Tom Ford Beauty gets set for autumn introduction : Moodie Davitt Report

INTERNATIONAL. As previously reported, Tom Ford Beauty’s first full Cosmetics Collection – a complete high-end range of make-up, skin treatments and luxury brushes – is poised for its domestic market debut. The products will be available in selected doors from September, before rolling out to wider distribution, including the travel retail channel, in October. London Heathrow T3 and T5 will be the debut travel retail locations.


Two different faces of the new Tom Ford Beauty Collection, as modelled by Ford himself and Lara Stone

The line incorporates a comprehensive wardrobe of products that makes Ford’s signature look achievable with minimum effort and maximum effectiveness, according to the brand. The Collection is focused around colour, and a tightly-edited skincare line. To complement the launch of Tom Ford Beauty, the brand is also expanding its Private Blend Collection with two new fragrances: Jasmin Rouge and Santal Blush.

“We see this collection as totally cohesive – it’s an extension of the house of Tom Ford,” noted Tom Ford Beauty President Caroline Geerlings. “And as you would expect, Tom was totally involved in everything – packaging, formula, textures, shades, product names – from start to finish.”

The designer considers make-up and skincare to be “tools of transformation”, which enable women to maximise their potential. “Tom feels that each woman has an individuality, and that with his make-up and approach he can bring out her best features, so that she can be as elegant, glamorous and sensual as she would like to be,” Geerlings explained. “The make-up is designed to help and enhance.”

“My colour collection is designed to help women amplify their own beauty,” confirmed Ford at the launch event. “Sensuous for me is one of the most important words that I would use to describe [the collection]. Sensuous is touchable. Every [fashion] collection that I have designed, make-up and hair were the first things that I thought about”¦you can either put yourself together using beautiful nudes, for a “˜non-make-up’ look, or you can do full-out, full-on colour.”

Ford added: “Interesting, original colour every season will be the thing that sets up apart. We have amazing

for that pop of colour on the face, and we have incredible colours even for women who don’t like to wear a lot of make-up. I think cosmetics should help a woman look approachable”¦or kissable.”

The Tom Ford Beauty make-up can be broadly divided into two distinct colours/looks: decadent and dramatic with bright, bold shades, or sensual and subdued with neutral tones.

The centrepiece of the Color Collection is a range of ten Eye Quads, each of which contains a colour harmony of four shades and textures. The four finishes – sheer sparkle, satin, shimmer and matte – help to vary the type of bold/subtle look achieved.

Other eye products include the Eye Defining Pencil, offered in six shades to complement the Eye Quads; Noir Absolute for Eyes – a black gel formula that can be used over the entire lid, or simply to line; a Brow Sculptor, complete with unique calligraphy tip, grooming brush and sharpener; and Extreme Mascara, a creamy long-lasting formula available in deep black.

There are three lip products: Lip Color, Ultra Shine Lip Gloss and Lip Lacquer. These will replace the existing Tom Ford lip collection. Cheek Color will also be available in six shades. Nail Lacquer will be available from December.

The Tom Ford Beauty price positioning is at the premium end of the selective scale. For example, the Eye Quad will retail at around €75, the Brow Sculptor at €40 and the Nail Lacquer at €30.

Creating the perfect canvas before applying colour is of tantamount importance, therefore Tom Ford Beauty features an extensive portfolio of illuminating and sculpting products too. They allow a woman to prime her complexion and “sculpt” the illusion of symmetry by highlighting or shading, according to the brand.

These products include Traceless Foundation Stick, Traceless Foundation SPF15, Illuminating Highlight Pen, Shade and Illuminate, Illuminating Powder and Translucent Finishing Powder.

Equal attention has been devoted to the collection’s 12 make-up brushes, described as an essential component of Tom Ford Beauty. “My brushes are absolutely the best you can possibly have,” noted Ford at the launch. The tools combine white horse hair, goat hair and synthetic fibres according to the specific needs of each colour product. They are finished with mahogany brown handles and are finely balanced for easy handling.

The skincare element of Tom Ford Beauty aims to blend a luxurious, sensory experience with high-performing active formulas. The Tom Ford Purifying Complex, found in the cleansers, helps free skin of dulling and damaging toxins thanks to a combination of European plant extracts and Chinese herbs, the brand maintains. The Tom Ford Infusing Complex – found in the treatments and primer – is said to infuse skin with a potent combination of specially selected nutrients that help skin simulate its natural repair mechanisms.

The products include Purifying Gelée Cleanser, Purifying Crème Cleanser, Intensive Daily Moisturizer, Intensive Infusion Ultra Rich Moisturizer, Intensive Infusion Concentrate Extreme, Intensive Infusion Eye Treatment, Makeup Remover and Illuminating Protective Primer SPF12.

The new fragrances which complete the Collection reflect the two specific moods and looks of Tom Ford Beauty. Jasmin Rouge is a spiced floral; Santal Blush a spicy wood oriental. “If Santal Blush were a colour, it would be nude,” explained Ford. “The other fragrance, Jasmin Rouge, would be a deep, deep red. They really represent the two different extremes of this make-up collection.”

The two scents are special editions that exist within the Tom Ford Beauty Cosmetics Collection. They will be available as a 50ml spray or a 250ml decanter at Tom Ford Beauty counters that offer the Cosmetics Collection, as well as in selected additional stores that offer the Lip Color wardrobe.

Ford himself and model Lara Stone feature in the advertising visuals for Tom Ford Beauty.