Last year around this time Too Faced Cosmetics released their Chocolate Bar palette to rave reviews and became one of the year's must have palettes. The original Chocolate bar palette not only came with 16 user friendly shades that was dominated by neutrals but also included some colours. I actually use the word colour very loosely here as we are referencing to the shades 'Strawberry Bon Bon,' 'Candied Violet' and 'Cherry Cordial.' But that is the thing that makes the Chocolate Bar palettes a bit different from all the other 'neutral' palettes on the market. Oh, that and the fact that the palettes actually do smell like chocolate (they're made with real cocoa powder) and the aroma is still present even after almost a year.
Now comes the new Too Faced Semi-Sweet Chocolate Bar palette and you can already see why the excitement would be present when word got out about its release. It takes many of the traits from the original Chocolate Bar palette as in:
- 7 Matte shades
- 7 Shimmery shades
- 2 Glitter shades
- 14 smaller shadows
- 2 larger shadows
- A dash of 'colour'
- The sweet aroma of chocolate
Pics & Swatches
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| Front of the package |
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| Back of the package |
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| Hard case package |
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| Notice the names written on the palette |
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| Top Row L-R: Licorice, Coconut Creme, Nougat, Truffled & Hot Fudge |
The new Semi-Sweet Chocolate Bar palette comes with a black shade 'Licorice' which was much needed in the original palette so is a welcome addition to this palette. Coconut Creme is very similar to White Chocolate from the original palette only slightly more yellow. There are more cool toned eyeshadows in the new palette including 'Nouget,' 'Puddin,' 'Mousse' and 'Rum Raisin' which also contributes to the difference in feel of the new palette.
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| Middle Row L-R: Cocoa Chili, Pink Sugar, Pudding', Blueberry Swirl, Peanut Butter & Frosting |
My fav shadow upon first look was 'Pink Sugar' but was a huge disappointment when swatched. The worse! 'Blueberry Swirl' was also very disappointing when swatched. 'Peanut Butter' on the other hand was very smooth and buttery (pun intended) but just a deeper shade of 'Salted Caramel' from the original palette. It is among the warmer shades in the palette which is still the dominant tone in the palette.
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| Bottom RowL-R: Rum Rasin, Mousse, Caramel, Bon Bon and Butter Pecan |
I like that the shadows are not organized in any particular way so it gives the user freedom of creativity. However, if you require a little more guidance to create looks, a Glamour Guide booklet is provided.
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Original Chocolate Bar Palette
Top Row L-R: Gilded Ganache, White Chocolate, Milk Chocolate, Black Forest Truffle & Triple Fudge
Second Row L-R: Salted Caramel, Marzipan, Semi-Sweet, Strawberry Bon Bon, Candied Violet & Amaretto
Bottom Row: Hazelnut, Creme Brûlée, Haute Chocolate, Cherry Cordial & Champagne Truffle |
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| The new packaging is much sleeker but contains roughly the same amount of product |
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Top: Original Chocolate Bar Palette
Bottom: New Semi-Sweet Chocolate Bar Palette |
The new Semi-Sweet Chocolate Bar palette is still a toss up for me. I love my original so much that this new palette is still the new fish in the tank. I may need to warm up to it a bit more in order to decide if it was really necessary to have both. I will say this, if you do not have any of the Chocolate Bar palette and is looking for a neutral eye shadow palette, the original is still far better, bulkier package and all. However if you prefer more cool toned shadows with your warm toned shadows, the Semi-Sweet palette may be the one to reach for. Most of the shades had the same pigmented, buttery feel we've come to love from the original palette with some great misses from 'Pink Sugar' and 'Blueberry Swirl' in the Semi-Sweet palette.
Looks on the Semi-Sweet palette will be posted tomorrow.
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