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.

Urban Decay Naked 2 Eyeshadow Palette

Hello lovelies!

I have to admit, I have caved and given into the blogger hype. 
Yes, I have bought my first Urban Decay palette.

I decided to settle for the second edition of this palette mainly because of reviews. I have cooler toned skin and I had heard that it is more suited to warmer toned girls. At the time I had bought it, Naked 3 had sold out. This didn't matter as I wanted a true neutral toned palette where the Naked 3 was more rosy-hued. So I managed to grab this from House of Fraser in January with my Christmas money.

As you all probably know, the Naked palettes all come with 12 shades in. This palette (I think) has around 5 exclusive shades to this palette. This is a bit of a bummer if you particularly liked a shade and wanted to buy a bigger pot.

However they have repeated the shade 'Half Baked' from the original Naked palette. This is slightly cheeky if you already own the first one but luckily, I didn't.

It comes in a nice, robust, metal tin with a large mirror on the inside. I love the mirror! It is large enough to do your whole make up routine in if you wanted. This would make it ideal for travelling.

This also comes with a miniature Lip Junkie lip gloss. I have seen many bloggers moan about this but I have to say I am rather happy. I quite enjoy wearing the lip gloss on occasion and it tastes minty.

 Foxy - A matte, cream colour. It is actually quite yellow.

Half Baked - A shimmery, gold colour. 

Bootycall - A champagne, shimmery colour. It looks slightly peachy/pink.

Chopper - A bronze shimmer. 

Tease - A matte shadow that is a mauvey/taupe.

Snakebite - Almost a khaki-brown shimmer with gold micro-glitter.

Suspect - A light brown shimmer with champagne tones.

Pistol - A grey, gunmetal colour with micro-glitter.  

Verve - A beautiful shimmery, light silver.

YDK - A cool toned copper.

Busted - A very dark brown with frosted undertones.

Blackout - A matte black.

These shadows are all of excellent quality. Super pigmented but yes, there is occasionally some fallout. However, there are some of the shades I don't think I will hit the pan with. I will give you my over view below:

Surprisingly great colours: Personally, I LOVE Tease. I usually gravitate towards shimmery colours but I love this matte brown. I can wear it on its own or smoke it out with others -  I love it.

Blackout was also a surprise. I thought I would never use a matte black as it is too dramatic. However I tend to use this more and more as a soft eyeliner.

The colours I didn't get on with: Half Baked & Chopper. I wore these on a day off fearing they may not suit me and I was right. As a stand alone shade on my eyes, they are too warm and make me look as if I'm ill. I may use these in a smoky eye look but not as a stand out shade.

The shades I wear the most: Snakebite, Suspect and of course, Tease. All of those can be used to create some great looks but also can be used one their own for when you don't have time to create a perfect face of make-up.

The shade I thought I would love more: YDK. I love the colour, I really do but I find that I already have a cheaper, dupe of this in my make-up bag. Rimmel's Mono Eyeshadow in 102 is so similar to YDK that I think I've kind of grown bored of it before I even got the palette. I know that sounds odd.

This palette made me love Urban Decay so much that I managed to get the Naked 3 for Valentine's Day (Lucky me!). So for those who have their heart set on the Naked 2, I would just buy it and love it as much as I do. I get the feeling I will get a lot of use out of this.

Which Naked palette is your favourite?
Is it worth getting the first one?

American bloggers, I need your help!

Hello lovelies!

I am currently very excited because I have a friend going to the US that is willing to bring me over some make up goodies we cannot get here in the UK!

I have already thought of a list I want but I cannot help but think that it's a small order. I really want some great suggestions. Here's what I have already asked for;

Milani baked blush in Dolce Pink or Coralina
Eons Lip Balm
Physicians formula Happy Boost Blush in Pink
Physicians Formula pH matchmaker lipgloss
Burt's bees lipgloss in spring splendor

Anyway, I would love some suggestions on drugstore brands that you find fantastic. I've tried to do my research and it fell a bit flat. But who else better to ask than experts like yourself?

Love
Raisa xxx

Lancome Hypnose Doll Eyes by Alber Elbaz in DO5

Hello lovelies!

I want to share one of my little treasures from my post-Christmas sales purchases. This year I found the sales to be utterly fantastic if you went to the right places (Debenhams in Nottingham still had some fantastic offers a week after Boxing Day).

I could not help but grab the Lancome Hypnose Doll Eyes Eyeshadow Pallette by Alber Elbaz in DO5. After swearing I would not spend my money on Lancome eyeshadows again (after purchasing a palette before and believing the pigmentation was not up to scratch), I caved as this was half price. Instead of being £38, this was £19. Not a bad reduction for Lancome. However you only get 2.7g of product in total! I would have been very annoyed if I had paid full price for this for very little product.

The packaging is very enticing. The designs by Alber Elbaz seem to be aimed more towards a younger, more 'kooky' market. I cannot imagine this is the kind of palette my grandma would have on her dressing table! I love how different the design is - it is right up my street.

The palette came with instructions on how to create perfect smoky eyes in three different intensities. This was perfect for me as I have always struggled to create a look that works (I'm getting there!). The colours come listed as 1 to 5 with the diagram showing which shades to use for the different intensities.

From the swatches, you can see that the shadows are quite pigmented apart from number 1 which is the highlighter. It is very glittery and cannot really be used independently.

The rest of the shadows are rather lovely. The colours are typical of what I would usually wear as they are very neutral. The pigmentation is not as fantastic as brands like Urban Decay, but it is better than my last Lancome eyeshadow palette.

The shades seem to blend really well too. I find many shows hard to soften out the harsh edges but this palette is almost like a 'beginners' tool to smoky eyes.

I would never have paid full price for this product because of its minimal amount of product. It is only just worth what I paid for it at sale price. 

That said, the colour are gorgeous and the instructions have been very handy for me. I don't regret buying this product but if it was a permanent addition to the Lancome line, I would not repurchase this.

Why would anyone have paid full price for this at £38? I would rather spend a pound less and indulge in a Urban Decay Naked palette.

Boxing Day/January Sales!

Hello lovelies!

I hope you have been enjoying the January sales as much as I have. This year seems to have been absolutely fantastic. If you got into the shops early, you would have found some true bargains.

My make-up collection is now at a point where I have had to nip to IKEA to buy a set of draws to store my stuff in (as I literally had just a make-up bag before). So what did I manage to get my paws on?

Soap and Glory Powder Trip

£20 £10

This was something I managed to claim for myself. My boyfriend was doing some after-Christmas Christmas shopping for his family (as we were going to see them at the weekend) and he was buying some Soap and Glory goodies for his sister. When we realised the gifts were half price we grabbed this and a bath set for her. However, I was too besotted with this to gift to to someone else.

I knew this was a bargain as these products individually are over the £10 mark. I have wanted to try the blusher for a long while and wasn't too fussed on the bronzer as I am so pale. However I have been using the bronzer more than anything!

Solar Powder is a must have for pale-faced bronzing.

Debenhams

bareMinerals - An Affair to Remember - £35 £17.50

Lancome - Hypnose Doll Eyes by Alber Elbaz - £38 £19

Two gorgeous, bargain eyeshadow palettes for the quality of the brand.

The bareMinerals palette I nearly didn't get because, again, it was a present for my boyfriends other sister (who loves big-named cosmetics). I regretted instantly not buying one myself and was on the hunt for it again after.

Luckily, Debenhams in Nottingham City Centre had loads of these left so I managed to pick one up. Then the reduced Lancome stand allured me and I had to buy a palette from their too. Total? £36.50. I also got 500 points on my beauty card for spending over £35!.

Stila Cosmetics online

Positively Pink Set

£13 £3.75

A fantastic value set. I bought this when Stila had free shipping and their sale. I had never tried their products before but I knew it was regarded highly. I bought two of these, one for me and one as a birthday gift.

The quality of both products is fantastic. I would definitely purchase in their sale again.

Did you get anything great in the sales? If you did, link me your page so I can look!

Happy New Year! What did December bring me?

Hello fellow bloggers!

Wow, I have not posted for a very long while. December is a very busy month for most of us, Christmas and the shopping! Which means that I have sooo much to blog about but not enough time to do it. So I have decided to do a round up of what I've bought or received last month, so sit tight: it's going to be a long post!

Fragrance Direct Haul December 2013

(Italicised text are the things I kept) 

Eyes

Elizabeth Arden Beautiful Colour Maximum Volume Mascara

NYC Eyeshadow in Gossip Girl and On The Radar

Lips

Rimmel Vinyl Gloss in Mischief

Maybelline Super Stay 24h Lip Colour in Infinite Petal

Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick in Oxford St Fuschia

Dainty Doll Lipstick in In His Kiss 005

Nails - OPI

Excuse Moi

Steady As She Rose

Diva of Geneva

Congeniality Is My Middle Name

Pedal Faster Suzi!

Miscellaneous

MNY Blush 101

NYC Applelicious Glossy Lip Balm in Apple Blueberry Pie

Pets Rock Compact Mirror

A big(-ish) haul, huh? The reason I did this haul was my itchy fingers when I see new OPI colours come into stock on the Fragrance Direct website. I was desperate to get my hands on ' Excuse Moi' from the Muppets Collection.

Best product of the haul: Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick in Oxford St. Fuschia. I had heard people rave about this lipstick for a while and decided to pop one in my basket. Perfect colour and doesn't dry out my lips. I will probably purchase these again at full RRP if Fragrance Direct does not stock up again.

Most disappointing: Possibly the Mini Bourjois Nail Files shown in the first picture. I bought for my handbag to remedy snags away from home. These, however, just fall apart in one use. Not worth the 99p.

I wish I had kept: The Applelicious Lip Balm! I ordered two: one for my cousin and the other I had ordered accidentally. I was going to keep it but my sister needed bits for a stocking filler. She better like it!

Birthday (16th December)

With a birthday so close to Christmas, it is always difficult to figure out what you want. There is only so much stuff you can suggest to others to buy before running out of ideas. Now, I had asked my lovely BF for the Clarins 'The Essentials' Eye Palette and asked him weeks in advance. However, the last minute shopper that he is discovered that the shops had completely sold out. So this left him asking me if I wanted any fragrances. The only one I knew I wanted for my collection was J'adore Voile de Parfum. I didn't expect to get it because of it's extortionate price tag. However I was very lucky to be given the bigger size of this product (100 ml) to use. It is a gorgeous floral scent that is extremely classy. Gorgeous.

Secret Santa

I did two Secret Santa's this year: one with my University friends and one at my school (which was much bigger). I think I can safely say, those that picked my name knew me quite well. The budgets were £5 so I was pretty amazed with what I got.

The Secret Santa with my uni friends could have turned out to be a disaster. I was picked by a male friend of mine! Luckily, he had heard me gossiping in seminars with my girl friends. So I received two Claire's nail polishes which are all very Christmasy. I have yet to try them out but I will look forward to wearing them.

Next, I have no idea who bought me my Secret Santa when I I was at school but clearly I look like a girl who loves her make up! I got a three tins of lip balms in different flavours and a gorgeous eye shadow palette.

I could not have asked for better suited gifts!

Enough with this post. I will hopefully get round to posting a 'January Sales' post soon!

Did you get some lovely gifts for Xmas?

Maybelline Color Sensation Popsticks in Pink Lollipop (030) review.

Hello lovelies!

The day (or month) has finally come where I have gone mad over a make-up essential that I never had a craving before: lipstick! In my previous post, I showed you my lipstick haul from Fragrance Direct and so I want to review a product that has been slightly controversial. It has generally been given a thumbs down by bloggers. Yes, it is the Maybelline Popstick!

The reason this product has been slated is because of it's lack of colour pay off. Yes, this is true. But pick your colour right and it's not too bad!

After being allured by their pretty packaging and neon appearance, I knew I just wanted one. Yes, it was because of the novelty really but for the price of £1.99 online it was an inexpensive indulgence. After seeing so many bad reviews, I decided to swatch these in my local Superdrug before purchasing. This made me settle for pink lollipop. It was the most colourful and gave the best colour pay off. The others there swatched rather clear and the product itself looked a bit boring (cherry pop and crystal pink, I'm looking at you!).

This product is totally worth it if you want a sheer, natural lipstick.

When my boyfriend first saw this in the tube, he was rather afraid of what the results would look like. It is just a bright, neon-pink lipstick in the tube. The outcome is not so scary. It is incredibly sheer, just like a balm. As I have said, this is the lipstick I found to have the most colour pay-off with it giving lips a slightly pinker tinge to them - very natural!

Is this worth the full RRP of £7.19? No, definitely not. If I had bought this for that price I would be extremely cross for what is a glorified lip balm. For £1.99? This is worth it for those days where you want understated make-up to enhance your lip colour.

Have you tried these popsticks?