Monthly Archives: June 2015

I’m a fan of picking up prepared eyeshadow palettes over putting my own together, or buying separate pots (save for the two pots of MAC Shroom I have in every kit), or randoms. A palette provides colours that compliment each other and for the most part, no guesswork.

There are a plethora of palettes out there (the whole new wash of nude palettes every brand has, for example) and it’s really easy to blow a pretty penny at Sephora finding the perfect one for you. I’ve had or currently have them all (from Urban Decay Naked to Lorac Pro Palettes 1 and 2 to Maybelline The Nudes!). I love them all.

But my current affair happens to be with Too Faced Semi-Sweet Chocolate Bar. It might have something to do with the fact that every time I open the palette the sweet smell of chocolate releases the right endorphins, but it’s also because the colours, formulas and finishes are A++ and + again.

Thanks to my best bud, Elaine Atkins, I became the lucky recipient of both the Chocolate Bar and Semi-Sweet Chocolate Bar Palettes, and I find, that both palettes are in heavy rotation this wedding season.

Depending on the skin tone and favourite colours of any client or bride, I can more often than not get the right neutral, smokey look from either palette.

I’ve been leaning more on Semi-Sweet though. I really like Nougat, Hot Fudge and Licorice. Bon Bon and Caramel are great for the lid and for adding a hint of shimmer, while Butter Pecan is also a great highlighter on deeper skin tones (try it under the brow bone, or over the cheekbones!)

On Natasha above, I used Urban Decay’s Eyeshadow Primer in Sin to prime the lids. I swept Bon Bon over the lids, which when paired with the primer shade lightened it a bit. I mixed Truffled and Hot Fudge from the outer corner in, blending it as I pushed it toward the centre, and up into the crease. I used Licorice on the outer corner. For a bit of dimension at the crease, I swept Nougat in the crease and blended up. I really like Nougat for deeper skintones. I lined her eyes with Bobbi Brown Gel Liner in Black Ink.

For the rest of Natasha’s look, I used MAC Foundation is NC44 and Studio Fix Concealer in NC42, but only through the centre of the face. I then blended MAC Face and Body in C5 around the perimeter and down the neck. Clinique Chubby Sticks for her contour and highlight. A hint of NARS The Multiple in Puerto Vallarta on the cheeks. Anastasia Contour Palette as well to set the contour and highlight and brighten under the eyes. MAC gloss in Ample Pink for the lips.

My favourite thing about the TooFaced Chocolate Bar series (both the regular and the Semi-Sweet) is that it is neither a nude or a smokey or a matte or a shimmer or a metals palette. It actually contains a nice mix of matte, satin, shimmer and high glitter colours. I think the only thing it’s missing is more colour range outside of the great browns and neutrals it already has. The funkiest colour Semi-sweet has is Blueberry Swirl … and from there Pink Sugar. Chocolate Bar has a nice plummy purple and a more satin/matte pink similar to Pink Sugar.

Regardless, it’s still a sweet palette to have. My vote : go buy it!

-stephanie-