Too Faced have definitely emerged to become my favourite make-up brand of the moment. Not only have they knocked it of the park with their new foundation launch Born This Way, but they also make my holy grail mascara, Better Than Sex (if you're interested, I did a comparison post on that with a high-street dupe here).
So the next item on my list of products to investigate was their legendary Chocolate Box eyeshadow palette. After all, what woman could resist a palette of shadows in shimmer and matte neutrals, dressed up in this cute chocolate bar tin that also smells of chocolate?
But would the shadows live up to the insanely high expectations I had after trialling their other products?
The Hype
The idea for the Chocolate Bar palette is cute, unique and has spawned several imitators since its launch, and a sister palette, 'Semi-Sweet'. Apparently Jerrod Blandino, the co-founder of Too Faced Cosmetics, was inspired while having a cocoa-facial at a Hawaiian spa to create a range of chocolate-scented products.
This palette:
"Harnesses the antioxidant rich powers of cocoa powder and includes 16 matte and shimmer shades of natural browns, delicate pinks and luscious plum."
I really like how this has some colour alongside the browns and neutrals, especially as pinks and purples are very flattering on brown-eyed gals like myself.
The Packaging
What's not to love about this? Firstly, the idea of packaging it in a giant chocolate bar is a masterstroke that will fans of novelty over.
From the moment you see the outer sleeve, this palette will make you feel like you're having a real-life Charlie and The Chocolate Factory moment. The packaging literally looks good enough to eat, making you want to dive inside and have a play with all the delicious shades.
The tin is actually sturdy and lightweight as well, making this really useful to travel with. Its quite chunky, so it will take up a chunk of space in your make-up bag but the selection of neutrals and special colours means that you probably won't need to take any other eye colours.
The Shades
The shades in this palette really give Urban Decay's Naked series a run for its money! Alongside a range of silky, infinitely wearable neutrals, there are some lovely, unusual shades to provide a bit of interest.
The shades on offer are:
Gilded Ganache - cool dark brown with golden shimmer
White Chocolate -matte warm cream
Milk Chocolate - medium neutral matte brown
Black Forest Truffle - deep plum with golden shimmer
Triple Fudge - cool deep matte brown
Salted Caramel - medium matte beige
Marzipan - warm cream champagne shimmer
Semi-Sweet - deep matte chocolate brown
Strawberry Bonbon - matte light pastel pink
Candied Violet - cool shimmery purple with gold shimmer
Amaretto - medium bronzed plum
Hazelnut - warm bronze
Creme Brulee - khaki gold shimmer
Haute Chocolate - cool dark brown shimmer
Cherry Cordial - deep matte burgundy
Champagne Truffle - light pink champagne shimmer
So, quality selection of beautiful shades - from your familiar bronzey neutrals to a few special selections like the stunning khaki and the burgundy.
A palette offering something a little different, but not so out there it will scare eyeshadow beginners.
Well played, Too Faced.
The Performance
You'd be expecting something special for the kind of money this costs, especially with the impeccable quality of palettes from brands like Makeup Revolution and MUA for pocket money prices, but the Too Faced Chocolate Bar palette doesn't disappoint.
The matte light shades seem a little chalky but the rest of the shades are butter soft with a rich, creamy payoff.
Colours are rich, vivid and have great lasting power, even without a primer, although adding one will make those shimmer shades sing. They easily make it through the day without creasing or fading.
The Verdict
The mix of shades here is a lovely split between mattes and shimmers, neutrals and subtle hits of colour, which makes it something special.
The cool packaging also takes this out of the ordinary and into must have territory. And with 16 shades compared to the usual 12 in an Urban Decay Naked palette, this is a better value proposition.
If you're looking for neutrals with an added twist and great quality finish, this will rock your world.
The Too Faced Chocolate Bar palette is £45.00 available online .
This was my second palette I've bought and I never regretted the decision to purchase it! I bought it when I was starting wearing makeup and after buying it I suddenly realized I wouldn't feel the need to buy eyeshadows, apart from the one or other shades that sometimes appear in our lives ;), There is only one palette that I want to complement this one: the Too Faced Natural Mattes ^^
ReplyDeleteGreat write-up, I am a big believer in commenting on blogs to inform the blog writers know that they’ve added something worthwhile to the world wide web!.. orbit sugar-free gum
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