Review: Too Faced Chocolate Bar Eyeshadow Palette

I’m really not immune to the pressure of hype – as if I needed to tell you guys that! The latest and greatest in the beauty kingdom seems to be this Too Faced Chocolate Eyeshadow Palette (£45) which does look rather delectable! They’ve completely focused in on our love of chocolate and created a palette that looks (and smells) rather delicious. The eyeshadows are made with 100% natural cocoa powder. Do you love chocolate so much that you’d even like to wear it? Yup…me too. Lets have a look at this bad boy…

Product disclaimer: this palette may make you want to eat copious amounts of chocolate!

“Indulge your craving for chocolate with these 16 antioxidant-rich cocoa powder infused matte and shimmer shades of natural browns, delicate pinks and luscious plums. Inspired by our best-selling cocoa powder infused Chocolate Soleil Bronzer, the collection of decadent shadows is the perfect complement to any skin tone. Inlcudes our signature how-to glamour guide with three looks to get you started.”

I absolutely love the concept of the packaging and the shade names are just perfection! Who wouldn’t want to wear ‘Creme Brûlée’ or ‘Amaretto’? My mouth is watering just thinking about it! There are a good mix of cool and warm toned colours in this palette and also a good contrast of matte, satin, metallic and shimmer shades too. As soon as you open the palette, the scent of chocolate hits you, not in an overpowering sickly kind of way though.

I was particularly impressed with the pigmentation of Salted Caramel. It’s no mean feat to create smooth, blendable matte colours in a palette and this is a really unique colour that I’ve never owned before. My favourite shades have to be Hazelnut, Marzipan, Creme Brûlée and Haute Chocolate – all of which are buttery smooth, heavily pigmented, easy to blend and last really well. I was disappointed with Milk Chocolate and Cherry Cordial which are lacking in terms of pigmentation and texture. They are powdery and chalky compared to the other shades. I like the fact that they’ve included a matte AND iridescent highlight with regards to White Chocolate and Champagne Truffle.

Here’s a breakdown of the individual shadow colour descriptions:

Gilded Ganache – dark chocolate brown with warm, caramel undertones and a yellowed bronze shimmer
White Chocolate – warm-toned, pale beige with a matte finish
Milk Chocolate – medium-dark, subtly warm-toned brown with reddish-yellow undertones and a matte finish
Black Forest Truffle – burgundy-brown with burgundy and bronze sparkle and shimmer
Triple Fudge – deep, dark brown with subtle neutral-to-warm undertones and a matte finish
Salted Caramel – warm-toned, muted, medium orange with hints of brown and a matte finish
Marzipan - warm, peachy-orange with a frosted, slightly metallic, finish
Semi-Sweet – medium-dark brown with warm, reddish undertones and a matte finish
Strawberry Bon Bon – cool-toned, light-medium pink with a matte finish
Candied Violet – muted, smoky violet with cool undertones and multi-colored shimmer
Amaretto – warm-toned, medium-dark brown with reddish tones and a frosted sheen
Hazelnut – medium-dark, golden bronze with a soft, frosted sheen
Creme Brûlée – darkened gold with warm undertones and a rich, metallic finish
Haute Chocolate – slightly muted, dark chocolate brown with warm, reddish undertones and a frosted finish
Cherry Cordial – warm-toned, plummy brown with flecks of sparkle over a matte base
Champagne Truffle – brightened, pink-tinged white with a golden sheen and metallic finish

I feel like the price point of this palette is slightly off as the likes of the Urban Decay Naked Palettes are nearer to the £35 area. If I’m going to pay £45 for a palette then I would expect absolute perfection and for very single shade to be completely en point. Unfortunately not ALL of the colours deliver as you would expect. A couple of them fall short. Saying that, I love 90% of this palette and I’ll definitely use it because the shades that do work well are absolutely beautiful. The palette does offer more than the Naked palettes because it includes pinks and purples as well as the neutrals we’ve all come to expect.

Above: Creme Brûlée all over the lid and inner corners, Candied Violet in crease, Hazelnut on outer lower lashine.

My advice to Too Faced would be to release single eyeshadows of all of the shades included in this palette so you could pick and mix your favourite colours and pop them in an empty palette. That way you could have the best of the best. This is a fabulous palette but for people on a budget, it’s just not cost effective to buy something so expensive that isn’t quite perfect.

With all this chocolate talk and the fragrance wafting around my nostrils…I’m off to gobble some of the real stuff!

*PR Sample