Too Faced Chocolate Bar Eye Shadow Palette

Too Faced is always one of the first companies to release their seasonal collections, we looked at the spring collection right around Christmas and I started my spring shopping with this collection.  I loved the Too Faced Chocolate Bar Eye Shadow Palette from the moment that I first looked at the collection and it lead my Most Wanted list for this month.  It had been out of stock on both the Sephora and Ulta websites since it's release but it finally came back in stock and I was able to order it from Sephora earlier this week and it has finally reached my doorstep.

I liked the way that I did the reviews of the Lorac Pro Eye Shadow Palette late last month and I wanted to follow that format from now on.  Today's post will be an introduction to the palette and some initial impressions upon opening and swatching the palette, a more detailed review will be arriving in the next ten days.  We will re-look at the details of this palette and then go into my first impressions on the overall set up and a few of the shades that I have been swatching.  I have applied this to my eyes once and I have only created one eye look with it therefore I don't feel that I can provide anything more than a first impression at this time.

"A sweetly tempting array of 16 matte and shimmer shadows scented with real chocolate.  Too Faced Co-founder and Creative Director Jerrod Blandino learned of the healing properties of cocoa while getting a chocolate facial in Maui. With Chocolate Bar he created a first-of-its-kind palette that combines the healing benefits of chocolate with richly pigmented, velvety smooth shadows. Chocolate has been used for centuries for its soothing properties and to protect, condition, and heal skin that has been damaged by sun and wind. Studies have shown that the scent of cocoa powder can increase memory and brain power.", states the Sephora website.

I have included a picture of this palette that I found on Google, this photo displays the shades much nicer than the ones on the Sephora and Too Faced websites.  Chocolate Bar is definitely a neutral palette and one that has the potential to be a staple in anyone's collection.  I already feel that I will be getting good amount of use from this palette for the rest of the winter and then into the very early spring.  There is a full range of neutral hues in this palette and I do wonder how different they will all look when applied on the eyes.  

The shades included in this palette are...

- Gilded Ganache - deep chocolate brown satin
- Milk Chocolate - medium brown matte
- Black Forrest Truffle - deep warm brown shimmer
- Triple Fudge - deep warm chocolate brown shimmer
- Salted Caramel - warm brown matte
- Marzipan - medium champagne shimmer
- Semi-Sweet - medium brown matte
- Strawberry Bon Bon - pale pink satin
- Candied Violet - bright violet purple satin
- Amaretto - medium warm brown shimmer
- Hazelnut - medium neutral brown shimmer
- Crème Brulee - medium warm gold shimmer
- Haute Chocolate - deep chocolate brown matte
- Cherry Cordial - deep plum satin
- White Chocolate - cool champagne matte
- Champagne Truffle - cool champagne shimmer

The first aspect of this palette that I really like is how Too Faced decided to make the two palest shades in larger pans than the others.  These are the types of shades that I tend to go through the quickest and then end up dipping into single shadows to use with the palette.  I also love that this palette smells just like milk chocolate and this palette has been pleasure to use in the morning.

I have already stated that I like the mix of the shades and finishes in this palette, I like the mix of mattes and shimmers and I will be able to use every single shade from this palette (with two potential exceptions).  There are three neutral matte hues and all of these will work well as transition shades and then any of the shimmers will work well when applied directly to the lid.  I like that there are three matte transition shades and all three have different undertones in them.  I also really like the range of brown shades, I think that this will be a palette that I can grab on a daily basis.

My only potential concern with this palette is that it contains nearly all neutral shades and I do wonder how different the eye looks will end up looking when I start pairing these shades together.  I did not have great results when I swatched Strawberry Bon Bon or Candied Violet, these are the only two non-neutral shades and I was hoping to use them to add a pop of color to a few of my neutral eye looks.  I don't know that I will be getting much use from either of these shades but I need to work further with them before I can decide how well they do or do not work.  

My first impressions of the Too Faced Chocolate Bar palette are quite positive but I will be reporting back in the next few days once I have used every shade in the palette and created several different eye looks with it.  This palette has the potential to be a new staple for me and I can see myself adding it to my eye makeup rotation for the next few months.

photo courtesy of Google