The Tom Ford Private Blend Lip Color; just look at it. Beautifully crafted packaging, luxurious gold finishing, and that lipstick inside – the perfect creamy nude. I have been road-testing ‘Blush Nude’, which is the second lightest shade in the Private Blend range. It’s pretty much the perfect nude shade; it’s light enough to be a ‘statement’ lip, but not so light that it’s unwearable.

Many people shy away from a nude lip – it’s all the preparation that goes into it; creating dark, smokey eyes to offset the paleness, making sure that the lips are in perfect, smooth condition, making sure that no natural, darker skin shows through the lip color. It can be rather a hassle. And if you get it wrong, it looks as though you’re just about to start your shift outside King’s Cross St Pancras.

Not so with Tom Ford’s Blush Nude – the video below shows me applying and wearing the lipstick, in pretty much real time. I just applied it straight onto my lips, and then patted and blended with my fingertip. It took less than thirty seconds all in all, but I messed around posing and showing off, so the video is slightly longer. I wore it with a dark eye that had only taken a few minutes to create; just liner and then a smudgy shadow winged out and up slightly at the corners.

I didn’t need to prime my lips whatsoever; the formula glides on really easily and is so pigmented that the coverage is instant and absolute. Quite astonishing in fact. It has two possible effects; applied straight, with no blending, it is glossy and voluptuous. Applied with a fingertip, and blotted between applications, it is an ultra long-wearing matte nude. I love both effects. Both are a foolproof and speedy way to achieve a very sexy, very wearable nude pout.

As the name ‘Private Blend’ might suggest to you, this lipstick isn’t the cheapest around. The Tom Ford Brand screams exclusivity and luxury, and this is reflected in the price. (There’s always a downside, isn’t there!) One to add to the Christmas list (again! Sorry – normal ‘affordable’ service will be resumed shortly!) or to simply lust after from afar.

Tom Ford Private Blend Lip Color is £35 from Selfridges.