Tom Ford Ice Queen Eyeshadow Quad ($78.00 for 0.35 oz.) is a cool-toned palette that features shades of white, gray, silver, and bluish-gray. I feel like I’m in the minority, but generally, I’m not over-the-moon with the brand’s eyeshadow formula or their quads. I thought this review would be a nice companion to yesterday’s palette review to show that products can miss at any price point. Though every shade feels like silk and lightness, they don’t apply well. The texture just doesn’t seem to adhere well and each one yields a soft wash of color, and the darkest shade looked uneven and dry on my lid. I’ve been on-and-off testing Tom Ford’s eyeshadow primer, and so as this was under-performing on its own, I also wore it over that and was equally unimpressed. That dry, patchy application of the darkest shade didn’t improve at all over the brand’s primer, which did surprise me somewhat. Sometimes the glittery shade works well for me, other times they do result in fall out–this one had some fall out, but most of it occurs during application and only some occurs during wear (but enough to be noticeable). All four eyeshadows looked faded after seven hours of wear, and the frosted silver showed some creasing. I have loved some of Tom Ford’s quads, but I have also been burned by a few, and this one was a miss for me.

Ice Queen #1 is a brightened, neutral-to-cool white with a frosted, almost metallic, finish. This was the best-performing shade in the palette, as the texture was soft, smooth, and adhered to the lid. The color payoff was fairly good, but this is such a basic shade (so it’s good to have it somewhere ni your stash), there are a lot of dupes — see comparison swatches.

Ice Queen #2 is a sparkly, light-medium silver with a glittery, metallic finish. It had semi-sheer color payoff, but it’s best applied as a sheer wash as it gets chunky and clingy when layered. I would highly recommend applying your eye makeup first so that the glittery excess can be cleaned up prior to applying your base products. It did have some fall out during wear (beyond what occurred during application). Much like the previous shade, this, too, is a shade that has been done a lot in the beauty world — see comparison swatches.

Ice Queen #3 is a light-medium gray with a soft, pearly sheen. It had so-so color payoff, and I did not find it buildable on the lid. The texture is soft, finely-milled, and velvety. The finish of this shade made it difficult to dupe. Chanel Fascination #2 (P) is much lighter. Guerlain Les Gris #2 (P) is darker. See comparison swatches.

Ice Queen #4 is a muted, dark bluish-gray with a matte finish. The texture, while undeniably soft and silky, was quite powdery and chalky in application. It seemed to cling to the skin and apply unevenly–it looked dry and patchy on my eyelid, even when applied over primer. It was extremely difficult to blend, because the more I blended, the drier and more uneven it looked. NARS Mandchourie #2 (P, $24.00) is bluer. MAC Typographic (P, $15.00) is grayer. Guerlain Les Gris #1 (P) is darker. bareMinerals Amnesia (P) is darker. bareMinerals Maven (LE) is bluer. MAC Plumage (P, $15.00) is less gray. Inglot #389 (P, $6.00) is bluer. See comparison swatches.

Tom Ford Ice Queen Eyeshadow Quad

Tom Ford Ice Queen Eyeshadow Quad

Tom Ford Ice Queen Eyeshadow Quad

Tom Ford Ice Queen #1 Eyeshadow

Tom Ford Ice Queen #1 Eyeshadow

Tom Ford Ice Queen #2 Eyeshadow

Tom Ford Ice Queen #2 Eyeshadow

Tom Ford Ice Queen #3 Eyeshadow

Tom Ford Ice Queen #3 Eyeshadow

Tom Ford Ice Queen #4 Eyeshadow

Tom Ford Ice Queen #4 Eyeshadow

Tom Ford Ice Queen Eyeshadow Quad

Tom Ford Ice Queen Eyeshadow Quad over Tom Ford Eye Primer
(with Sephora My Boyfriend’s Jeans Eyeliner)