Although I used to collect Tom Ford nail polishes for some time, I haven't posted a separate review featuring only his nail polishes until now. You might have seen the bottles popping up at some comparison posts or on some overall looks together with the eye products here and there, but today is officially the first time I am giving it a try.
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| Tom Ford Nail Lacquer #24 Black Sugar (right), #25 Show Me The Pink (left) |
The reason behind my silence is the love/hate relationship I developed with Tom Ford polishes and finding it very difficult to express my feeling towards them. Each time I am drawn to the mini counter in Stuttgart Breuninger (which has only lip and nail products), my favorite SA greets me and she smiles knowing that I am going to complain about the quality, yet I won't leave there empty handed. Some times I wear a Tom Ford nail polish and see people asking about it, commenting how nice the shade is. I nod and frustrated point out the uneven parts of the application I can't get rid of despite the careful application (especially from the creme polishes of the line, e.g. African Violet, Viper).
Long story short, I decided to give two limited edition nail polishes from Fall 2013 Collection a try and purchased Black Sugar and Show Me The Pink (12 ml / .41 OZ, 31 EUR / $32).
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| Tom Ford Nail Lacquer #24 Black Sugar (right), #25 Show Me The Pink (left) |
I started by trying out Show Me The Pink, thinking that would complement my holiday tan. I found the application of this one unfortunately a little streaky and after the second coat I had some unevenness on the surface. With the third coat it can be evened out if you are willing to go there. It is a nice peachy pink, not too pink, not cool or warm. It would look nice together with eye shadow trio "In The Pink" (reviewed here) from the same collection. In the bottle it has some silver micro shimmer which doesn't transfer onto the nails. Below you can see two coats, photos are taken under the sun and in shadow to give you a better idea of the shade.
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| Tom Ford Nail Lacquer #25 Show Me The Pink under sun |
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| Tom Ford Nail Lacquer #25 Show Me The Pink in shadow |
Once I opened the box and took Black Sugar out, I was amazed by the complexity in the bottle. It has red micro shimmer in a gorgeous taupe base. Let's be honest, I have seen many peachy pink nail polishes with silver shimmer but not a single taupe with red shimmer that I recall. I was very excited. After application, I found out the gorgeous shimmer in the bottle can only be seen on the nails directly under sun and with the help of a microscope (!) but nevertheless it gives this shade some complexity and a reddish plum hue which still makes it unique once compared to similar creme taupes, such as Chanel Particuliere or Dior Dune (check out Sabrina's comparison swatches). Below I managed to catch the shimmer in the bottle and even some on the nail by the second photo.
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| Tom Ford Nail Lacquer #24 Black Sugar |
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| Tom Ford Nail Lacquer #24 Black Sugar |
Final thoughts: Show Me The Pink is a little streaky by the second coat, thus a miss for me considering the price point and the number of similar polishes I own. Black Sugar though has a nice complexity and a better formula (evened out by the second coat on my nails) so if you like taupe on your nails, you may want to check this one out.
How do you feel about shimmers which doesn't transfer on the nails? How do you find Tom Ford's nail polish formula?
Oh too bad about Show Me The Pink. I'm not a fan of taupe usually but the faint shimmer of this one makes it very interesting, love your pictures of it :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, it is an interesting taupe but if you don't like those shades, you may want to see it in person before splurging because the end result is a taupe :-)
DeleteBlack Sugar looks great:)
ReplyDeleteYes it is pretty and complex :-)
DeleteI can see the red in the second picture! Very unique....adding to my shopping list ;p
ReplyDeleteLOL, yes the red sparkle, once seen, is very pretty. Enjoy!
DeleteWhen I was at the counter I considered getting the black sugar but thought it looked similar to Chanel's vendetta but from the beauty look books comparison they look different.... I'm not sure I like taupe (I don't wear it often) but I might pick it up
ReplyDeleteSucks about the formula on the pink one :( I hear the old nail polish formulas are not good. I only have minx and dominatrix which I like the formula but esp with increased pricing I much prefer to get chanel polish
I also liked the formula of Minx and Dominatrix. I also loved the shades. Some of the creme shades also work for me but at this price point, I would expect it basically applying itself ;-)
DeleteIf you like Chanel Particuliere or Dior Dune, you may like this one. On me Black Sugar is not plum, it is taupe with some red which pulls it slightly mauve, if that makes sense.
This looks so pretty and reminds me of one of my favorite vintage OPI colors - Los Angeles Latte. Very similar, and I don't recall another polish like it before or since.
ReplyDeleteare u suprised i picked up show me the pink lol
ReplyDeletexoxo