Favorites: Tom Ford Eye Color Quad 01 Golden Mink

Tom Ford Eye Color Quad 01 Golden Mink

I know all about obsessions with Tom Ford Eye Color Quads. After all, I own 8 of them.

As far as favorites go, I definitely have to go with the neutrals. They're a big investment up-front but they last forever cos you get 10g of product, and the shades are silky smooth, high-quality and flattering even if you have mature skin.

Out of the quads I have, the most-used one of 2014 has got to be 01 Golden Mink. Oddly enough, it's not actually my favorite neutral TF palette. I think Cocoa Mirage has a better balance of dark to light shades, and Cognac Sable has a more interesting and glamorous mix of smoky colors.

But for some odd reason, Golden Mink is still the one I reach for most often. 

Tom Ford 01 Golden Mink swatches

Maybe it's the versatility. You get 2 very wearable and flattering iridescent brown-tones; one a taupe bronze, the other a rich cocoa. These 2 shades are my regular whisk-on-and-go daily colors. 

At the same time, there are 2 sparkle shades. Now if you've never tried Tom Ford's glitter shadows, you'll be interested to know these are semi-cream textures. The ultra-fine glittery mica particles are suspended in a translucent silicone base, so they go on feeling dry, but they adhere and smooth on like cream shadows. 

My only criticism is that the 2 sparkle shades look very similar once applied on the lids and blended with the other shadows (both vaguely pale beige-gold sparkles), and they probably only needed 1 in there, not 2. Having a 3rd satin shadow there - like a champagne highlight color - would have given a wider range of look possibilities.

But still, this is a nice palette to have, and by far the one I've gotten the most compliments on whenever I've worn it out or shared looks on Instagram, etc.

My favorite way of applying it is to blend the taupe-bronze on the inner half of lids, the deeper chocolate shade on the outer half of lids. This gives a subtle smoky neutral eye which is pearlescent but not overly metallic. 

Then to finish off, I like to apply a concentrated strip of one of the sparkle shades down the center of the lid, and just around the tear-duct area of the inner corners, to create a subtle gleaming "wet" look.

Tom Ford 01 Golden Mink on lids, Anna Sui Length & Separation Mascara 001

Most times I'll jazz it up further with dark brown liner, but in most cases, this is a very easy and grown-up way to wear glitter. And I DO wear it to work in a conservative environment.