The blog post series go on with two of the mostly owned/spoken/reviewed/worn palettes of Tom Ford. I am taking about the holy grail matte palette #03 Cocoa Mirage and the most sparkly neutral I have ever seen, #01 Golden Mink.
 |
| Tom Ford Quads: #01 Golden Mink (right) & #03 Cocoa Mirage (left) |
Although they look similar in the pan, they are very different once applied. Cocoa Mirage is composed of three matte and one satin shade. Golden Mink on the other hand has two glitter shades and two satins. Golden Mink was sent to me by Mari from US, and on the way the upper left golden sparkle shade was broken. I pressed it back with my fingers, this is why you see the texture looks a bit different but it is completely intact.
 |
| Tom Ford Quads: #01 Golden Mink & #03 Cocoa Mirage |
The below swatch is taken by applying the shades by swiping once with my fingers. The photo is taken under direct sun light. Cocoa Mirage is composed of an off-white (top left) matte, a mid toned warm matte brown (tom right), a darker reddish satin brown (bottom left) and a dark chocolate brown (bottom right). Golden Mink offers two glitter shades, golden glitter on transparent base (top left) and peachy glitter (top right), a gorgeous satin taupe brown (bottom left) and a dark satin bronze brown (bottom right).
 |
| Swatch under full sun: Tom Ford Quads #01 Golden Mink & #03 Cocoa Mirage |
Although can be used on a daily basis for a gorgeous natural day-time look, I find myself not reaching for Cocoa Mirage often. I find this one a bit boring but I can see that some may like it for the easy polished look it provides. If you want to go for a bold lip look, this may also come in handy. For the following eye make-up, I used the off-white (top left) at inner corner, mid toned brown (top right) on the lid and on the lower lash line, defined the look with two darker shades (bottom left and right) on the outer lid and crease. I also used the darkest shade as eye liner.
 |
| Tom Ford Quad #03 Cocoa Mirage in action |
Two glitter shades? I never could understand why would you need a second one. I would opt rather for a highlighter shade instead of one of them if I could choose. Nevertheless I like the results once they are both padded on the lid. For the following look I used my favorite taupe shade (bottom left) all over the lid and defined it with the dark bronze brown (bottom left). Mixed them both and applied along the bottom lashes. I then padded the peachy glitter (top right) on the whole lid and golden glitter (top left) on the inner lid. Golden Mink is another quad I don't reach often for (more often than Cocoa Mirage though), nevertheless I like it once worn.
 |
| Tom Ford Quad #01 Golden Mink in action |
Final thoughts: Although they look similar in the pan, Tom Ford Quads in #01 Golden Mink and #03 Cocoa Mirage are very different once applied. If you love matte eye shadows, simple effortless chic date time looks without much drama on eyes, Cocoa Mirage is your palette. If you want more sparkle, glitter but still choose to stay neutral, be sure to check out Golden Mink.
Which one is your favorite?