Attention beauty junkies…The only Tom Ford Beauty Shop in Arizona is now open at Neiman Marcus in Scottsdale ! The newly remodeled space takes Tom Ford beauty to a whole new level; it’s no longer a counter where you can find lipsticks, nail polish and those heavenly Ford fragrances. Nope, now it’s a full-fledged Beauty Boutique where you can try all the cosmetics in this luxury line for yourself.
Bring on the luxury !
Tom Ford launched his highly-acclaimed cosmetics collection in 2011, but up until now, there was no place in town you could actually try it in person. So when I was invited to have a full-fledged makeover by an artist from the newly appointed Tom Ford team, I couldn’t get there fast enough !
And seriously, who would not want to be pampered, contoured and illuminated by this charming young man ? (aka Christopher Valenzuela.)
I love when makeup artists ask me what I like and what look I’m going for, because it’s so easy to answer. “I’d like to look ten years younger… twenty, if you’re feeling up to the challenge.”
He didn’t bat an eye.
He went to work, gathering all the necessary ingredients including skin care, magic potions, brushes and a slew of carefully considered color choices for my eyes, cheeks and lips.
I like to have the pros choose the colors and products they want to use on me; it helps you step out of your comfort zone a little and discover new color combinations that you might not typically choose. For instance, I would probably never have chosen this lipstick, Pink Dusk, thinking “too pale, too pink” for me. But it was actually quite pretty, especially with the smokey eye Christopher created with the Silver Topaz Eye Quad.
Gorgeous, isn’t it ? I like my Topaz, silvered. Duh.
Since this was the first time I’ve tried any of the Tom Ford makeup -besides one fantastic impulse purchase of an amazing dark plum lipstick, Black Orchid – I had no preconceived idea of what would emerge at the top of my favorites list. And of course, sitting across from me, was the doyenne of Phoenix makeup artists, Diane Aiello.
She told me her favorite thing is the Illuminating Primer, which she uses all the time on her clients and loves, loves, loves. If it’s recommended by Diane, who expertly applies makeup for a living, it’s obviously passed the test of worthy products and should clearly be in your beauty arsenal.
Aside from that, my top 5 were these.
1- Traceless foundation, (in Bisque.) An ultra creamy foundation, light enough to apply in layers, for the coverage you like. It works wonderfully with…
2-Traceless foundation stick, (in Fawn), which Christopher lightly brushed on after the cream foundation. This comes in stick form and is also used as a concealer to take care of any areas that needed a little more attention. I like this rather than applying a heavy coat of foundation all over and feeling like I’m wearing a mask.
3-Illuminating powder. A word about this: I never use powder. Ever. Because I’m older, it has a tendency to look cakey and sits in my wrinklies, making my skin look and feel dry, and well, more wrinkly. But this powder is so light and so finely milled that it just gave me a more natural, finished look. I highly recommend it.
4- Ravish blush. Ravishing. Also, the largest blush compact I’ve ever seen. (Christopher is holding it in the picture above.) So while, it’s definitely not inexpensive ($56), you do get a lot, a lot, of product for your money.
5- But my very favorite was the Shade/Illuminate. This is a super sheer contouring and highlighting cream combination, which takes all the guesswork out of what shade to use to contour and highlight where you need it. You have two choices here. #1 or #2 -#1 works for light or medium skin tone, #2 is for darker tones. Seriously genius.
What impressed me most about Tom Ford Beauty is that this is a tightly edited makeup/skin care collection. The philosophy behind it is creating radiant and luminous skin. While there are plenty of beautiful colors and product choices, there’s not so much that it’s overwhelming. Who says basics can’t be luxurious ?
You can choose the products that work best for you, because let’s face it, we all have individual needs, ladies. There’s a killer angled Brow Sculptor, which I didn’t mention because it’s not something I use, but it was definitely notable in its design and comes in different colors.
And as for price ? As I was going down the list asking Christopher for specific prices, it was pretty much $75. Some things are more, some things a little less. Those creamy Tom Ford lipsticks in colors to die for ? Probably the best $49 you can ever spend on yourself. Also, best stocking stuffer ever on the face of the earth, in case you need to drop a few subtle hints.
If you specialize in not-so-subtle-this better-be-in-my-stocking, like me, go for the 4 piece Lip Color Lipstick Set. It’s available in a few different color combinations.
Love you, Santa. I’ll bake you cookies-not-from-a-mix, pinky swear.
So go. Try. Luxuriate. Be serenaded and pampered.
Only at Scottsdale Neiman Marcus, right ?
Here’s the number to set up your appointment with Christopher or any of the other Tom Ford specialists: 480-990-2100, ext. 2118.
p.s. You can check also check out the just released Ken Downing Holiday Gift Collection and squeeze in a little holiday shopping in case you’re feeling guilty about that $49 lipstick !
