Now your teeny, tiny Tom Ford Lips & Boys Lipsticks (and your Lips & Girls Lipsticks!) have cute li’l clutch-sized eyeshadows to play with.
The new $36 Tom Ford Private Shadow mini eyeshadows introduced in the Eyes of Tom Ford collection are just as cute as buttons! They’re about the same size as them, too.
Well, not really, but they are hella small. The dainty little pans contain 0.04 ounces of product.
There are five different finishes among the 30 shades.
- Ultra Suede — a completely flat matte with no pearl
- Suede — a demi-matte with subtle pearl particles
- Sateen — a lustrous pearl with a glowing sheen
- Vinyl — a high-shine metallic chrome
- Paillette — a sequined, glittery pearl
Each single looks like a mini TF eyeshadow quad, but when you open it up, there’s a tiny little mirror and one pan of eyeshadow inside.
I’ve been playing with four of them, and every time I pull one out I think, wow, why don’t all eyeshadows blend like this?
I wish all eyeshadows blended as well as matte taupe Vertigo (an Ultra Suede shade) and demi-matte Videotape (Suede finish). They’re pigmented, buttery, and they just won’t skip. They’ll blend on top of anything flawlessly.
Bare skin, cream shadows, eye pencils, primers — they handle whatever I throw at them like champs. I don’t see any fallout, either, and they last all day long.
Picture the Viseart mattes, which are the pinnacle of matte eyeshadows to me, but, like, next level.
The super soft Paillette finish ones get my heart going with glitter. The blue shade, Tempete Bleue, is one of those stop-you-in-your-tracks eyeshadows that will haunt you for years (in a good way). It shifts from blue to purple in the beat of a hummingbird’s wings, and most of the time I don’t even know what color it is, which is what I love about it. The glitter pieces are highly reflective, like the awesome Urban Decay Moondusts, except they’re smaller, more delicate and more $$$ expensive looking.
The only big caution I can think of for these is the smallest thing about them — their size. At $36, they’re expensive for how much you get. The 0.04-oz. single pans are, like, the size of the eyeshadows you get in a free gift-with-purchase, ya know? To put it in perspective, the pans in a full-size Tom Ford Eyeshadow Quad (which is, *ahem*, $85) are 0.21 ounces each, or $21.25 per pan.
Of course, there’s another way to look at. Even though these are petite, you’re still getting TF quality and panache for less.
I wouldn’t recommend building an entire collection of these because of how small and pricey they are, but one’s worth a splurge if you’re in the mood.
I recommend one of the Suede finishes, because those demi-mattes don’t fall into your lap every day, or one of the Pailette finish ones that inspires you. Those’ll grab your attention right away.
I love Videotape, the reddish purple Suede, and Tempete Bleue, the glittery bluish purple Paillette.
Private Shadow is available now at Tom Ford counters and online.
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Amalia says
For 0.04 ounces , there is no other way to look at. Unless the next project is to put us in line at the counter, and S.A place us a portion of eyeshadow or lipstick. The amount of money? Let mr Ford or Estee Lauder company decides. Thank you for hospitality and sorry for the cynicism.
Karen says
Hi Amalia,
They’re really quite pricey, it’s true. That’s TF’s thing though, ya know? And weirdly enough to me a tiny $36 eyeshadow seems more doable than a $50 Louboutin Nail Polish, which I know is crazy…
Linda Libra Loca says
Tempete Bleu is so beautiful! And probably a shade that I wouldn´t need much of, because I wouldn´t wear it everyday? So maybe it would be reasonable?
Karen says
You could probably wear it as a subtle liner on the upper lash line if you wanted to do something for M-F.
Chris25 says
The blue shade is so pretty!
Karen says
Yes, it’s gorgeous. It would look great on you.
Chantal A. says
I just ordered Vinyl Violet and Breathless yesterday. I cannot wait to try them out!! It’s my first Tom Ford makeup purchase. And really will always love a beautiful purple eyeshadow! Thank you very much for posting a comprehensive review with swatches!?
Karen says
Hi Chantal,
Breathless is pretty, especially when you take a finger and tap it on the center of the lids. I hope you like it! Tom Ford does beautiful shadows. I use his quads all the time, Cocoa Mirage is a favorite.
Let me know if you have any other questions about the shadows (or anything else from the TF line). I’m happy to help!
Happy Friday to you.
Tatiana says
My TF SA pulled these out from under the counter for me to swatch and take a gander of and then reserve some because she said they were LE. I was tempted by six of them. But thinking it over on Thanksgiving I decided if I fall in love with one and it’s limited edition and I can’t get another and $36 for something so tiny, even the Chanel singles are less. And I don’t wear that much color on my eyes anymore… When she texted me about charging them and having them sent to the house I told her I changed my mind and to sell them to someone else. I guess when it comes to expensive makeup, I really do have my limits. Which is surprising considering how much I am in love with most TF products, especially the lipsticks.
Karen says
Interesting how everyone find their upper limit for the $$$ stuff. It happened to me when I saw the Christian Louboutin nail polishes. I’m down for a Chanel polish any day, but $50 for a single bottle of polish makes me crabby.
Tatiana says
Yeah, I stopped buying Chanel polish, (never even considered any of the Louboutin products.) Love their colors, but for the price I want it to last longer. Even the new formula chips on me. And I had a bottle less than a year and it got all thick and gloppy. Lately I’ve been sticking to indie brands.
Still I’ve ogled the whole collection of the TF single shadows and without a doubt the colors are stunning. A lot of them run too warm for my coloring, but they’re still super pretty. Darn you Tom Ford!
Tatiana says
All that said, I still might spring for the Tempete Bleue to layer over my UD navy liner in Sabbath and to run beneath my lower lash line. I mean one shadow won’t kill me. Dear Husband might kill me if finds out the price per size…
Karen says
I have that UD liner and can totally see what you’re saying. Gonna try this combo before I wash my face tonight. If it’s fabulous I’ll let you know. 🙂
Karen says
What indie polish brands do you like? I’ve been stuck on the Essie gels and Smith & Cult for the last few months, but I’m always down to find something new to love. I’m about to try the Oribe polish this weekend (they make polish!).
Tatiana says
It’s bad enough I spend big bucks on Oribe hair products, I don’t need to even look at the color cosmetics. For indie polish I haven’t had much luck with Essie, but I do like Smith & Cult. I have a glitter polish from them that wears like iron. I also like A-England, Crows Toes, Cirque Colors. I’ve had mixed results with Picture Polish and I still like my Tom Ford colors.
Karen says
I like Smith & Cult too. I have one of their new shades, Fosse Fingers, which is very cozy and fall to me.
I’ll have to check out Crows Toes; never heard of them.
Baby girl is at gymnastics with dad right now, and I have the house blissfully to myself until 10!
Tatiana says
Uhm, please don’t blame me if you spend $$ on colors you like when the cart is open.
http://www.crowstoesnailcolor.bigcartel.com/cart
or
http://color4nails.com/index.php?route=product/category&path=59_256
Chelsea says
The shimmers on these are so beautiful! Tempete bleu in particualr!
Eileen says
I played with several of the mini-shadows but only came home with Videotape which is a drop dead gorgeous shade on warm green eyes. Unfortunately, it also comes with a drop dead price. LOL These are tiny, LE, and extremely expensive for what you get so I think it is important to actually try them before buying. Whereas Tom Ford’s annual mini-lipstick collection makes sense to me (I only wear one lipstick color at a time ?) I don’t think the concept translates well to eyeshadow because I typically wear 3-4 shades at one time. I ‘d rather have a well thought out quad than a bunch of little eyeshadows.
Karen says
Hi Eileen,
Glad you were able to grab Videotape. Do you have MAC Teddy Eye Kohl? The two look amazing together.
I hope dinner on Wednesday was fun with your fam!
Erin says
Vertigo sounds like a total winner! I might need to swatch it. I wish TF wasn’t so stinking expensive!
Karen says
Hi Erin,
Me too. Even though these are small they’re a way to try TF without having to splash out mega $$$ for a quad.
Eileen says
Unfortunately, when it comes to eye products, MAC and I don’t get along—there’s something in most of them that irritates my eyes ? I googled Teddy, though, and can easily see how beautiful it would look with Videotape so I’ll be on the lookout for a dupe when I head to the mall this week.
Dinner was top notch family quality time. I am so blessed.
Karen says
Hi Eileen,
Tom Ford Mink is also a good one. Chanel Les Yeux Agape (which unfortunately was LE, but you still might be able to find it, who knows?) would be good too. If you haven’t tried the Chanel Les Yeux line you might want to soon; I have sensitive eyes and I like them because they don’t irritate my water lines and I like how they stay on.
Glad you had fun with your family! I’m sure they were happy to have mom’s cooking, ’cause it’s the best.
Rachel Runyan says
I love Tempete Bleue! It’s stunning!