My Irrational Obsession for Tom Ford- Sex, Power, and Divine Decadence.

Tom Ford.

I don't know about you, but these two words gives me a feeling of World Domination. 

“Fashion’s boldest, most audacious success story ever” is how Bridget Foley of Women’s Wear Daily described the meteoric rise of Tom Ford. 

And just look at the man. I'm always almost precise with my words, but if you ask me to describe him, I don't think smoldering, hot and classy quite takes the cake.

But some will say to me, "Oh but Sharon, he's gay."

And..? That statement is as stale as Rihanna and Chris Brown's on and off love affair. Very 2000 and late. And very, very mundane. 

The truth is, what Tom Ford achieved in his Lifetime, half of the guys (straight) I know do not even come close. And quite honestly, none of them look as good as he does or most gay guys I know does for that matter. 

And just to entertain some of my fantasies, here he is back in November 2005 on Vogue UK.

"The true story of how this architecture graduate from Santa Fe, New Mexico, talked his way into his first design job (with no experience), and, after only a few years, took command of the prestigious (yet cash-strapped) house of Gucci, and then, in less than a decade, rose to the very top of the fashion establishment, puts Ford in a league of his own. And that’s not even taking into account the tidal wave of critical acclaim, the courting by Hollywood movie stars, and the monster profits."

There. 

But I'm not here today to give you an autobiography of the man. He's shit famous and you can very well google it yourself. I'm really writing this for any girl out there who is interested in make-up. Well, I'm no expert on the subject, and you should never take my words literally. I'm just sharing-is all. 

Tom Ford is also a charismatic salesman, a ruthless brand executive, an innovative art director, and a canny marketing guru. And that's why I shamelessly paid almost MYR 600 to date for just 3 products. But I'm just going to do a review on one today, simply because I'm lazy. 

But wait..To be completely frank, sometimes I buy things out of the pure aesthetic pleasure that comes along with it. And that always lands me in shitload of trouble. Like when the end of the month draws closer and I'm starting to feel the tightening of my purse strings, some of my closest friends will tease me with, "Eat your lipstick, then."

But in all fairness, look at his campaign! It's visually killing me. And besides, Lara Stone makes me wish my mum had the smarts to marry a westerner. (Just kidding).

I'm a very visual creature. So that pretty much makes me a victim of the philosophy of art, the philosophy of beauty, the study of attraction and the theory of art. See..a full fledged Libran!

But I was surprised to find that I actually love them. Well, I know the products will be of good quality, they are after all Tom Ford. But I was a little bit apprehensive you know, because not all Western products work with the symmetry of an Asian face. But there you go..I was wrong.

I was pleasantly amaze that I love them enough to be using them almost daily. And saying that is quite a statement because I usually get bored with the same products after a few weeks. 

So anyways, enough ranting. 

The Tom Ford Shade and Illuminate-Intensity One

See what I mean by aesthetic pleasures? 

The shade and illuminate is a god-send for all girls who craves cheekbones. Not the 1980s whack-a-load, slap dash approach. Who could ever forget..the likes of Kylie Minogue and Madonna and Cyndi Lauper...

But rather a subtle lift, if you might, which gives off an illusion of cheekbones. And you don't need to have to master the art of contouring to use this product. I never did. 

When I first got it, I was clueless as to how I was going to use it. Really smart consumer. So, I went on to YouTube and Google and I was overwhelmed with the information out there. Different people using different techniques and not to mention the myriad of useless tips.

So I experimented, which explains why on some days I end up looking like my little cousin drew brown streaks down the sides of my face with Crayolas. But I got the hang of it, albeit 3 weeks later. Don't hate. I have a problem with learning curves. Ask my Manager. 

As you can see, this product is a duet of a highlighter and a shading cream. It comes in two shades, Intensity 1 and 2. I settled for Intensity 1 just because I'm not blessed with tan, healthy looking skin (think Gisele Bündchen) or my sister from another Mum, Rita. And you can also see that this is cream based, which makes it so much easier for retards like me who can't tell one brush from another. 

All I did was to suck in my cheeks and trail a line where my natural shadow will hit. And I used only just my fingers (yeay!!). The trick is blend, blend and blend. The magic of this is layering. Layer it on and blend. Repeat until you achieve the shade that you want. The highlighter adds just the right amount of shine to the top of your cheeks. It's not really meant to highlight but rather to create a dewy, fresh look.

I had a friend come over just a few nights ago and he had a mad shit idea of taking my pictures. I was feeling and looking like a schlumpadinka and he thought taking my pictures would inspire me again. But that's another grandma story for another day. 

Here's a picture of how I look with my shade and illuminate. I also have a touch of Chanel Joues Contraste in 76 Frivole just on the apple of my cheeks. 

Sorry if the picture is not high-def. Like I mention, I don't do reviews professionally, but rather as a hobby if you like. 

Thanks to Evon who brought this all the way back from Hong Kong for me. If you're interested, you can bug any friend who is going to Hong Kong or Singapore like I did. Evon got it for me from Lane Crawford at Times Square. She also swears that the man who works the Tom Ford counter is HOT. Anyways, it retails for HKD 550. Do your own maths. =)

And girls remember, make-up is not rocket science. Have fun!