Tom Ford Escapade Cream Color for Eyes ($40.00 for 0.21 oz.) is described as a “pearlized peach.” It’s a warm-toned, golden peach with a frosted, slightly metallic, sheen. bareMinerals Aspire is more orange, darker, and a powder eyeshadow. MAC Angel Flame has a slight pink tone to it and is a powder eyeshadow. bareMinerals Stealth is more orange, matte, and a powder eyeshadow. Buxom Collie is more beige, less orange/peach, but is, at least, a cream product.

Pink Haze ($40.00 for 0.21 oz.) is described as a “pink with peach tones and gold pearl.” It’s a pink bronze–pink, warm, slightly coppery–with a frosted, metallic finish. MAC Magnetic Attraction is redder, less pink (and a powder). MAC In the Sun is browner (and also a powder). MAC Red Hot Copper is much redder, more coppery. MAC Mythical is browner and a powder eyeshadow. Chanel Abstraction is more glittery and less warm-toned. Chanel Harmonie du Soir #3 is pinker, less warm-toned (and a powder). MAC Jete is similar when this is applied sheerly. Make Up For Ever #16 is more metallic, so it also appears quite a bit lighter.

Tom Ford managed to create a cream eyeshadow formula that is so lightweight that it looks and feels more like a mousse than a true cream eyeshadow. It’s not thick or solid like a lot of cream eyeshadows, and instead, it is movable and can slide around the pot if you tilt it. And applied? My goodness, it’s impressive. It glides on like butter, spreads evenly and smoothly over the lid, and blends out effortlessly–and then it sets and sticks around for twelve hours perfectly. No flaking, smudging, fading, or creasing whatsoever. It was impressive from the color payoff–totally opaque but just as easily sheered out by using less–to the texture to the wear. It felt like magic on.

I feel like it spun magic around me for feeling like it is worth the cringe-inducing price tag, but I would buy it. This, I would buy (and honestly, I considered buying one as a backup, but I managed to talk myself out of that). I wouldn’t buy just any shade, but if it was the right shade for your skin tone, it just might be worth the splurge. (For reference, both of these are absolutely stunning on warm, medium complexions!)

The Glossover

LE	Escapade A+
	It was impressive from the color payoff--totally opaque but just as easily sheered out by using less--to the texture to the wear. It felt like magic on.
	Product 10/10 Pigmentation 10/10 Texture 10/10 Longevity 10/10 Application 5/5
	Where to Buy
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LE	Pink Haze A+
	Of the two shades, this is the most dupable and not as versatile, because it is a darker, more burnished shade. The quality, though, was truly remarkable and if it's your price point or a shade you'd use all the time, worth investing in.
	Product 10/10 Pigmentation 10/10 Texture 10/10 Longevity 10/10 Application 5/5
	Where to Buy

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Tom Ford Escapade Cream Color for Eyes

Tom Ford Escapade Cream Color for Eyes

Tom Ford Escapade Cream Color for Eyes

Tom Ford Escapade Cream Color for Eyes

Tom Ford Escapade Cream Color for Eyes

Tom Ford Escapade Cream Color for Eyes

Tom Ford Escapade Cream Color for Eyes

Tom Ford Pink Haze Cream Color for Eyes

Tom Ford Pink Haze Cream Color for Eyes

Tom Ford Pink Haze Cream Color for Eyes

Tom Ford Pink Haze Cream Color for Eyes

Tom Ford Pink Haze Cream Color for Eyes

Tom Ford Pink Haze Cream Color for Eyes

Tom Ford Pink Haze Cream Color for Eyes

Tom Ford Escapade (inner lid) / Pink Haze (outer lid) Cream Color for Eyes (12 hours of wear)

Tom Ford Illicit Cream Color ($40.00 for 0.21 oz.) is a bronze and burgundy shimmered medium-dark brown with warm, red undertones. When it’s sheered out, it’s less red-toned. NARS Surabaya is similar but less metallic. Make Up For Ever #14 is slightly darker. Le Metier de Beaute Bordeaux is redder.

Tom Ford describes the formula as “highly reflective,” “ultra-pigmented”, “non-creasing”, and “long-wearing.”  This shade has a shimmery, sparkly finish that does reflect light, but not to the same degree as Platinum.  The pigmentation is so-so; it is buildable, but it was difficult to get really opaque color, because the color kept slipping around, so it looked more smeared on and opaque in some places but sheered out in others.  I had noticeable creasing after six hours (as compared to minor creasing after eight hours with Platinum), which was a major bummer.

The consistency is a lightweight cream, almost more like a mousse because of its airy quality, that spreads and smooths out easily and evenly.  To apply, I tried using a few different brushes but still went back to MAC’s 242, which is a firm, flat bristled brush, because it gave me the “best” results.  The product stays wet for hours, though for as wet as it feels and seems (if you pressed your fingertip against your lid, there would be transfer), it stays on longer than you’d expect. It’s not great, and it’s not worth the $40 price tag for something that’s supposed to be long-wearing and isn’t.

It’s packaged in a screw-top glass jar and holds a little more than the average cream eyeshadow does. I’m a little surprised to see that the TF logo is a sticker pressed on top. At first, I thought it was just a clear sticker over the actual TF, but I peeled it all the way off and the entire thing came off.

The Glossover

LE	Illicit C
	I have no problem shelling out for a high quality product, but I'm always very disappointed when I see an extremely high price tag on a poor performing product. I also think that for the price point, the packaging needs some improvement.
	Product 7/10 Pigmentation 8.5/10 Texture 10/10 Longevity 5/10 Application 3.5/5
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Tom Ford Illicit Cream Color

Tom Ford Illicit Cream Color

Tom Ford Illicit Cream Color

Tom Ford Illicit Cream Color

Tom Ford Platinum Cream Color

Tom Ford Platinum Cream Color ($40.00 for 0.21 oz.) is a medium-dark brown with subtle, warm red undertones. There is an ever-so-slight hint of gray that makes it almost taupe when it’s not sheered out, but it kept looking brown, brown, brown on me. I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me, because it’s called Platinum and the online “swatch” shows it as more of a pewter-like hue. Even in the pot, it looks more taupe-brown.  But here’s the thing: it does seem to go on less brown on the lids–it does look a little closer to platinum, but it is one finicky shade to photograph. So to that end, all of the possible dupes are browner.  It appears that the silver sheen comes out when there’s a lot of light; as I sat in my office with just a floor lamp on, it looked decidedly brown-taupe.  This is the sign of a complex shade, I suppose.

To me, it seemed like this color was more dupe-able than not. I had so many shades pulled up to compare this to. Urban Decay Midnight Rodeo is very similar, perhaps less red-toned. Bobbi Brown Champagne Truffle is more metallic but similar in color to the sheered out swatch. MAC Aloha is a little grayer. Buxom Mutt is similar to the sheered out swatch, though less warm. Urban Decay YDK is similar but a hint redder. MAC Buckwheat is darker, less shimmered. Urban Decay Wreckage is grayer. MAC Sable is richer, deeper. Urban Decay Toasted is similar to the heavier swatch, no gray tint.

Tom Ford describes the formula as “highly reflective,” “ultra-pigmented”, “non-creasing”, and “long-wearing.” Boy, I had some mixed emotions when I tested these. First, PR had already informed that these were nearly sold out in-stores, which lit some fuel under my butt to test it ASAP. The spring collection just launched on both Saks and Neiman Marcus, though, and everything appears to be in-stock, so not to fear if you’ve been looking for a way to blow $40. Second, as soon as I opened the pot and saw the consistency that awaited me, I was like, “This is going to be a big ol’ mess!” Looks are, thankfully, extremely deceiving!

Platinum delivers good results overall, though it does crease faintly after eight hours of wear without a base. It’s not smudge- or budge-proof–if you press your fingertip against your eyelid, you’ll see a fair amount of product transfer. I didn’t experience any fading, fall out, or migration while wearing this shade yesterday (ten hours in total). The consistency is a lightweight cream, almost more like a mousse because of its airy quality, that spreads and smooths out easily and evenly. From recent memory, the texture reminded me of a lighter, more airy version of MAC’s Big Bounce eyeshadows (you can see why I was wary!).

I used MAC’s 242 brush, which is a firm, flat bristled brush, to apply it to my eyelids, and I had no problem getting an opaque layer of color in one go. If you want a sheerer look, I’d recommend dabbing on very little and then blending. I figured I’d go crazy and opt to apply a good layer of it, as it was described as “ultra-pigmented.” I really thought it was going to crease right then and there, but it dries down quickly but remains smudgeable around the edges, since it is not smudge-proof.

What’s hard to see in photos is the soft, luminous side of the shade. It plays with the light in a subtle way that’s both dazzling and sophisticated. This is not glitter, and it’s not even a frost. I’d like to coin the phrase “satin metallic,” because I feel like that’s the most apt description of the finish here. Platinum was really lovely all on its lonesome, not as a wash, but as a full-color coverage product, just taken above the crease and blended out.  It’s packaged in a screw-top glass jar and holds a little more than the average cream eyeshadow does. I’m a little surprised to see that the TF logo is a sticker pressed on top. At first, I thought it was just a clear sticker over the actual TF, but I peeled it all the way off and the entire thing came off.

The Glossover

LE	Platinum A
	I'm torn--there's a part of me that's still chafing at the price tag. For a cream eyeshadow? Really? What? And then another part of me that knows this is Tom Ford, this is luxury, and that is really the point. Thankfully, it performs fairly well, and it is extremely well-pigmented. The texture is what will sell it, though, because it's so smooth.
	Product 9/10 Pigmentation 10/10 Texture 10/10 Longevity 8/10 Application 5/5
	Where to Buy
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Tom Ford Platinum Cream Color

Tom Ford Platinum Cream Color

Tom Ford Platinum Cream Color

Tom Ford Platinum Cream Color

Tom Ford Platinum Cream Color

Tom Ford Platinum Cream Color (8 hours of wear)