Tom Ford Paradise Lust Sheer Cheek Duo Review, Photos, Swatches
Paradise Lust
Tom Ford Paradise Lust Sheer Cheek Duo ($78.00 for 0.15 oz.) is a new, limited edition highlighting and blush duo for summer. According to the brand, the blush “can be applied wet for a soft veil of color” or “dry for a sweeping pop of vibrancy.” Just like last year’s duo and this year’s Sheer Highlighting Duo, neither shade in the compact is what I’d call sheer or even remotely sheer. Both shades had opaque coverage applied dry, and applying them with a dampened brush just resulted in a more metallic finish with respect to the first shade and a slightly richer, deeper color with the coral shade. The more highlighter-like shade was easier to work with than the coral blush, which I found to take a bit of extra effort to blend and definitely more effort to blend when applied damp. The wear was good–eight to eight and a half hours–and if the idea of the product being sheer wasn’t a must-have, then it’s a nice duo overall.
Paradise Lust
LELimited Edition. $82.00.
Paradise Lust (Top)
Paradise Lust (Top) is a soft, peachy pink with warm, golden frost. It had rich, opaque color coverage applied dry that was easily blendable; I felt like the soft consistency made it possible to get sheerer, more diffused coverage without a lot of work, but I could still get full, amped up coverage in one layer, too. When I used it damp, it just became more reflective, which gave it a slightly lighter and brighter appearance, but the more metallic finish emphasized my skin’s texture to a noticeable degree. This shade started to fade after eight hours of wear (dry) and eight and a half hours of wear (damp).
Top Dupes
- Ciate Moondust (P, $32.00) is darker (95% similar).
- Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk Fair-Medium #3 (PiP, ) is less shimmery, darker (95% similar).
- BH Cosmetics Carli Bybel Deluxe Edition #16 (LE, ) is darker (95% similar).
- ColourPop Made Me Do It (LE, $12.00) is more shimmery, lighter (95% similar).
- The Estee Edit 1st Light (LE, ) is lighter (95% similar).
- Hourglass Rose Gold Flash (P, $42.00) is darker, cooler (90% similar).
- OFRA Covent Garden (LE, $29.00) is more shimmery, lighter (90% similar).
- Bobbi Brown Sunset Glow (P, $48.00) is less shimmery, darker (90% similar).
- Bobbi Brown Foiled Petal (LE, $50.00) is more shimmery, darker (90% similar).
- NYX Magnetic (P, $9.00) is warmer (90% similar).
Paradise Lust (Top)
LELimited Edition.
Paradise Lust (Bottom)
Paradise Lust (Bottom) is a rich, medium pink-coral with warm undertones and a satin finish. Applied dry, it was opaque and had a more satin finish, whereas applied damp, it slightly darker and perhaps not quite as warm-toned (it seemed like it became redder/pinker). I didn’t feel like the finish became substantially more shimmery or reflective, though. The texture was smooth, firmer in the pan, and was fairly blendable dry, but it was more finicky to work with damp. It wore well for eight hours dry and eight and a half hours damp.
Top Dupes
- NYX Pinched (DC, $5.00) is darker (95% similar).
- Zoeva CR010 (P, ) is darker, warmer (95% similar).
- MAC Painted Canyon (LE, $24.00) is warmer (95% similar).
- Tom Ford Beauty Flush (Discontinued) (DC, $60.00) is less shimmery, brighter, warmer (90% similar).
- Viseart Coral #2 (PiP, ) is darker, warmer (95% similar).
- ColourPop Fruit Stand (DC, $8.00) is brighter, warmer (95% similar).
- Sephora Flirt It Up (06) (P, $14.00) is lighter (90% similar).
- Tarte Crave (LE, $29.00) is lighter, brighter (90% similar).
- Too Faced Melt Into Spring (LE, ) is lighter (90% similar).
- MAC Sweet Sweet Fantasy (LE, $24.00) is lighter (95% similar).
Aahh, the highlighter is really really pretty, but I am incapable of wearing coral anything, so it’s a definite no for me… I have that problem with a bunch of duos– I can’t find two colors I actually want that happen to be attached to one another!
Christine, will you be swatching/reviewing Tom Ford’s new balms?
Maybe next time there will be a duo that will work for you!
These are such beautiful, and very everyday type of shades….. that I have 2 very close dupes already! Ha!
Estee Edit Ist Light and Nyx Pinched. Pinched was my main go-to mainstay blush for many years, until I bought UD Rapture. Time to revisit it, me thinks.
Yay for dupes! 🙂
Is it just me or is most of TF’s products quite underwhelming? I hear the lipsticks are great but from what I’ve seen from the face range, there’s quite a bit of alternatives available!
I like quite a few products, just not everything!
I wouldn’t describe his cosmetics as mostly underwhelming but rather predictably solid with some rare exceptions. I discovered TF less than 2 years ago and, by the size of my collection today, the brand is pretty good. His bronzers, the original formula blushes and his lipsticks enjoy holy grail status. Moodlighting and the Soleil eyes and cheeks palettes are fairly well done; the eyeshadow quads, the cream & powder eyeshadow duos, cream blushes, and the new shimmer shots have all rated respectably. Last year’s single cream shadows had a formula change and price increase that were not well received. My personal issue is the price level in general, and especially in Canada where the exchange rate plus high Federal and Provincial taxes increase the price dramatically compared to pricing in the US.
Christine has published a review/overview of the collection with grades, which might be a helpful resource.
I love these!! Why must they be tom ford!!!
Awww!
I prefer last years colors. This is too coral for my tones/preference. The highlight color is pretty though.
The highlight was nice!
I was super excited about this blush duo. I got the one from last year and have been enjoying it. However, this one seems way more pigmented than I expected. Not loving it. I was also excited about the highlight duo but after seeing the review I’m a little underwhelmed. So little product for so much money. I have quite a few high-end highlighters so I think this one is going to be a pass for me. As always, I appreciate your reviews and swatches.
Yeah, it’s definitely not a sheer/subtle duo!
I think this is the prettiest and most wearable duo that I have seen. For the price, it should be an A. But the shades are lovely.
I wish the coral shade was easier to blend out!
I like this one! It would be great for us pale people.
Yay! 🙂
This blush/highlighter duo arrived today and I swooned after putting it on. On my skintone, it pulls more orange-pink, to my delight but not at all opaque, which I expect will come as I use the blush. I found it moved towards opaque when using a dense brush. The highlighter is beautiful. I look forward to trying the shades wet to see if I can get the same effects you describe, Christine. Am very pleased with this purchase.
Update: Application #2 with a denser brush wiggled over one area picked up more powder and brought out the intensity that you and others described.
I’m really glad that you’re enjoying it so far, Tracey! 🙂
Does anyone have a brush recommendation for use with this product?
I’d try something that is slightly denser and has more of a flatter edge – rounded corners/sides, okay, but you want more brush to contact the surface, IMO!