Monday 14 April 2014

Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette Review

Hello lovelies!

After a very long and hard term, I finally get to come back to my blog and write about something I adore.
Like a lot of you, I go though phases of lust for different types of cosmetics.  First I was nuts for nail varnish, then blusher, next (briefly) was lipsticks and now I am frickin' crazy on eyeshadow palettes! It is a rather expensive phase currently.

So my latest addition to my collection is the Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette. It is something I've had my eye on since I saw it in the Debenhams 'sale' at Christmas. At that time it was £39.50 down from £45. That was still too expensive for a product I had heard little about and with the Naked palettes being cheaper, I held fire. I then saw it on Beauty Bay for the same price (£39.50) but they also had a promotion to get 15% off. Therefore it cost a little over £33. A great bargain!

This palette has drawn many comparisons to the Urban Decay Naked palettes. It is hard not to since this is a very neutral toned palette. So you must forgive me for my references to the Naked palettes!








L-R: Gilded Ganache, White Chocolate, Slated Caramel, Marzipan, Semi Sweet, Hazelnut, Creme Brulee, Haute Chcolate

L- R: Milk Chocolate, Black Forest Truffle, Triple Fudge, Strawberry Bon Bon, Candied Violet, Amaretto, Cherry Cordial, Champagne Truffle

First I want to comment on BeautyBay's service. They do free delivery which is great but unfortunately they use the courier service Yodel in the UK. I had to reschedule the delivery as the package needed to be signed for (apparently). When they redelivered, they did not use the door buzzer to give me the package or attempt to deliver it to my flat personally. They had left the package inside the outside cupboard where the bins are kept! I personally think this is awful service on behalf of Yodel and had I not read reviews on their service, I would never have thought to check where my bins are!

Another downer (unfortunately) was that my box and the tin itself was damaged. I don't understand how the tin can manage to be dented on the corner considering it was in a box and it was delivered in bubble wrap but it was!

Back to the product...

I have never tried any of Too Faced products before but have heard so many great things about them. The tin of this product in the shape of a block of chocolate which is so fitting with the theme of this product. In comparison to my Naked palettes, the tin feels really light and almost cheap as it is lacking the weight that makes the Naked palettes feel so robust. The tin is also quite thick which is did not need to be considering they are just eyeshadows. However, because this is so light, I will be packing this for my holiday in the summer. 
It is also fastened by a magnet which I am indifferent about. It is rather easy to open as the magnet is not incredibly strong.

Inside are the eyeshadows. If you have already read other reviews about this product, you will know it is true to its name and smells chocolattey! The scent reminds me of Coco Pops and is a lovely novelty. For those that are worried it might be an overwhelming smell, it really isn't. In fact, I was rather disappointed its scent wasn't stronger as for me this was a huge selling point.

The eyeshadows themselves are infused with cocoa powder which probably gives it that scent. This is because Too Faced wanted an anti-oxident in their eyeshadows for this palette. However, I have not seen any real benefits from that as of yet.

These eyeshadows come with a plastic overlay with the names of the shades written on them. This is a little annoying as I loathe having to remove the sheet and putting it back on each time as I want to know the names. Another disappointing thing about the palette is the lack of brush. I believe that if anyone is paying £45 for an eyeshadow palette, it could at least come with a decent brush! However, I understand that this would have meant making the eyeshadows smaller or creating larger packaging.

For me, this palette has two sides. The left hand side has warmer tones where the right hand side has much cooler tones. This means this palette can work for most skin tones. Surprisingly, I found that the warmer side of the palette to suit me really well which has left the cooler side feeling a little neglected!

The pigmentation of these eyeshadows are pretty great. Some apply really well and some can be a little more patchy. Unfortunately, there can be a little too much fallout for my liking as the eyeshadows are so soft.

So what about the colours? Here are my opinions on a few...

The shadow I thought I would like better: Champagne Truffle - I love the shadow, I really do, but it seems a little patchy. I am not sure if this is because I have been teaming it with an Urban Decay Sample of the 'Eden' primer potion (that is so poor in comparison to the original) but the application isn't my favourite. The colour its self is very pretty though.

The big surprise: Creme Brulee - After thinking I should give up with gold tones, this changed my mind! It is a bronzey gold with some green undertones which works well with my green eyes and pale skin. It is definitely a pale girls gold eyeshadow.

The shades I use most: Creme Brulee, Hazelnut and Milk Chocolate - these create the most stunning smokey eyed looks.


Overall, I do like this palette but I would possibly recommend it for 'Naked' virgins. This has some fantastic and versatile neutral shades in this palette yet it still doesn't live it to the King of Palettes create by Urban Decay. The shadows are not quite so smooth and can create a little fall out.

However, this product is great for gimmick lovers like myself. It comes in chocolate bar packaging, smells like chocolate and (I have failed to mention) the eyeshadows do actually taste sweet too (I found out through curiosity)!

Is it worth the full RRP of £45? In short: no. This palette is purely a novelty and if you want to spend good money on a great palette, the Urban Decay Naked palettes are a fantastic investment. However at the price I managed to get it for, I would tell someone to give it a go. It has a lot of eyeshadows for different complexions and eye colours.


4 comments:

  1. Great revieww! I kinda of want it but not caved yet. I will probably give it a miss now. Amaretto and many other shades are gorgeous and packaging cute too but probably not worth the price tag. Shame on Yodel, they do are a pretty poor service unfortunately :( xx

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    1. No, it's certainly not worth £45. It does smell good though :P x

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  2. Yay welcome back! <3 I know what you mean about going through phases of loving different cosmetic items. Nail polish is always my main thing, but I've been really into lipsticks lately too. This palette looks pretty cool, and the fact that it smells and tastes (haha) like chocolate is a fun bonus. Creme brulee with the golden shimmer is so pretty!

    ~ Yun

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    1. Creme brûlée is truly I gorgeous shade. Probably my favourite of the palette x

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