Is the Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette worth the hype?

Hi world! I’m back to do a full in-depth review on the famous Chocolate Bar Palette by Too Faced, which every beauty guru either already has, or it’s is in her online shopping cart!

So I admit, I’m a little late on the bandwagon to this one, but I finally got my hands on it when I went on a bit of an online shopping splurge – you can see what else I got in the link at the end of the review! First off, let’s start with the price point – wowee!

Con #1: This palette retailed for AU$72 at Mecca Online, which is extremely expensive for me to even comprehend! I am jealous of all you USA girls, because this purchase definitely made my wallet cry. I tried to reason it out by saying we get 16 shades, but it still comes down to AU$4.50 per shade – damn expensive.

None the less, I sucked it up and just entered my credit card details, because I needed to see for myself if the hype was truly worth it.

First thing’s first, the packaging. I am so impressed. The packaging is a metal chocolate bar shaped tin that has a bit of weight to it, making it feel sturdy and safe. It also features a slight magnetic close that you often see in quality lipsticks, which is amazing, because:

1. I never have to worry about it suddenly opening in my bag.
2. I don’t have to dig  and risk breaking my nails to pry the palette open.

Best of all, it’s shaped in a chocolate bar, that just looks decadent and thick and yum.

 

Front of palette

Back of palette

Open palette

Open palette with flash

I looked online to see how retailers would describe the product, and the following excerpt is from http://www.toofaced.com:

 

The Chocolate Bar experience begins as soon as you open the palette and the smell of sweet chocolate envelops you. The eye shadows are pigmented with pure, antioxidant-rich cocoa powder and includes 16 matte and shimmer shades of natural browns, delicate pinks and luscious plums. Includes our signature how-to Glamour Guide with three looks to get you started

Too Faced Co-Founder and Creative Director Jerrod Blandino was inspired to combine the power of antioxidant-rich cocoa powder and makeup while having a chocolate facial and learning about the benefits of cocoa at a Hawaiian spa. Based on this inspiration we created our best-selling bronzer Chocolate Soleil and then Milk Chocolate Soleil and have now added the Chocolate Bar Eye Shadow Palette.

New Shades: Glided Ganache, White Chocolate, Milk Chocolate, Salted Caramel, Black Forest Truffle, Triple Fudge, Marzipan, Semi-Sweet, Strawberry Bon Bon, Candied Violet, Amaretto, Hazelnut, Creme Brulee, Haute Chocolate, Cherry Cordial, Champagne Truffle

What they say is true, when you open the palette, you get the most delicious waft of sweetness. When I first opened it, I didn’t actually see the smell as empowering as everyone described, but the more you use it, the more prominent it actually becomes – weird right? Although it is said to be made with 100% natural cocoa powder, it doesn’t smell like real actual chocolate to me – I suspect there is a lot of other fragrances at work here, because the smell is more sweet than anything.

It features shades that have never been released by Too Faced before, making it even more prized among makeup collections of all.

Open palette

 

Open palette with flash

From left to right;

Row 1: Gilded ganache, White chocolate, Milk chocolate, Black forest truffle, Triple fudge

Row 2: Salted caramel, Marzipan, Semi-sweet, Strawberry bon bon, Candied violet, Amaretto

Row 3: Hazelnut, Creme brulee, Haute chocolate, Cherry cordial, Champagne truffle

The palette comes in 16 shades:

• 6 matte shades
• 6 shimmer shades
• 4 sparkle shades

This is great because it increases the number of makeup you can achieve with just one palette. I would describe the colours ranging from basic warm neutrals, to purple and plum colours – which works perfectly with the brown neutrals to give that extra dimension or pop of colour. I’ll review all the colours according to their type of finish.

First, here is the swatch, in order to colours listed above:

 

Swatch without flash

Swatch with flash

 

MATTE SHADES:

• White chocolate
• Milk chocolate
• Triple fudge
• Salted caramel
• Semi-sweet
• Strawberry bon bon

All of these colours work so well together, I’m in love!…except strawberry bon bon, which is just my personal preference – I feel the baby pink just won’t be used as often for my own makeup looks, but definitely could be used for other skin tones and makeup preferences!

Against expectations, the formula of these are not the best.

Con #2: The colour pay-off is quite mediocre – for the above swatches, I had to swatch the matte shades multiple times to get a solid line of colour. The feel is quite powdery and the swatches looked almost chalky and sheer the first time. As expected, the lighter the shade, the worse the pay-off.

Stand out shades: Milk chocolate, Salted caramel, Semi-sweet. The formula of these shades are the best out of the matte shades, and have to most pigmentation.

However, these colours are buildable, which works well for beginners who don’t want to accidentally over-do their eyeshadow look too quickly.

SHIMMER SHADES:

• Marizpan – light rose gold
• Amaretto – brown with red/purple undertone
• Hazelnut
• Creme brulee – bronzed gold
• Haute chocolate
• Champagne truffle – white pink 

This section is where I die and go to eyeshadow heaven. These shimmers make this palette for me. The formula is incredibly buttery and smooth, and the colour pay-off is insane. One swipe of these colours and you have the most beautiful gilded almost metallic effect that is loaded with pigmentation.

Con #3: Dud shade – amaretto. I wanted so badly to like this shade because of this sultry wine brown unique colour that would make eye colours pop. It looks beautiful on my finger, but when I go to swatch it on my arm or eyelid, it comes out so sheer and weak – definitely unlike the colour seen in the pan.

I’ve experienced using some of these shadows with a wet brush, and it works beautifully.

Tip #1: Dampen your eyeshadow brush with water or a setting spray and apply eyeshadow to build up the sheen and pigmentation even further.

This could possibly work with the amaretto colour, to give it the same pigmentation as in the pan.

I feel like these shimmer shades would look perfect singularly on the lid. A swipe of this all over the lid and you’re set for a night out, whilst still looking like a makeup professional – this is because the sheen captures the light beautifully, creating dimensions as it follows the contours of your eyelids.

I’ve also read online of people using the colour Champagne Truffle as a highlighter – which I think is fantastic! Given it’s larger quantity, I think this is a great idea, as the shimmer shade would give an intense highlight without the sparkle chunks. Unfortunately, the undertone is too peachy against my yellow/golden undertoned skin. This would work well on fair, pink undertoned skin. Marzipan would be a good alternative highlighter for those struggling with my issue, if you don’t have a highlighter on you.

Stand out shades: Marzipan, Hazelnut, Creme brulee, Haute chocolate, Champagne truffle.

SPARKLE SHADES:

• Gilded ganache – green and gold reflects
• Black forest truffle – maroon and gold reflects
• Candied violet – hot pink and purple and gold reflects
• Cherry cordial – pink and silver reflects, least sparkly

I deemed these to be sparkle shades because you could physically tell that there were large sparkle reflects in them. In the pan, amazing. In the swatch, terrible.

Con #4: Warning: These shades are not what they appear in the pan! They are so powdery and sheer and not at all pigmented.

I was devasted when I swatched these, because they look so bomb in the pan, and really unique and intense, even on the finger! – but it’s a completely different story when applied to the eyelid.

You definitely have to overlay these colours ontop of other colours, due to how sheer it is. These would be perfect as an addition of sparkle to a look. I don’t think these shades would benefit being used with a wet brush however, as the wet brush would just absorb and cling onto all of the sparkles.

Stand out shades: None.

SUMMARY:

Despite all the cons, there are ways around them, enabling you to still use every colour – and if you’re a lover of warm neutral with a pop of colour, you definitely will! This palette has it all. It would be a perfect splurge purchase for makeup beginners and pros alike.

I expected a higher quality of formula for some of the shades mentioned above, at par at the stand out shades of the palette. For pricing reasons, I believe this palette is overpriced – but who am I kidding, makeup in general is so overpriced these days it’s ridiculous! Let me know in the comments if you know a similar drugstore dupe palette.

However, the stand out shades stated under each type of eyeshadow were the best eyeshadows I’ve tried yet.

Overall, I would rate this palette a 3.7/5.

Let me know if you’ve used this palette before, or if you want to buy it!

Check out what else I bought in my Mecca Beauty Box Haul along with my brand new foundation, which I reviewed: NARS Sheer Glow Foundation First Impression.

As always, don’t forget to treat yourself! ♥