The Original Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette

I obviously need another palette, because I haven't bought enough of them lately.  While I wasn't in love with the Semi-Sweet Chocolate Bar Palette from Too Faced, it did make me curious about the original Chocolate Bar Palette.  Especially since it popped up in sooo many YouTube 2014 Favorites videos.  Like here and here and here and here and here and here...  Very very popular this year lol.

So, I finally sucked it up and ordered it.  This is after a year of visitation rights at Sephora and Ulta.

Adorable packaging!

The back of the cutest package ever.

I really love how they package their products.  It's just super cute.  Is it necessary?  Probably not, but it's too cute for words and I feel bad throwing it out lol.

The actual package looks like a dark chocolate bar.

Unlike my Semi Sweet palette the magnet on this works very well to keep this closed and it doesn't feel so flimsy.  It's not as secure as the Naked 2 and 3, but it's also not quite so clunky.  It's pretty nice.  I would protect it if I were traveling with it though.  It feels metallic and the nibs and lettering on the package are raised.

It does come with one of those instruction sheets for ideas on how to use the colors.  Which some people love, I like to toss those and just play lol.

The color names are on a sleeve rather than printed on the palette.

Omg.  Opening it and getting that delicious whiff of cocoa just makes me happy.  It takes you away from the disappointment of not having the colors printed on the package.  It is wonderful that the high light colors are very large and has one matte and one shimmer.

It has a good balance with mattes, shimmers, and frosted colors.  It has six matte colors, which is really good.

Did I mention that this smells like chocolate makeup heaven?

From Left to Right: Gilded Ganache, White Chocolate, Milk Chocolate, Black Truffle, and Triple Fudge.

• Gilded Ganache (shimmering olive brown) is incredibly pigmented, buttery, and blends well.
• White Chocolate (matte cream) is soft, pigmented, and blends well.
• Milk Chocolate (matte light brown) is creamy, decently pigmented, blends out well and is great for a transition color.
• Black Forest Truffle (frosted plum wine) is gorgeous.  The second I saw this color I wanted to play with it.  It is very pigmented, creamy, and blends nicely, but can be a bit powdery.
• Triple Fudge (matte dark brown) is pigmented, kind of patchy to swatch, it's more dry, but applies well and blends okay, it's probably the most eh eye-shadow in the palette.  It isn't the best matte brown ever, but it's nice.

From Left to Right: Salted Caramel, Marzipan, Semi-Sweet, Strawberry Bon Bon, Candied Violet, Amaretto.

• Salted Caramel (matte warm brown with orange) is a great color for transition or crease.  It's buttery, nicely pigmented, and blends well, it may turn a bit powdery.
• Marzipan (pink champagne shimmer) holy mother of eye-shadow, this baby is pigmented, it's buttery, and blends very well.  
• Semi-Sweet (matte mid-toned brown) is pretty ordinary as far as pigmentation, blend-ability, but is somewhat creamy.
• Strawberry Bon Bon (matte bright baby pink) is creamy, nicely pigmented, turns a bit powdery, and blends well.
• Candied Violet (frosted violet) is another color I knew I wanted to play with since the first time I saw the palette.  It's on the drier side, a little more sheer, builds well, and blends nicely.
•  Amaretto (copper brown sheen) has a slightly dry texture, is nicely pigmented, looks almost metallic, and blends well.

From Left to Right: Hazelnut, Crème Brulee, Haute Chocolate, Cherry Cordial, Champagne Truffle

• Hazelnut (golden medium brown shimmer) is buttery, beautifully pigmented, and blends nicely.
• Crème Brulee (metallic dark gold) is a rich color, is buttery, and blends well.
• Haute Chocolate (frosted mid brown) is buttery, has great pigmentation, and blends nicely.
• Cherry Cordial (burgundy brown would have been matte with pink sparkle) is dry, with decent pigmentation, and blends well, but is a bit powdery.
• Champagne Truffle (white with a pink tinge shimmer) is a great inner corner color, it's slightly dry, nicely pigmented, and blends well.

I'm not going to lie, I was so smelling my arm while doing the swatches.

This palette is $49.00 which is cheaper than the Urban Decay Naked palettes (those are $54).  It is more consistent with the quality than the Semi-Sweet Palette, which followed this palette sequentially.  It's really hard for me to say, because I do love my Naked Palettes, but I think this one is a little better.  I also think that if you can only afford one new palette this year, this one is the way to go, out of the Nakeds or the Semi-Sweet.

I think it's a great neutral palette but it has pops of color that keep it from being boring.  Like Urban Decay, Too Faced is cruelty free, which is great!

Overall, this is a solid palette.  It's not going to change your life (although the smell of chocolate to start your day may put you in a better mood, which may put other people in a better mood and that may spread lol) and I wouldn't skip any bills or speed over to Sephora to get it.  It's a permanent product, you're safe.

The cocoa powder is supposed to help against aging because of the anti-oxidants, but that boils down to how much does it have and how much do you need before it's effective and since it doesn't say, I'm not using that for a basis of decision making.

I think this product has earned its position in the Book of Hype.  Of the neutral palettes that I have tried, this one is the winner (in no way do I think the Morphé palette was neutral, I think that was a better palette but the dratted thing is LE).

* Too Faced hasn't decided that I should try their products for free.  I bought this product myself from Sephora and I used Ebates.