Reviews
All my thoughts regarding this product :)
First thing that can be said about Tom Ford Shade & Illuminate Soft Radiance Foundation is that the bottle has a luxurious quality. It is very aesthetic, solid and heavy. (I guess it would work out for those little dreamers who practice acceptance speeches for some of those Grammy or Oscars :D ).
The product smells like lavender. The consistency is very watery, but extremely pigmented. I would not put it ‘into’ a sponge. What I like to do is to pump it right onto my face and then blend it fast with a brush or beauty blender - not too wet and not to dry.
Right after application it looks good, but it needs a few minutes to dry to really show its effect and it does not oxidize (I had the lightest shade). While looking at my face in the mirror there is a huge difference between looking at it just from a close up and looking from a distance, specifically when a lot of ambient light is around. That distance creates something that gives an effect that is similar to an actual smoothing photo filter. I guess it happens because the foundation reflects the light in all directions. The texture of the skin like pores or fine lines seem blurred and the face looks good from different angles.
It is not a usual foundation and I was testing it in different ways. I don’t really need an under eye concealer with it, and I found out that using different primers, would make application literally impossible for me. I ended up using a rose water based toner. The foundation does not need any setting powder (interesting, since I have oily skin). To be honest using setting/mattifying powder, actually worsened the effect I was writing about. There is one finishing powder though that I found out works really nice with this foundation, Meteorites by Guerlain.
I don’t really want to write about its price. I will only say that while using it I can skip concealer, primer, setting powder, and SPF. Yes the 50 SPF level is very impressive too.
It is not functional to carry around in purse, because it’s quite a heavy bottle, but it stays on face all day so I guess it is not really a problem. It would be perfect if o n the top of this it was waterproof.
Impressed
I got this foundation complementary to try and I have been very impressed. It definitely lives up to the cost. The bottle is elegant and looks nice displayed on my vanity. The product itself is smoothy and provides full coverage. It lasted all day with a setting spray over it. I'm very pleased overall and will be purchasing another when this one is empty.