I absolutely loved the first Chocolate Bar palette. And I remember when I saw this one pop up in my Facebook feed, I was excited about it...but I was only really interested in the blue shade. When the reviews came out most people didn't seem to be impressed at all with blueberry swirl. So I forgot about it.
Then I read a review that mentioned that Chocolate Bon Bons was coming out. This was way before they announced on the Too Faced page. They have since shown the preview for it just a couple days ago.
Seems like Too Faced is milking the chocolate eyeshadows for everything they can.Like Urban Decay is doing with Naked. At first I was excited for Bon Bons. Until I bought the Semi-Sweet. To be honest, the only reason I picked it up was because I had $20 off, making it $30. I seriously could not resist because I love a good sale!
I have been wanting to add more deep browns to my eyeshadow collection- because I have mostly lighter browns. And I really wanted the shade called Peanut Butter. Plus, I figured I could doctor blueberry swirl like I did with the Candied Violet shade in the original to make it pop.
When I first got it, before I used the shadows I was pretty impressed. The packaging is slimmer and the shadows have the names printed on them. I love the packaging. And I love the foodie names. Oh yeah, the chocolate scent doesn't hurt. They smell a bit more like vanilla with a hint of chocolate but I'm not complaining! The scent put me in a very happy place.
Until I started swatching. I noticed all the matte shades were pretty powdery, and the shimmery shadows weren't very impressive. But that was OK. Surely on my eye they would be different or at least I hoped. But nah. They were just as powdery as when I swatched them. And some of them look cakey on my eye. I have never in my life had a shadow look cakey before these. And that's with or without primer!
Yeah, no such luck. Here's a breakdown of the shades.
Licorice- Licorice is a pretty deep black until you blend but it's easy to incorporate into looks because it blends well and easily. A tad powdery, can get some fallout depending on what brush I use, now I've figured out exactly what brushes to use it with though. Good one to line with. I like this one. (Panned)
Coconut Creme- This is the shade that seems to come in every palette. I have enough matte cream shades. And they insisted on making it extra large. I use it as a highlight, but it doesn't seem to stick. It's super powdery. Ended up dumping it.
Nougat- I was pretty excited about Nougat. It's a very muted pink shade. I actually have a couple shades that are similar to this one. And they work better! This shade looks cakey on. And it fades pretty quickly. I tried it as a highlight and it doesn't seem to stick. Just really not good quality. It does not build up. Going to use it up as a face powder since it smells nice and has no pigment. (Panned)
Truffled- Truffled is a medium dark brown. I don't have that many issues with this one except I had to build it. It has a nice warmth to it that I really like, definitely different from a lot of other browns in my collection. It doesn't always show up super warm, it depends what I pair it with. Sometimes it goes quite cool. I will be kinda sad to use it up and will miss it. It seems to go quickly, already hit pan. (Panned)
Hot Fudge- I don't think I've used this one. It looks extremely patchy in the swatch though. It's a very deep dark brown. It does seem to have glitter but it's not apparent in the swatch. Update- nice blackened brown that was good for deepening, didnt get to use it much, shattered when I dropped the palette.
Cocoa Chilli- Cocoa Chilli is a dark brown that has some gold glitter/sparkle in it. The glitter doesn't show up. I do like this one. Update- trashing this, its a matte with glitter and Ive come to hate them. Glitters fall out and get all over your face, base matte shade tends to look muddy and grey. (Trashed)
Pink Sugar- A lot of reviewers didn't like Pink Sugar. Surprisingly, I like the effect it gives. I used it in a pink look not too long ago and love what it added. But I hate the texture, and it's very difficult to work with. And I feel like it doesn't really go with the rest of the shades in the palette
Puddin'- Puddin' is another medium brown except it's on the cooler side. It's a little powdery and I had to build it up. It's ok. Update- I finally tried it in my eyebrows and it makes an excellent brow shade. Who would have thought? I think it's the lack of pigment and the coolness of it. I can use this and save my beloved MAC Mystery shadow for special occasions.
Blueberry Swirl- The blue looks gorgeous in the photos Too Faced took of the palette. But it's not pigmented. I had to use it over a blue base. On it's own, it takes forever to build up and the blue sparkle doesn't pick up. I do love it over the base but it should be pigmented on it's own. I found I had a color pretty similar in an old L'oreal Duo called Sassy. It's missing the blue sparkle (that only shows up anyway if you doctor it) but it's a great substitute if you don't want the whole palette. Actually I like it better. I ended up digging this one out. (Trashed)
L'oreal HIP Duo in Sassy on Left, Too Faced Blueberry Swirl on Right
Peanut Butter- I was really excited for this color. It's a burnt orange/brown color. But it's powdery and like a lot of the other matte's in the palette it's like it has no bonder. I layered it forever in the crease- and nothing! Just a cakey look. I tried it as a lid color and like the color after tons of layering. But it faded in no time. Again with primer. I think it's too dry?
Frosting- I like this color. But have I met a shimmery brown I don't like? It has pretty reddish tones to it. Good everyday shade of me, I like to put it on with my finger, it picks up the shimmer a bit better. (Panned)
Rum Raisin- After a lot of layering I liked this one too. It's a cool bronze color. Looks amazing with darker browns in the crease. Like a chilly fall look.
Mousse- Another non-pigmented, powdery shade. I layer and layer and nothing!
Caramel- I was pretty excited about this one. It's a light orange gold. But it's not pigmented! And it goes on cakey and dull. And I have to layer...and layer...and layer.
Bon Bon- I just knew Bon Bon was going to be a favorite. It's a rosy gold. Looks pretty in the palette. But on my eyes it has the same issues as Bon Bon. And I've tried it wet and everything. It just sucks!
Butter Pecan- Last shade. This is OK as an inner corner highlight. It looks a little gold but mostly white. Too white based for my skin tone. If I really blended it, and wiped most off it could work..but not really. I dumped this one out. Love the name though...it doesn't make me think of Butter Pecan... (Trashed)
One thing I wanted to note is I've had the palette for a couple weeks and it looks like I've been using it forever. Some of the shades look so beat up and have visible dips in them. Which is odd, because my original chocolate bar looks brand new and I've had it well over a year longer. And I've used it so much more!
As you can tell, I'm very underwhelmed. I'm not sure what's going on with Too Faced, but I should thank them because I don't want anymore eyeshadow palettes from them. I love the other two I have but this was just too disappointing. I wanted to return it but I would have to pay $8 shipping to ship it back. Which means I would just be getting $22 back from it. I don't think the hassle is really worth it for that much.
I'll keep using it though....hopefully I'll change my mind? Not likely...but if I do I will be the first to let you know!
UPDATED TO ADD- The mattes are horrendous. They always muddle into the same non-color look no matter which shades I use. You really cannot create a matte look at all.
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