Too Faced Semi-Sweet Chocolate Bar: The Sweet Eyeshadow Palette

I'm up to my eyelids in CHOCOLATE! I finally swatched my new Too Faced Semi-Sweet Chocolate Bar eyeshadow palette and I'm in love! If I had to sum up this Too Faced Semi-Sweet Chocolate Bar eyeshadow palette in one word, I would choose the word QUALITY. In comparison to last year's Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette, this one is sleeker (thinner & less bulky), the eye shadows are creamier and the majority apply exceptionally well (except for a couple). Too Faced has also engraved the names of the eye shadows ON the palette. The original palette only had eye shadow names printed on a clear sheet overlay. Too Faced Semi-Sweet Chocolate Bar palette has the same awesome chocolatey scent and mirror!

Too Faced Semi-Sweet Chocolate Bar eyeshadow palette contains sixteen eyeshadows, and it is described as a “deeper, warmer version” of the original Chocolate Bar palette. (Why couldn’t they have gone for a deeper, cooler-toned version instead? The first was certainly warm-toned!) Too Faced Semi-Sweet Chocolate Bar eyeshadow palette is decent overall with a few shades that could be better, but most had a soft, silky consistency that wasn’t too powdery but remained blendable. The formula here is thinner rather than really buttery or dense, but only a few felt dry and thin.

Original Too Faced Chocolate Bar Eyeshadow Palette

If you’ve purchased the original Too Faced Chocolate Bar palette recently, you may have a thinner version than the ones released initially. If you bought several months back, this palette is noticeably thinner (but the rest of it is the same, so they’ll stack). The magnetic closure felt weaker on the Too Faced Semi-Sweet Chocolate Bar eyeshadow palette, which makes me a little wary for traveling, but it seems like it should be okay. Two larger-sized eyeshadows contain less product (0.07 oz. compared to 0.10 oz.) while the standard-sized eyeshadows remained the same (0.03 oz. each). The larger-sized eyeshadows look like they’re not as tall and are just wider than the standard-sized but keep the heights the same.

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Anastasia Contour Kit: Highlight Your Colors

This Contour Kit from Anastasia Beverly Hills seems to be popping up everywhere lately so I had to try it! The Contour Kit comes with three colors to highlight and three to use for contouring, all in one small, easy to travel with palette. It’s great for both personal and professional use so I can see why this appeals to so many people. The colors of the Contour Kit are great for almost everyone, though as someone with fair, neutral/cool skin, I had a hard time with most of these colors. I’m not sure this would work well on deeper skin either because it’s very matte and the contour colors are mostly warm. Anyone who is in between should find this palette easy to use, though. 

There are two highlight colors in this Contour Kit (Vanilla and Banana) that are perfect for under the eyes and for areas like the chin, top of the cheekbones, down the center of the nose, etc. Sand is a shimmery color that’s more for a highlight on the top of the cheekbones. The three contour colors are pretty basic shades for contouring and are usable for many skin tones, but may not make much difference if you’re pale/fair, and may be far too light if you have dark to deep skin. You’ll have to play around with these a bit to see which you like and what works best for you.

The texture for all of these is smooth and finely milled, so they’re easy to blend out. That’s a good thing too, since they’re all highly pigmented! Some of these do seem excessively powdery, though, which makes it feel like you’re wasting product. All of these colors but Sand are matte and wear well… For the contour colors, I got an average of 8-10 hours of wear before I noticed any fading. Same for the highlight colors, too. Sand only gave me 7-8 hours of wear before it began to fade but that’s understandable since it’s a shimmery color.

This Contour Kit also comes with a how-to insert that’s helpful for beginners, so that’s a plus if you’re just getting into contouring/highlighting, or if you just need some tips and reminders.

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Beautyblender vs. Kabuki Makeup Brush

I decided to jump on the bandwagon and pick myself up a Beautyblender Original Makeup Sponge. This product has been raved about for months, but I always thought "hmm, it's a sponge, it can't be that great, can it?" So here I am, a week into buying it and let me just say that old me was very silly, this product is definitely a must buy, but is it better than a foundation brush? Well, let me tell you my experience.

I have been using Kabuki Makeup Brush to apply my foundation for a long time so I thought it would be best to compare both these products.
PROFESSIONAL KABUKI MAKEUP BRUSH
I pump a few drops of foundation onto my hand and then apply it from my hand onto my face starting at my chin and going in an anti-clockwise direction around my face. When using my Kabuki Makeup Brush, I find it quite a quick task, I apply a moderately even base and I have okay coverage.

I do however, find it difficult to get the Kabuki Makeup Brush into little creases like the skin at the corner of my eyes or around my nose, I usually have to use my fingers to get good coverage on these areas. I also find it that sometimes the Kabuki Makeup Brush may leave brush lines on my face which is not a good look at all!

BEAUTYBLENDER
I apply with my Beautyblender in the same way as I do with my Kabuki Makeup Brush, by taking the product from the back of my hand. I press down the product into my skin with the Beautyblender which gives better coverage and avoids any brush strokes or lines.

The only problem I seem to have with my Beautyblender is that it is hard to apply product right under my eyes as I don't want to push the Beautyblender right into my eyes as it is dangerous and would most likely hurt very badly.

OVERALL
I definitely think Beautyblender wins this round and I am sure to be buying a load more, but of course I am still up for trying different brushes to do my foundation with.

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