I am very excited to bring you a review on Too Faced's Chocolate bar, a deliciously-scented, vegan-friendly, paraben-free, sulfate and phlatlates-free neutral palette. I've spent some time trying the palette, coming up with makeup tutorials in hopes to bring you not only a review with swatches but also the pros and cons of the product's versatility, packaging, as well as the quality of the eyeshadows.
Chocolate Bar comes in a box with a design that's somewhat similar to that of a chocolate bar wrapping except it's cuter, looks and feels more lux.
Back of the box shows all the eyeshadows included in the collection along with a description to the side explaining how the colors have antioxidant-rich cocoas power in them. Yes, the eye shadows have real chocolate in them and smells like chocolate! Mind you, it's unlikely just the cocoa power gives off such a strong scent so I'm willing to bet there's some chocolate perfume in the mix too.
Not shown in the picture above, the full list of ingredients are listed on the bottom facing side of the box. I've put them at the end of this post for your reference as well.
On the back of the chocolate bar is more of the same as on packaging box.
The casing has a magnetic closure that holds the top down. Strength of the magnet is acceptable but the case will flap open if you accidentally grab the top of your Chocolate Bar to lift it off a surface.
There is a plastic sheet printed with the name of each eyeshadow for a total of 16 inside the case. The names are all so very sweet being inspired by various popular luxurious chocolates and dessert ingredients.
The palette is laid out so that light mattes and shimmers in related tones are grouped together while darker shadows are on the opposite ends. Then you have shadows that don't fit neatly into the categories placed in the middle like Strawberry Bon Bon.
Eyeshadows from left to right. No primer used here. Enlarge photo with eyeshadow names printed on plastic sheet above to see how colors look on the palette compared to swatches.
White Chocolate - A light cream color that barely stands out on my skin but works perfectly as a neutral base for brown and gold-toned colors. The swatch does look a bit chalky but the product is actually pretty creamy and goes on smoothly.
Strawberry Bon Bon -A light pink color that stands out a tad more than White Chocolate and works well as a neutral base for colors with a red or purple tone. I've used this as a blush too - a pretty light pink. Again, swatch looks chalky but product is creamy and goes on smoothly.
Champagne - White pink shimmer that's a very flexible color. Use it as a base for a shimmer look, face/brow bone highlighter, layer ontop of blush or add to eyeshadows for an instant cool toned shimmer. Product is creamy and goes on smoothly.
Mazipan - Pink gold shimmer color that is absolutely gorgeous. One of my favorites from this collection. Marzipan is very flexible. You can use it as a base for a shimmery eyeshadow look, as a face/brow bone highlighter, as a cheek highlighter where you lightly apply a layer ontop of your blush for an extra sumthin' sumthin' OR layer ontop of eyeshadows for an instant warm tone shimmer. Product is very creamy - careful with dabbing too much of it. Goes on smoothly.
Creme Brulee - Yay, quintessential shimmery gold comes with the collection! This color is flattering on all skin tones and can add a lot of pazazz to any look when used well. I only worked with this specific shimmer once. It's similar to my Lise Waltier Couleur Folle d'Or which I've made a tutorial for here but the product is very creamy and goes on smooth. It isn't as pigmentated as it looks in the palette (evident in the photo above) but nothing a few extra layers of the product can't fix. You can make your lids look like they're made of gold if you need to!
Hazelnut - Red brown shimmer color that is very similar to Haute Chocolate. It has a nice warm earthy tone that pairs well with other red-browns. Product is creamy, pigmentated and goes on smoothly.
Haute Chocolate - Brown shimmer color that is similar to Hazelnut. It has a pretty warm earthy tone that pairs well with anything on the palette. Product is creamy, pigmentated and goes on smoothly.
Amaretto - Burgundy shimmer color that looks unique on the palette but doesn't stand out very much when paired with some other colors from the collection. Part of the problem is pigmentation. It's the second least pigmentated from the collection. I'll need to use it a few more times. I hope to create a nice burgundy look from it. Product is not as creamy as others, a bit chalky so needs some extra layers and more blendig.
Eyeshadows
from left to right. No primer used here. Enlarge photo with eyeshadow
names printed on plastic sheet above to see how colors look on the
palette compared to swatches.
Gilded Ganache - Glittery dark mauve color that looks more green on palette than when swatched. I haven't used it as much as I want to but looks like it would pair nicely with Milk Chocolate and Triple Fudge for a gorgeous smoky eye. Product is creamy, decently smooth for a glitter but isn't as pigmented as it looks.
Black Forest Truffle - Glittery dark purple that looks way more dazzling on the palette than when swatched. On the swatch, it looks like Cherry Cordial but with gold glitters. Product is creamy, decently smooth and pigmentated for a glitter.
Candied Violet - Glittery violet that swatches true to how it looks on the palette. It is one of the less pigmented colors and I need several layers of the product in order to bring out the purple and once I blend any color into it, it gets diluted very easily. Product is creamy, goes on OK but needs a bit more blending than others.
Cherry Cordial - Satin burgundy color that swatches red brown on me. I am disappointed with this color because it's not very pigmented. Cherry Cordial is featured in one of the three tutorials that came with Chocolate Bar. When I ran with that tutorial, the color was completely lost after I added Creme Brulee. It is still useable for accenting or maybe even as a base, however it is the weakest color in this collection in terms of texture and pigmentation.
Triple Fudge - Dark matte brown. I love a good dark brown and this one swatches so beautifully too. It's another quintessential color to any makeup kit. It can be used to replace a matte black for a warm neutral-based look any day. Product is creamy, smooth and very pigmented. One of my favorites.
Semi-Sweet - Medium matte brown that swatches more red brown. A solid mid-tone brown that compliments any look. Product is creamy, goes on smoothly and pigmented.
Milk Chocolate - Light medium matte brown that is a good base for this neutral palette. Product is creamy, goes on smoothly and pigmented.
Salted Caramel - Light matte red brown and my favorite from the collection. It isn't as versatile as it's neighbor Marizpan but it is my perfect neutral-toned blush. I don't care what your skin tone is but if you haven't used this on your cheek, try it next time! Think brown antique rose - it'll go well with both intense and light looks for contrasting or balancing combinations.
Overall, there's a solid selection of brown-toned colors in mattes, shimmers and glitters. Most shadows are creamy, pigmented and goes on smoothly except for the ones with obvious red tones like Amaretto and Cheery Cordial. Thankfully, there are more favorites and good colors combined than there are letdowns.
Fair to medium light skin tones are favored for best results. Some colors will look gorgeous on tan to dark skin tones but you may find the trio, Hazelnut, Haute Chocolate and Amaratto as well as light brown mattes to be monotonous on you. I find that it does on me and I'm a medium light..maybe it's the yellow pigmentation.
Fair to medium light skin tones are favored for best results. Some colors will look gorgeous on tan to dark skin tones but you may find the trio, Hazelnut, Haute Chocolate and Amaratto as well as light brown mattes to be monotonous on you. I find that it does on me and I'm a medium light..maybe it's the yellow pigmentation.
I went on and on about the eyeshadows individually so by now you must be wondering how do they actually look paired and blended together. I have some looks to show you.
Caramel Smoky Eyes. Full tutorial here.
Dark Plum. Full tutorial here.
I've created more looks with the palette but only got a chance to turn two into tutorials. A third is on it's way so keep checking this space or the tutorial page.
I am happy with both of the looks I've created but in the process found that there will only be so many distinct neutral looks derived from the palette. As I first said in my Dark Plum tutorial, the palette has a range of colors from light brown to dark
brown, red-browns, gold and one-offs like Strawberry Bon Bon and
Candied Violet. When you work multiple colors into a look, you're going
to run into similar color tones. This is both the strength and weakness
of the palette. You won't run out of combinations and ways to put
together neutrals but the variations of very distinct looks are
going to be limited.
Again, Hazelnut, Haute Chocolate, Amaretto are difficult to tell apart once blended into a look. I only really need Haute Chocolate out of the three. And between Milk chocolate and Semi-Sweet , I would choose Milk Chocolate.
Having said all of that, you can't really screw up badly with any of these guys though. When in doubt, blend it out. True story. Too Faced Chocolate Bar is a very solid palette for beginners where some shadows doubles as blushes. Makeup junkies without too many similar shades in their own collection will enjoy the palette too. If anything, it'll be a strong addition to their current collections cause the colors are very blendable and easy to match pair with. Then there are the rockstar bonuses of the product being vegan-friendly, paraben-free, sulfate-free and phalates-free.
Finally, palettes offered by Too Faced are always great value. They have a limited selection of single and duo eyeshadows available that range from $15.10 USD to $18 USD each. Although the single shadows are double in quantity compared to Chocolate Bar's shadows, you are still saving a lot. Not to mention, you can't buy these colors individually anyways. The $18 fulled sized pots are 0.06oz and Chocolate Bar's are 0.03oz which comes to $18/2 = $9 or maybe $7 without fancy individual packaging. $7 x 14 0.03oz shadows = $98. This doesn't include the 0.10oz White Chocolate and Champagne Truffle. The palette retails for $49USD meaning you save $49. It is as sweeeeeeet as it sounds.
This is a fun palette with a few pleasant surprises. If you have tan to dark skin-tone, be sure to try the palette out at the store before buying as the palette is targeted for lighter gals.
Retails for $49USD
Where to buy: Too Faced locally or online and most major makeup retailers. Too Faced online is currently sold out. (02/24/2014)
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