Thanks to the approaching deadlines over regulation changes in the EU, the Tom Ford Beauty brand has been reformulating a ton of their products across multiple categories.
Today’s post will be covering the few that I bought from this year’s relaunches.

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In this review, the only affiliate links are for brushes through CDJapan. I have no affiliation with Tom Ford Beauty.

Tom Ford Soleil Bronzing Powder in 03 Panarea and 04 Formentera

During the peak days of YouTube’s Beauty community, some of the most hyped up bronzers were the Benefit Hoola Bronzer, Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Matte Bronzer, Physician’s Formula Murumuru Butter Bronzer, Hourglass Ambient Lighting Bronzer, Nars Laguna Bronzer, Guerlain Terracotta Bronzer, Tom Ford Soleil Glow Bronzer, and Marc Jacobs Beauty O!Mega Bronzer. Since then, many of those brands have expanded their ranges, including Tom Ford. I was so excited at the prospect of finally having a powder bronzer from Tom Ford that was deep enough to show up on my skin! However, the brand didn’t take inclusivity as far as I would have expected. There are only 4 options and the gap between shades 3 and 4 is huge!

Below are swatches of two of my lightest bronzers (that I typically mix with a darker bronzer in order to wear them) compared to Panarea. As seen in the photo, Panarea is nearly invisible on my arm. To jump from that shade to Formentera is wild, but even wilder is the fact that Tom Ford’s fourth bronzer is the darkest in the range. It’s significantly lighter than Charlotte Tilbury’s bronzer in Deep, which is also the 4th and last shade in her powder bronzer range. To be fair, Charlotte’s third shade option is about as light as Nars Laguna 05. So, that brand has a shade jump too, but she has bronzers that will work for someone at least several shades darker than me.

I thought these shades would be darker based on how deep they appear in the pan, but they still look lighter even after being built up. Panarea looks tan, but on me it’s like a beige-bisque. It’s technically warm, but can look almost pink toned in some lighting. Formentera looks like it should be a contour color, but it’s a red toned bronzer (though still not overly warm).

I’ve seen my friends who are darker than me try to use bronzers as face powders to find use for ones that were too light for them. I decided to give that tactic a try with Panarea and I can say whatever changes it made to my face were negligible. In a side-by-side comparison, perhaps my face was the tiniest bit more matte. Perhaps shade 03 changed the color of my face the tiniest bit, but not enough for anyone else to notice and my face didn’t stay matte for long. Essentially, this bronzer wasn’t good enough for powdering my face, over using my actual finishing powders that blur and/or add a beautiful sheen. So, I don’t recommend bothering to use it in this way.

Before I even attempted to use this as a face powder, the third shade was already getting hard pan. I thought perhaps this formula doesn’t like to be swatched or maybe these bronzers are hard-pressed, but Formentera is still perfectly fine and easy to pick up with my brushes. In just three weeks, the surface of Panarea feels hard and dry, which is such a contrast to the continued softness (verging on creamy) of Formentera. In the comment sections of YouTube videos, such as the one by Mo Makeup Mo Beauty on the Soleil Collection, a few people described having issues with the performance of Panarea too. So, perhaps there’s something off with this batch.

The Soleil Bronzers are unscented, have a matte finish, and the powder consistency is fairly thin, though not as thin as Victoria Beckham or Charlotte Tilbury. These are pigmented, but the amount my brushes pick up ensure that I can build up sheer layers of product and not worry about overapplying.

The amount of kickup is determined by the brush used. My first instinct was to test them with some of my go-to bronzer brushes, which are the Bisyodo B-F-05 Perfect Fit Brush, Number Eight Face 08, Sonia G Smooth Buffer, and Rephr Kōyō brush (though I use Kōyō more often for blush). I got minimal kickup with all except the one by Number Eight.

It occurred to me that I should try to use the bronzers with the Rephr 22, because it’s considered by many to be the closest natural hair dupe for the highly regarded original Tom Ford 05 Bronzer Brush. For those that like very diffused bronzer applications, these two are a great pairing. However, the Rephr 22 gave me the most kickup.

The first of the three pictures is a demonstration of how much of the Rephr 22 gets coated from two dabs into the pan. A smaller area in the center will distribute the bronzer onto the face, while the surrounding bristles with less or no product at all will help buff. The middle photo shows how much kickup is left after applying bronzer to just one side of my face. I wiped the surface of the compact before applying bronzer to the other side of my face with the Rephr Kōyō instead, so the third picture shows how little kickup there was by comparison.

Longevity isn’t an issue with these. The Tom Ford bronzers are decently blendable, but I have even more skin-like bronzers or ones that give more of an airbrush finish at better prices too. So, I like the bronzer, but I still feel like I overpaid, even with the 20% discount and reward points used. This might have been a different story if the bronzers had more of a glowy finish, which would make them more in line with my preferences.

Formentera definitely shows up on me, but I’m very picky about red-toned bronzers. So, I have tried mixing Panarea and Formentera together. While I like the results, I’m at the point in my makeup journey that I no longer wish to bother combining bronzer shades. I just want to carry a single compact with a color that works easily without me having to think about the ratios or worry so much about blending it well enough.
With the Victoria Beckham Bronzing Brick, equal amounts of both shades works perfectly for me. When I try to mix the Tom Ford Bronzers, I have to pick up enough of Panarea to lighten Formentera, but still keep it dark enough that it’s able to be seen on my skin. On top of that, Panarea’s hard press and hard pan issue makes the number of necessary swipes inconsistent. Sometimes I need to dig into it more than other times.
Plus, mixing both of them together doesn’t help remove that feeling of me having overpaid!
I have at least figured out that I am happy with how Formentera looks if I’m wearing one of my more yellow-toned foundations. If I’m using a foundation that has stronger orange tones and/or is slightly darker than my current skintone, then the bronzer makes me look too red for comfort. So, I can keep that in mind too.

Too Faced has six options with two that are darker than I need. MAC has 10 options in the matte finish and 5 in the radiant finish in a range that also goes beyond my skin’s depth. Too Faced (as of now) and MAC are Estée Lauder owned brands alongside Tom Ford Beauty. So, it’s not as if additional shades couldn’t be made. Someone decided to keep the range of this premium brand limited.

In the past, the Soleil Collections were limited edition. I cannot imagine that all the bronzers, highlighters, and eyeshadows released aren’t permanent items, but perhaps the intent is to expand upon them every summer going forward. However, I don’t foresee myself buying any unless the brand releases some immaculately perfect shade for me. This is one of the reasons I didn’t buy one of their reformulated highlighters. Based on other reviews I saw, Amalfi may be similar to Reflects Gilt (which is too light for me) and Portafino could be close to the bronze shade from the Shade Illuminate Highlighting Duo in Tanlight. Just like I said in my Best Highlighters Showcased post, I’m so happy with Tanlight that I don’t feel the need to buy anymore highlighters from Tom Ford…unless something happens to mine.

Tom Ford Eye Color Quad Crème in Olive Smoke

I was incredibly tempted to buy Olive Smoke when it first came out, but reviews were mixed. I was even more tempted when it was being discontinued and listed on sale for 50% off. Since all of the brand’s quads have been newly reformulated, I hoped that meant I’d have a better experience with the new version of Olive Smoke than NikkifromHR had with the previous formula.

I am happy to report that I get very minimal creasing with these reformulated eyeshadows. I’ve tested these with and without primer (my primers of choice being the Lisa Eldridge Silk Canvas and MAC Paint Pot). Without a primer, the creasing is a bit worse, but good enough for me to still be satisfied with how the eyeshadows look throughout the day. These eyeshadows are very pigmented, but still buildable. The way the black eyeshadow feels and performs is what I think Guerlain was aiming for (but failed) when they made the black shade in their Royal Jungle quad. It’s not as wet feeling as the black eyeshadow from Pat Mcgrath’s Bronze Bliss, but TF’s black is truer (less blue).

The reason I’m so focused on the black shade is because it’s the one I rely on to create depth, and I like black eyeshadows that are rich in pigment, but not hard to control. I’ve had black eyeshadows that were patchy, not dark enough, or so pigmented that they were hard to blend. So, whenever I come across one that works just how I want, I’m happy. The one in this palette is like that.

The pale gold and dark gold aren’t very exciting colors, but they fit well with the Olive Smoke theme and are necessary for adding brightness, along with taking the eye looks in a less smokey direction whenever that’s wanted.

The Olive color is the most appealing shade. It’s what drew me into this palette because of how infrequently greens are featured among luxury brand eyeshadows. 2025 seemed like the year of the green palettes, but there were still less around compared to years when pinks, blues, or purples were the “it” colors for that year.
This is a deeper tone of Olive than I typically see. As is typical of Tom Ford, the shimmer is smooth and reflective, but not intense, dramatic, or sparkly. There is an elegance and refinement to these eyeshadows, which is something I want sometimes, but not all the time.

The pigment is there. The formula is good. I’m relieved that despite having a bit of slip, these don’t crease like crazy. They don’t fade. There’s no fallout.
I’m happy to know that Tom Ford’s Crème formula is good, but if I’m going for a sophisticated eye look, I still don’t think any of the brand’s eyeshadow ranges surpass their Wet/Dry a.k.a Soleil/Lumière formula. My issue has always been that they rarely make color stories in that formula that interest me. In fact, that’s one of the biggest issues I have with Tom Ford. The eyeshadows in the quads either lack a deepening shade, are too similar in depths, too similar of colors within the same quad, or the color story is too “safe.” So, even if the formula was in my top 3 favorites (which it is still not), there are so few that I’m interested enough in to purchase.

Because these eyeshadows aren’t fully within my preferences, the price rarely feels worth it. Comparing this Crème formula (which I think is still better than the standard/Runway) to other luxury and designer palettes, there tends to be a standout feature in addition to have an option of costing less.

Tom Ford Quads – €85
Victoria Beckham Quads – €84
Prada Quads – €82
Guerlain Quads – €75
Dior Quints – €73
YSL Quads – €69
Pat Mcgrath Quads – €69
Chanel Quads – €66 (not limited edition)

VBB Quads have one shimmer that is practically like a pressed version of Lid Lustres and the best discount is 25% off. There is also the option to get a refill, which is naturally going to cost less. The Prada quads have a cream to powder formula that I love, in addition to the option to get a lower priced refill and/or 20% off. The Guerlain Quads I only find special when they are not in eyeshadow pans and I’ve seen them listed as high as 40% off (the older quads). YSL Quads have some of my favorite formulas and I’ve seen them close to 50% off. Pat Mcgrath Quads sometimes have the “special” baked shades and can be up to 40% off depending on the type of deal there is going on.

So, when I see the kind of prices I can pay for quads with formulas or features I like even more, I always feel like I paid too much for what I got from Tom Ford. To be more accurate, I felt like I paid what I should whenever I purchased Tom Ford from a CCO/CCS (Cosmetic Company Outlet). Those are owned by Estee Lauder and they sell out-of-season beauty products, like Tom Ford, for up to 40% off or sometimes there are even better bundle deals.

Since I no longer have access to Tom Ford products at these kinds of prices, whatever I do end up buying has to be something I really want, such as the Olive Smoke Palette I’ve been pining over since early 2025.
This is ultimately why I did not buy any of the Soleil Eye Quads, despite that being my favorite of the three types.

I still want to continue my eyeshadow ranking series, and I’ve had Tom Ford on the list for a long time, but I never even reviewed Leopard Sun, nor the limited edition quad I bought before the reformulations (Electric Cherry). I also forgot that I technically had a mini review in the May 2022 Purchases Reviewed post featuring African Violet, Photosynthesex and Honeymoon. Now, a ranking doesn’t seem all that relevant considering 5 out of my 6 Tom Ford quads have been reformulated or discontinued. If anyone is still curious, it would be as follows from favorite to least favorite:

1. Honeymoon
2. Photosynthesex
3. Olive Smoke
4. Electric Cherry
5. African Violet
6. Leopard Sun
   

I don’t care that my version of Honeymoon is very old by now. I didn’t use it enough to be worth repurchasing in the new formula.

I hope this has been helpful, or at least an interesting discussion.
Thanks for reading!

-Lili ❤