Tom Ford Nail Lacquer #24 Black Sugar, #25 Show Me The Pink from Fall 2013 Collection

Although I used to collect Tom Ford nail polishes for some time, I haven't posted a separate review featuring only his nail polishes until now. You might have seen the bottles popping up at some comparison posts or on some overall looks together with the eye products here and there, but today is officially the first time I am giving it a try.

The reason behind my silence is the love/hate relationship I developed with Tom Ford polishes and finding it very difficult to express my feeling towards them. Each time I am drawn to the mini counter in Stuttgart Breuninger (which has only lip and nail products), my favorite SA greets me and she smiles knowing that I am going to complain about the quality, yet I won't leave there empty handed. Some times I wear a Tom Ford nail polish and see people asking about it, commenting how nice the shade is. I nod and frustrated point out the uneven parts of the application I can't get rid of despite the careful application (especially from the creme polishes of the line, e.g. African Violet, Viper). 

Long story short, I decided to give two limited edition nail polishes from Fall 2013 Collection a try and purchased Black Sugar and Show Me The Pink (12 ml / .41 OZ, 31 EUR / $32).

I started by trying out Show Me The Pink, thinking that would complement my holiday tan. I found the application of this one unfortunately a little streaky and after the second coat I had some unevenness on the surface. With the third coat it can be evened out if you are willing to go there. It is a nice peachy pink, not too pink, not cool or warm. It would look nice together with eye shadow trio "In The Pink" (reviewed here) from the same collection. In the bottle it has some silver micro shimmer which doesn't transfer onto the nails. Below you can see two coats, photos are taken under the sun and in shadow to give you a better idea of the shade.

Once I opened the box and took Black Sugar out, I was amazed by the complexity in the bottle. It has red micro shimmer in a gorgeous taupe base. Let's be honest, I have seen many peachy pink nail polishes with silver shimmer but not a single taupe with red shimmer that I recall. I was very excited. After application, I found out the gorgeous shimmer in the bottle can only be seen on the nails directly under sun and with the help of a microscope (!) but nevertheless it gives this shade some complexity and a reddish plum hue which still makes it unique once compared to similar creme taupes, such as Chanel Particuliere or Dior Dune (check out Sabrina's comparison swatches). Below I managed to catch the shimmer in the bottle and even some on the nail by the second photo.

Final thoughts: Show Me The Pink is a little streaky by the second coat, thus a miss for me considering the price point and the number of similar polishes I own. Black Sugar though has a nice complexity and a better formula (evened out by the second coat on my nails) so if you like taupe on your nails, you may want to check this one out.

How do you feel about shimmers which doesn't transfer on the nails? How do you find Tom Ford's nail polish formula?