Tom Ford Illuminating Cheek Colour in Bronzed Amber

This post is a much delayed post on Tom Ford Illuminating Cheek Colour in Bronzed Amber, which I managed to purchase over Saks or Nordstrom (?) with some lovely ladies over the website. Meryl got Blush Guilt while I opted for Bronzed Amber.

Illuminating Cheek Colour in Bronzed Amber is part of the 2013 Summer Collection and the name 'Bronzed Amber' is so appropriate. Summer is all about sun, tan, healthy glow etc etc and I knew I am choosing this over Blush Guilt.

Housed in a plastic twist up applicator, it certainly remind me of NARS Multiple. I have not used NARS Multiple so I can't make any comparison here.

Bronzed Amber is a bronze, golden shimmery shade which looks like molten liquid in a tube, a real beauty indeed. When swatched on the arm, it looks sheer and bronzy gold and can be easily blend out.

Top: Blended out, bottom: Heavy swatch

My suggestion in using Illuminating Cheek Colour is to not apply directly from the tube as I find it harder to control the application. I tried applying it directly on my cheek and it was a disaster, the product was all over my cheek. In the next try, I applied by getting the product on my finger and then slowly tapping onto my cheek and it turns out better. The only drawback is that it takes more time for the colour to appear on me. Definitely not suitable on days when I am in a hurry. Other than that, it is a lovely bronzer which is definitely suitable for summer. :)

Dior Nude Tan Paradise Duo in Coral Glow (comparison included)

If you recall from my early post here, I have mentioned previously that I had my eyes set on Coral Glow instead of Pink Glow initially. The only reason why I decided to get Pink Glow was because Coral Glow is not coming to our shores. However, I couldnt get pass the fact that my original choice is not available here in Singapore and thus decided to order it online via Nordstrom. So here I am the proud owner of both Nude Tan Paradise Duo! I will be show-casing Coral Glow in the post and will be comparing against Pink Glow as well.

As the name states it all, Coral Glow is a beautiful orangey coral shade as compared to its peachy pinkish sister, Pink Glow.

For ladies who are concerned that the orangey coral shade might turns out too orangey or muddy, I do not feel so when I did the swatches. In fact, I kind of like how it reminds me of beach gals who had that healthy sun-kissed look while playing beach volleyball. :) Texture and pigmentation is indeed top-notch. As the pigmentation and texture of Coral Glow is intense and smooth, do take note to lightly apply the colours on and slowly build up to the intensity that you desire.

Now comes the question...... Coral Glow or Pink Glow??? Let's take a look from the pan. They both look pretty close doesn't it? But if you slowly observe, you can see that Pink Glow on the left looks pinkier and Coral Glow on the right looks more orangey and coral. I do not see any difference in the 2 bronzer shades on the left side of the pan.

Pink Glow (left), Coral Glow (right)

From the swatches below, the difference between Pink and Coral Glow starts to show up more. Other than the 2 bronzer shades which look almost identical (in fact, I think they are), the stronger orange peach tone in Coral Glow (top row) stands out against the pink tone of Pink Glow (bottom row).

More comparison below:-

Coral Glow (top row), Pink Glow (bottom row)

Coral Glow (top row), Pink Glow (bottom row)

Do you need both? I think no because once it's applied on the cheeks, the difference could almost be negligible. The choice to make is whether you like orange undertone better or pink undertone better. My choice still stands with Coral Glow but I am glad I had both to satisfy my own curiosity on which is my preference.

I hereby end this post with a simple look that I had with Coral Glow on. I had it on very lightly (which seems almost non-existent, so sorry!) but hey, I had a good hair day, haha.

Guerlain Terracotta 4 Seasons Bronzer in 00 Nude

I know I jumped the gun by posting a swatch comparison of Dior's Pink Glow and Guerlain Terracotta 4 Seasons Bronzer in Nude in my earlier post, but I just had to do it based on some pals' request. However, this post is dedicated to Guerlain Terracotta 4 Seasons Bronzer in 00 Nude. :)

Guerlain Terracotta 4 Seasons Bronzer is housed in a dome-shaped brown plastic case that has the signature G logo on it and it fit nicely onto anyone's palm, like a pressed powder.

It has a faint rosy scent to it and it's similar to Blush G Sakura. Quite a feminine scent, in my opinion. For ladies who doesn't like scent in their product, it's not exactly strong so do try over the counter to see if you can take the scent.

Guerlain Terracotta 4 Seasons Bronzer in 00 Nude comprises of 4 shades: 3 varying shades of beige / brown and a light rose pink.

For my NC30 skin, the pigmentation actually doesn't show up much and I have to use a dense kabuki brush to apply instead of my usual MAC blush brush. If you like real nude blush (no wonder this bronzer is called NUDE, lol), you might like this bronzer as it gives an almost extremely subtle tan or glow. I personally won't say I dislike this effect as I do have my days when I prefer stronger blush / subtle blush.

For swatches, you can refer to the earlier post whereby I compare this bronzer with Dior's Pink Glow.

The saving grace of this bronzer is it's texture as it's fine-milled and smooth, although Dior felt smoother and buttery in comparison. I do notice that pigments get picked up on the bristles but it's just not pigmented enough.

So the million dollar question........ Guerlain Terracotta 4 Seasons Bronzer in Nude or Dior Nude Tan Paradise Duo in Pink Glow?? My suggestion:-

- Fuss-free blush that you need not worry about over application, go for Guerlain Terracotta 4 Seasons Bronzer in Nude. It's almost impossible to go wrong looking like a clown with this shade, even when using a kabuki brush. The only downside is you might use up the product faster if you need more product during applying.

- For pigmented blush and having the option to use as a bronzer, blush or contouring, go for Dior Nude Tan Paradise Duo in Pink Glow. Downside? Go light-handed and blend.

Guerlain Terracotta 4 Seasons Bronzer is retailing at $101 over the counter and I paid $90.50 at Changi Airport Duty Free.

Dior Nude Tan Paradise Duo in Pink Glow

The 2 Dior Nude Tan Paradise Duo has been creating a lot of hype on the beauty blogsphere and I was really looking forward to getting them for myself. I actually had my eyes on Coral Glow but it was unfortunately not available in Singapore thus I decided to go ahead and purchase Pink Glow at $90 from DFS Scotts last Friday when I met up with Elaine for a dinner date.

Dior Nude Tan Paradise Duo is a bronzer-blush duo which gives us the versatility to use it as a bronzer or blush. I personally like to mix up all the shades and apply it as a blush to achieve that bronzed, glowy look. More close up pics of this beauty.....

For ladies who dislike shimmers in your bronzer so that it can be using for contouring, you will be glad to know that the 2 bronzer shades in the pan are matte. The pink peachy shades do not contain shimmers but it was not exactly matte with a satin finish which is perfect as a blush. Here are the swatches:-

Left to right: Top row bronzer, top row blush, bottom row bronzer, bottom row blush, mixed

The texture is smooth and and soft and the pigmentation is amazing. The colours show up well with just 1 swatch.

A few friends have been asking me how does it compare to Guerlain Terracotta 4 Seasons Bronzer in Nude so here is the tissue swatch for you, hope it is clear enough.

Top row: Guerlain Terracotta 4 Seasons Bronzer in Nude

Bottom row: Dior Nude Tan Paradise Duo in Pink Glow

I would say Dior Nude Tan Paradise Duo in Pink Glow is warmer and more pigmented than Guerlain Terracotta 4 Seasons Bronzer in Nude. Dior also wins hands down in terms of texture as Guerlain is just not as smooth and buttery as Dior. If you can only get 1 between the 2, go for Dior!

Here is the FOTD with Dior Nude Tan Paradise Duo in Pink Glow. I really like the natural glowy effect of this bronzer duo!

Dior Nude Tan Paradise Duo is currently available at DFS Scotts only and I'm not sure when it will be launched over the counters. But if you really would like to own this beauty now, suggest for you to quickly pop by DFS Scotts. :)

Soleil Tan de Chanel Sable Rose

I can't believe I jumped onto the bandwagon of getting the bronzer from Chanel Summer Collection 2012. When I saw the pictures of it on the beauty blogsphere, it certainly did not draw me in like Chanel Ombre Contraste Duos in Sable Emouvant. However, when I swatched it over Tangs Vivo counter yesterday, I was certainly sold!

I cannot emphasis enough how Chanel always makes me go gaga over their design and packaging for some of their limited edition items. Just looking at this picture and I already can't bear to use it. :( I know there are ladies out there who asked themselves if they should get the bronzers in this Summer Collection if they already purchased Bronze Rose and Bronze Corail, my suggestion is to check our Sabrina's comparison here. She never ever fails to give excellent swatches clear enough for you to make a decision. Lucky for me, I did not caved in to Bronze Rose or Bronze Corail last year thus this was quite a no brainer for me.

I also managed to get a sample of the new foundation, Perfection Lumiere in 20 beige from the friendly SA so it's time to give this highly-raved foundation a try and compare with my HG foundation, Lift Lumiere which I raved about previously.

Man, even Eden went gaga over my Chanel........... haha

Edward Bess Ultra Luminous Bronzer in DayDream

One of the product that I purchased from Zuneta.com previously was Edward Bess Ultra Luminous Bronzer in DayDream. It has received much raves from beauty bloggers who were able to lay their hands on it. Honestly, I did not know what was the rave about until I got it, saw it and swatch it.

The plastic case looks a little bit understated and simple and do not have the statement that Chanel creates even though their product was housed in a plastic case. However, what lies IN the case is the treasure.

The bronzer with slight golden shimmers has 'EB' embossed in it and it looks lovely. When swatched, the texture is smooth and feels satiny. It gives a very subtle glow, which is the effect from the shimmers in it. This is definitely a perk me up especially for ladies who had a long night the night before, it will definitely give you the glow back!

As usual, I tried to do some comparison with my pathetic stash (again!!!) and I only have 2 other bronzers: MAC Pink Power (Wonder Woman Collection) and Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Matte Bronzer.

MAC Pink Power, Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Matte Bronzer, EB Ultra Luminous Bronzer

Swatches taken under lighting

As you can see from the swatches above, MAC Pink Power has a more orangey undertone, whereas Too Faced Chocolate Soleil and EB DayDream is closer in terms of colour (more brown and bronzy).

 

You can also see that the shimmer in EB DayDream is almost non-existent, no thanks to my lousy camera and thus it looks almost the same as Too Faced Chocolate Soleil but trust me, it is different! 

I have never know the difference in my bronzers until I did this comparison and what can I say??? There is a GOOD reason why beauty bloggers rave about EB Daydream! :)