Tom Ford Shade & Illuminate

This cream contour and highlight palette is my favourite amongst the other high end brands. The texture is super creamy and super blendable where it sit nicely on all my foundations. It is extremely pigmented so a little goes along way. The cream highlight gives a subtle but noticeable shine to my face and the highlight last the day. Faultless product!

This product is ridiculously expensive and there are lots of great contour and highlighter for less. But if your willing to part with the cash you will not regret it.  For me, I find this product creates a natural yet defined look. The best thing about it how blendable and buildable it is, you can create as much drama as you like.  I use the contour just below my cheek bones, on forehead and jawline then use the highlighter on my high points on my cheeks, the bridge of my nose and Cupid's bow.  You can use either your fingers, brush or sponge to apply it and for me no matter how I use it, it always looks flawless.

Let's get one thing out of the way, this product is bloody expensive, there is no doubt about it. There are lots of reasons to spend an exorbitant amount of money on a beauty product though: maybe makeup is your 'thing', and you are treating yourself, you go for quality over quantity so in the long run you don't spend as much as someone who buys lots of cheaper things, or perhaps you were a lucky birthday girl. Despite the price, this highlight/contour palette might be worth the money in the right circumstances. I've taken one star off the price, because even I had a few heart palpitations when I handed over my credit card.  Aesthetically the palette (and all Tom Ford products) are the epitome of luxury. For some people, myself included, just owning this palette is a joy. It is absolutely beautiful to look at, to open and to use. Having it in my makeup collection gives me tingles (I'm weird, I know). The shades are perfect. They are generic enough to suit most skin tones and be used day and night. Of course you can get highlighters in a variety of shades these days, but the subtle, transparent glow of this one makes it extremely versatile. This palette comes in 2 intensities and the #1 shade is great for light to medium skin tones, and darker skin tones can give the #2 shade a try. The contour shade (Intensity #1) is the perfect mix of  brown and grey so it looks like a natural shadow and doesn't look like badly applied bronzer. I use #1. The formula is an easy to blend cream, which is one of the reasons this product is worth the money. Creams are great for precision application, so the contour is perfect for shading the nose and other smaller areas, you can put it exactly where you want it, with a brush or your finger, and then blend for a seamless finish. The same for the highlighter, you can use it on the brow bone, cupids bow, or use a brush to apply it to your cheekbones. The shades are also buildable, so while you won't be able to get a glitter ball finish from the highlighter, you can definitely achieve a look to suit your personal preference. The highlighter can also be applied under foundation for a 'lit from within' effect.   If you are a highlighting and contouring pro, you will love this palette, but if you are new to this trend, then you can be assured that this product will make it very easy for you to achieve a look you are comfortable with.  I would like to share a little tip with you, that you can use with any cream contour, but I like to use this one. Put your hands on each side of your face, palms in towards your cheeks, fingers pointing behind you. Nestle the fleshy pad that is at the base of your thumb into the hollow under your cheek bone, feel around a bit and you will find they fit snuggly in, from the top of your ear, down towards your nose.  The tip of my thumb ends up resting right at the top of my ear. This is where your contour will go. Dip the bit of your hand that contacted with your cheek into the product (or use a brush to paint it on), one hand only. I find that the pad under my thumb fits perfectly into the pan. The product will end up on the palm of your hand. Press your hands together to transfer the product onto both hands, and then press into the hollows of your cheeks. You now have contour applied perfectly evenly on both sides, and in the right spot. Blend lightly with fingers, brush, or your beauty blender and there you go, you're a contoured goddess! 

Shade and Illuminate is such a fantastic product. I wanted to purchase it after seeing so many celebs using but was a bit worried that it wouldn’t live up to the hype. It totally did! It is a cream so you put it on before your powders and after your liquid foundation/concealer. It is so bendable!I have tried it with both my finger and a brush and both work well but I would recommend a brush as it is easier and quicker. The colour is really believable.The shade is a true contour shade so it really mimics the hollows of your cheeks and gives you a bit of colour. The illuminator is quite subtle but definitely believable.It’s not too full on but just gives your skin a nice glow. The compact is really easy to use and is a great size to travel with/put in your bag. The only con is that it is a little bit expensive but I would definitely recommend it and say it’s worth the price because it is definitely one of the better contour/illuminator duo’s on the market!