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Tom Ford Moodlight Skin Illuminating Powder Duo Review, Photos, Swatches

Tom Ford Moodlight Skin Illuminating Powder Duo
Tom Ford Moodlight Skin Illuminating Powder Duo

Tom Ford Moodlight Skin Illuminating Powder Duo ($80.00 for 0.42 oz.) is a limited edition duo of highlighters (I got confirmation yesterday). You can still pre-order from Saks or place a back-order at Nordstrom. If you liked formulas like MAC In Extra Dimension Skinfiishes, Estee Lauder Gelee, or NARS Dual Intensity, you’ll like this one. It has that same baked-gel-powder type of powder. I think this could have been an excellent permanent addition to the Tom Ford range, so I hope the brand will reconsider making this permanent (and also coming out with a few more combinations!). The texture of both shades was incredibly soft, smooth, and finely-milled, while the product provides a noticeable sheen that stops just before it emphasizes the skni’s natural texture.

Moodlight (Daylight) is a soft, pale gold with a luminous sheen. It semi-opaque color coverage that was easily blended out for sheerer coverage or built-up for a more distinct sheen. If you use it wet, you can get a really metallic finish out of it, as well (though note, the brand doesn’t mention damp usage). It wore well for eight and a half hours before I noticed fading. The Estee Edit Snowlit (LE, ) is more shimmery (95% similar). MAC Let It Rock (LE, $34.00) is more shimmery (95% similar). NARS Rivage (LE, ) is cooler (95% similar). Anastasia Starlight (DC, $28.00) is more shimmery (95% similar). LORAC Starlight (P, $23.00) is more shimmery (95% similar). NYX Ritualistic (P, $9.00) is more shimmery, darker (90% similar). NARS Albatross (P, $30.00) is cooler (90% similar). Dior Precious Rocks (001) (DC, $56.00) is darker (90% similar). Tom Ford Beauty Gilt Glow (LE, $68.00) is cooler (90% similar). NARS Rêve Salé I (LE, ) is more shimmery, warmer (90% similar). Too Faced Rosy Glow (Left) (PiP, ) is more shimmery (90% similar). Becca Moonstone (P, $41.00) is less shimmery, darker, warmer (90% similar). Natasha Denona Light (PiP, ) is darker (90% similar). Becca Vanilla Quartz (P, $38.00) is darker (90% similar). Becca Moonstone (P, $38.00) is more shimmery, darker (90% similar). Too Faced Light Cocoa (PiP, ) is less shimmery, warmer (85% similar). MAC Double-Gleam (P, $42.00) is more shimmery, darker (95% similar). Chanel Camelia de Plumes (LE, $76.00) is more shimmery, cooler (85% similar). Natasha Denona Light (01) (P, $38.00) is darker, warmer (85% similar). Becca Vanilla Quartz (LE, $19.00) is darker (90% similar). Top 20 dupes listed, see the rest. See comparison swatches / view dupes side-by-side.

Moodlight (Candlelight) is a softened, medium rose gold with a metallic sheen. On my skin tone, it leans browner and warmer, but in the pan, it seems a little rosier, so those with pink undertones may find it pulls less brown on them as a result. It was richly pigmented with a very soft, silky consistency that was a tiny bit powdery in the pan, but it didn’t look dry applied to the skin. The finish on this was significantly stronger with respect to sheen compared to the top shade. It didn’t emphasize pores when I applied it, even heavily, though I don’t consider my pores to be huge (personally, someone may disagree with me) so if emphasis of pores is a major concern, you may want to use a more feathery brush (I used a light-to-moderately dense brush) or apply more sheerly. This shade lasted for eight and a half hours on before fading. Anastasia Riviera (DC, $28.00) is cooler (95% similar). Morphe Boom (P, $14.00) is darker, cooler (95% similar). Bobbi Brown Rose Gold (LE, $46.00) is cooler (90% similar). Burberry No. 04 Rose Gold (P, $68.00) is lighter (90% similar). Rare Beauty Transcend (P, $22.00) is lighter (90% similar). MAC Superb (P, $42.00) is darker (90% similar). Artist Couture Yasss! (P, $27.00) is less shimmery, lighter, warmer (90% similar). Estee Lauder Modern Mercury (LE, $65.00) is cooler (95% similar). Cover FX Sunlight (P, $42.00) is warmer (90% similar). J. Cat Beauty Pink Goddess (P, $9.00) is less shimmery (90% similar). Edward Bess Bellissima (P, $45.00) is lighter, warmer (90% similar). ColourPop Andalasia (LE, $12.00) is lighter (90% similar). ColourPop Out of Quartz (LE, $10.00) is less shimmery, cooler (90% similar). Bobbi Brown Tawny Glow (P, $48.00) is darker (90% similar). Laura Mercier Spellbound (LE, $45.00) is less shimmery, darker, warmer (85% similar). Tom Ford Beauty Courchevel (Highlighter) (LE, ) is less shimmery, darker, warmer (85% similar). Urban Decay PSA (LE, $26.00) is brighter, warmer (85% similar). ColourPop Total Package (DC, $12.00) is darker, warmer (85% similar). Laura Mercier Inspiration (P, $45.00) is less shimmery, darker, warmer (85% similar). Laura Mercier Indiscretion (P, $45.00) is less shimmery, warmer (85% similar). Top 20 dupes listed, see the rest. See comparison swatches / view dupes side-by-side.

Tom Ford Moodlight Skin Illuminating Powder Duo
Tom Ford Moodlight Skin Illuminating Powder Duo

Tom Ford Moodlight Skin Illuminating Powder Duo
Tom Ford Moodlight Skin Illuminating Powder Duo

Tom Ford Moodlight Skin Illuminating Powder Duo
Tom Ford Moodlight Skin Illuminating Powder Duo

Tom Ford Moodlight Skin Illuminating Powder Duo
Tom Ford Moodlight Skin Illuminating Powder Duo

Tom Ford Moodlight Skin Illuminating Powder Duo
Tom Ford Moodlight Skin Illuminating Powder Duo

Tom Ford Moodlight Skin Illuminating Powder Duo
Tom Ford Moodlight Skin Illuminating Powder Duo

Tom Ford Moodlight Skin Illuminating Powder Duo
Tom Ford Moodlight (Daylight) Skin Illuminating Powder Duo

Tom Ford Moodlight Skin Illuminating Powder Duo
Tom Ford Moodlight (Daylight) Skin Illuminating Powder Duo

Tom Ford Moodlight Skin Illuminating Powder Duo
Tom Ford Moodlight (Daylight) Skin Illuminating Powder Duo

Tom Ford Moodlight Skin Illuminating Powder Duo
Tom Ford Moodlight (Candlelight) Skin Illuminating Powder Duo

Tom Ford Moodlight Skin Illuminating Powder Duo
Tom Ford Moodlight (Candlelight) Skin Illuminating Powder Duo

Tom Ford Moodlight Skin Illuminating Powder Duo
Tom Ford Moodlight (Candlelight) Skin Illuminating Powder Duo

Tom Ford Moodlight Skin Illuminating Powder Duo
Tom Ford Moodlight Skin Illuminating Powder Duo (Layered)
with ColourPop Beeper Ultra Matte Liquid Lipstick

Makeup Look
On face:
  • Guerlain Parure Gold
  • Urban Decay Naked Loose Setting Powder
  • Tom Ford Moonlight
On eyes:
  • Estee Lauder Insolent Ivory
  • Estee Lauder Uninhibited
  • Estee Lauder Naked Gold
  • Estee Lauder Strong Currant Eyeshadows
  • Sephora Snakeskin Dress Eyeliner
On lips:
  • Milani Adore Amore Matte Lipstick

90 Comments

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liz Avatar

Looks pretty on you. Totally in love with it. It doesn’t emphasize pores, and I’m a sucker for the gelee-type formulas as you mentioned. I’m fair (NC25ish), and both colors look great. I do hope they make it permanent.

su Avatar

Was waiting your review of this! Thank you! What I want to ask is about your foundation. Are you wearing the discontinued parure gold or the new formula that is coming out for fall? I didn’t have the chance to try the old one so waiting for the new! Hope you do a comparison review! Thanks anyway

liz Avatar

Also, hope I’d recommend the Skin Enhancing Primer. I got the one in Pink. My SA showed how to apply even after your makeup is on to some areas to help freshen up your face. It imparts such a beautiful glow (like more on the cheeks near the nose but not on the nose and upper forehead). Makes such a great look on the skin. But the smell drives me nuts. Awful. Those primers. Don’t know what’s in them. Like rubber cement (it may be!), but they look good! 🙂

Nicole Avatar

I snagged this as soon as it came out. it is sooo pretty! I like to mix the darker into the lighter shade. This should so be a part of the permanent line. I though I saw this on Neiman’s website earlier today. But, I may be wrong.

stacey Avatar

Looks really great but not sure if i would pay the money for it tbh.

Just wanted to say how amazed I am at how many posts you manage to add here everyday, really impressed and love that every time I come back here there’s something new to read. Thanks for all the hard work 🙂

Ginny Avatar

I like this whole look on you. I bought the Snakeskin Dress eyeliner yesterday because of your photos even though I have a dupe for it lol (it was on sale for $5 and I thought maybe they were DC’ing it!).

Nancy T Avatar

Hi Tracey E., I bought them at a Sephora inside of a JCPenney just over a week go! I saw around 6-7 shades in their DC bin. I was really surprised at which shades I saw getting the axe!

beka Avatar

i wish this was permanent. it looks gorgeous, but my bank account will not allow me to buy it at the moment. probably a good thing!
in regards to tom ford making LE products permanent, do you know if Negligee has been made permanent? I saw it on the nordstrom site this morning. it is one of my favorites. mine fell out of my purse, under the car seat for a few weeks. while i’m glad it wasn’t lost forever, the phoenix heat+trapped in car=no good for lipstick. i think it is starting to turn…

Katherine T. Avatar

Every time my wallet sees a Tom Ford product, it gets scared, and when it sees an A, it goes into complete panic mode! But I’m safe. I don’t think these colors will flatter my skintone, WHEW….. dodged another bullet, but they keeping coming at me LOL

Eileen Avatar

This is an extraordinarily beautiful set of luminizers. They are modern in every since of the word and are ideal for the current “spotlight” trend. I’m NC 15 and both the day and the night shades work beautifully on me. The lighter daylight shade gives me a natural glow while the darker nightlight shade has a soft rose gold gleam that is super attractive. I do not use these with any additional contouring as I find the way they play with the light emphasizes the natural contours of my face. For real life (as opposed to red carpet), I much prefer the “spotlight” effect to the painted on Kim K. strips of light and dark that have passed for contouring. Thank you, TF, for restoring sanity to face sculpting 🙂

There will be those people who gasp at the price tag, but TF is a luxury brand and is priced accordingly. People who find the $80 cost ridiculous, can find plenty of other products at more comfortable price points.

Christina Avatar

Well now I’m torn. I really only want the highlighter shade. I’m fair and can’t use any of the dupes listed either. I have no idea what I’m going to do. I’ve been debating for weeks. LOL!

Laura Avatar

Hi Christine. I own this and this morning did a “test drive.” I am NC-15, and this was honestly kinda powdery own me, didn’t really show up, and it is going back :((( Maybe I got a bad batch because it looks great on you and swatches!

Kate Avatar

This is gorgeous. Are you 100% sure this is limited edition as two Selfidges stores here in UK said it was permanent? So hoping that is true.

Sheb Avatar

I am loving this! It’s really beautiful and genuinely a luxury product (which it should be for the price!). I’ve been pulling mine out just to stare at it lovingly. Is that weird? 😛 Candlelight is the highlight (pardon the pun) for me in the duo.

Jill Avatar

I received mine literally 5 minutes before I read your review, so I have worn it once— so far, I like it.
Sadly, I missed out on the Chanel Plumes last winter. I still feel the need to add some blush from the TF summer palette while wearing this.
I notice that TF occasionally brings back popular LE to their permanent line. (like Nude Dip) I wish that they would do this with the Pink Glow Compact, as I am starting to hit pan on some of the colors. My next TF “want” is the new blush/eye shadow ombre.

Jen Avatar

I just got this a few days ago and absolutely LOVE it! It’s one of the most gorgeous highlighters I’ve ever tried. Really smooth texture, very easy to use and beautiful when applied on the skin. For this Illuminating Duo – the fact that it’s Tom Ford AND limited edition – I knew I had to pick this one up as soon as the release information came out. Really glad I did, as it was released in a very limited quantity in Holt Renfrew (Canada). Thanks for the review, Christine. Glad to see you found it to be as high performing as I did! =)

Stacey Avatar

I went to N.M. to get some products before the prices went up.
I saw this there. I bought it. It was love at first swatch. Then I saw it on its internet. It was $3.00 less by mistake so I told the sales person. She credited me the $3.00.

Christina Avatar

Oh goodness, Christine! I must be blind! With the new layout, I thought you got rid of the section that lists what other makeup you’re wearing. Thank you for pointing it out to me…but really, it’s in an obvious place. LOL!

Jillienne Avatar

There’s been many times I’ve had an eye on something, and thanks to your reviews, I’ve decided to skip it. This review turned the opposite way. I just ordered it from Nordstrom. I love the look of this, and with it being limited, I didn’t want to pass this up. I do own Chanel Camilia de Plumes from last winter also, but I have nothing like the moonlight (candlelight) color. If this had been permanent though, I would have waited a while.

Nancy T Avatar

Wow, this is so pretty and nicely glowing on your complexion, but I don’t wear highlighter in a shade as light as that lightest one often enough to get this one. And because I usually don’t go that light, I just use my trusty and dirt cheap dupe for Nars Albatross: elf Gotta Glow. But I did see that the much more wearable shade for me, has LG Ballerina as a dupe, so that it shall be!

Vanaily Avatar

I could see this being released as a permanent piece. I notice Tom Ford has been releasing more limited-edition items as permanent i.e. Nude Dip, Negligee, etc.

Which is good for those of us who are too slow on our feet to snatch things up the first time around 🙂

Tracey E. Avatar

Appreciate your feedback, Christine. I wanted to make sure I didn’t buy a similar product. I liked Charlotte Tilbury’s Dreamy Glow Highlighter that I ordered a backup. I hope this item is at a Tom Ford counter to try. Although I may order just based on the review and comments. I really enjoy your blog.

Ashlea Avatar

Product looks absolutely beautiful on you and thank you for the review !
Also thanks for putting your lip colour in the bottom description – I hope you continue to do this with future reviews ! X

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