette, which was packaged in a white and gold compact. Both compacts are the usual high-quality material, the only difference is the color. The lipsticks are in the classic cognac and gold packaging, just miniaturized and everything is packed in a beautiful gift box for that extra luxurious touch. 

SHADES 

This Nordstrom's edition of White Suede has quite different shades from the one released for Neiman Marcus so, I find assigning them the same name is really annoying! I have had many people ask about how to get their hands on the first edition of White Suede but I feel they will be very disappointed when they see these shades are similar but not at all the same. The shades included in this Nordstrom's exclusive include: 





Soft Pink Glitter (top left) - The sheer glittery pink shadow has very fine sparkle and when combined with the other shades, the pink gets a little lost. It will translate on the eyes as just a sheer shimmering top coat.

Beige (top right) - This soft beige shade has a golden undertone and a very soft sheen. It is a luminous satin finish and on my medium skin tone, looks just like my skin tone but with a soft sheen. This shade doesn't so much for me personally, but it is a pretty natural lid shade. It can also be used as a blending shade and brow bone highlight shade but if you're a medium to tan skin tone like me, this shade will be extremely subtle. 

Bronze (bottom left) -  This bronze shade has a warm undertone and fine coppery flecks of shimmer. 

COMPARISON SWATCHES - WHITE SUEDE I VS. WHITE SUEDE II







Soft Pink Glitter vs. Pink-Champagne Glitter

The Soft Pink Glitter from this new quad is much pinker than the original quad's glitter shade. The glitter shade from the original leans more peach and has more of a neutral champagne tone. Both shades are a sheer translucent sparkle. On the eyes, you will probably not notice much of a difference because the base shade is so sheer and the sparkle is the main attraction.

Beige vs. Champagne

The Beige in the new quad is a lot warmer, more golden, and deeper than the Champagne in the original palette. The Champagne in the original palette had a pink undertone and a strong brightness to the shade. Both have a luminous satin finish but because the Champagne shade is lighter, it has a more dramatic brightening and highlighting effect. These two shades are quite different from each other and I personally prefer the original Champagne shade because it actually shows up on my skin and looks more intense.

Bronze vs. Brown

The new quad contains a Bronze shade that is warm in tone as opposed to the deep Brown shade in the original quad, which leans really cool in tone. This new Bronze shade warms up the overall look significantly, whereas the Brown shade kept the look quite cool.

Steel Blue I vs. Steel Blue II

This seems to be the only shade that is pretty much identical in both the new and original quad. The original Steel Blue I may be a touch grayer but it's really hard to tell the difference between the two. They are the same shade from the color to the formula, in my opinion. On the eyes, the look and apply similarly as well.

OTHER COMPARISON SWATCHES 

The Bronze and Steel Blue shade in these palettes remind me very much of the Eyes of Tom Ford single eyeshadows that were released a while back. I have two shades that are very similar to that I wanted to compare for you. They are quite close to the shades in the palette and if you happen to own them, you may want to consider passing on the palette.







Bronze vs. Iris Bronze vs. Brown

The Bronze shade in the new White Suede palette is very warm but leans slightly more toward an orange undertone, whereas the Iris Bronze single shadow, leans more reddish in an undertone. Both are quite similar with both shades containing small bits of coppery shimmer. You can see that neither are close to the Brown shade in the original White Suede palette, which is a very deep rich brown.

Steel Blue I vs. Blue Velvet vs. Steel Blue II 

The Steel Blue I and II are pretty much identical. Both shades are actually very close to the Blue Velvet single shadow with the one minor exception, the Blue Velvet had little specks of silver sparkle throughout it. The overall base color is very similar, however, the Blue Steel shades seem to have a touch more of a silvery sheen than the Blue Velvet.


FORMULA

The glitter shade is pretty standard in this palette and it works very well. It has a sheer finish but the shimmers adhere very well to the eyes. The sparkle is very fine and looks very sophisticated on the eyes. The Beige shade in this palette is slightly disappointing, mostly because it blends in almost completely with my medium skin tone. It has a nice smooth texture and offers a nice sheen but it really doesn't do much for this palette. I would prefer the original palette's Champagne shade, which is a very pigmented and bright highlight shade on every skin tone.

The biggest disappointment in the original palette was the Brown shade. It was extremely patchy and did not blend out well or wear well throughout the day. It actually looked patchier throughout the day as the pigment began to fade. I liked the formula of the original palette with the exception of the Brown shade. The Bronze shade is a significant improvement upon the palette but unfortunately, it makes the palette lean more towards the warm side, which is very different from the original. The Bronze shade is significantly higher in quality with a smooth and silky texture. It blends out beautifully on the eyes and never looks patchy, which was my biggest gripe with the original palette's Brown shade.

Finally, the Steel Blue shade seems to be the only shade identical to the original in color and formula. It is very smooth, pigmented, and blends out beautifully. It layers very well and is true to its color in the pan. The only issue I have with this shade is that it tends to turn grayer throughout the day and I love the blue tone so much, that this makes me a little sad. Other than the color changing, the formula is exceptional.

I will say that all the shade has a very soft and creamy formula. While they do adhere quite well to the eyes, I did find some minor fall out while I was applying the colors. I recommend doing your eyes before your base, in this case, to minimize the mess.




THE LIPSTICKS

This set comes with two mini lipstick shades and is a nice little bonus for the cost of just the eyeshadow quad. I think of it like getting a gift with purchase, which happens very rarely with Tom Ford. The lipstick colors go very well with this palette and really enhance the overall look. The included mini lipsticks are:



Autoerotique - This lipstick is a beautiful warm brown nude with a warm caramel undertone. It also has a slight peachiness to it. It's a beautiful universal everyday lip color. It has a very smooth and creamy cream finish. It is very pigmented and goes on opaque in one swipe. It has become one of my new favorite lipstick shades!

Paper Doll - This shade is a cool-toned light-medium pink shade. It is not so bright and cool that it is considered a "Barbie pink" but it's pretty close. It reminds me of a very cool-toned petal pink shade, which can work for many skin tones but may look a bit stark on a deep skin tone.

THE LOOK 

I decided to create a similar look to the one I did in my original White Suede review to show how this new palette compares. I used a "halo" or "tulip" eye shadow placement, where I used the Bronze as a crease shade in the inner and outer crease. I placed the Steel Blue shade on the inner and outer corners of my eyes. Finally, I layered the Beige and the Soft Pink Glitter in the center for a highlight and a pop of sparkle. I repeated this placement on the lower lashline and applied some lashes. I applied some Tom Ford Terra Bronzer and Beige eyeshadow as a highlighter, but it's very subtle so you may not be able to see it on camera. I finished the look off with the mini lipsticks included in the set.










FINAL THOUGHTS

Neither this new palette nor the original, screams "White Suede" to me I must say that this new White Suede is a significant improvement upon the original because all the shades have a very good formula. What I hated most about the original White Suede was that the Brown shade was practically unusable because it was patchy during the application, patchy when blended, and got even patchier when worn throughout the day! The Bronze shade is a beautiful substitute formula-wise because it applies, blends, and wears like a dream. I just wish they had improved upon the formula but didn't change the shades because I really liked how cool-toned the original look was. With the addition of the Bronze and Beige shade in this palette, the palette leans much warmer and looks quite different from the original. I really wish they had least kept the two lightest shade the same because I think they go very well with the other shades and they were of excellent quality. The new Beige shade is just too soft and subtle to be a highlight. Overall, if you don't have the original one, you're not missing out too much because this new one is very similar and is much better quality. If you do have the original, this new palette is different enough to justify snagging, especially because the quality is actually much better than the original. I still wouldn't consider this palette to be a must-have despite the huge improvement in the formula but it is a very nice palette. I'm still very mad that they decided to give this palette same exact name of a previously released palette, yet they're very different palettes. The look on the eyes is fairly similar but it makes sense to create a totally unique palette for a Nordstrom anniversary exclusive, instead of slightly altering one that was released previously.

Shop Tom Ford: