I am so excited to share today’s post, as it’s the first in my new series of eyeshadow palette reviews! From the second week of this year, I have been using one palette each week in an attempt to intentionally use all of the palettes in my collection. The first palette I used this year was the Too Faced Semi-Sweet Chocolate Bar palette from January 5-11, so today I’ll share my thoughts on this palette and go over what this series is all about.

Why one palette each week?

My favorite part of makeup is eyeshadow; it always has been. I’ll be sharing the details of my makeup inventory in a few weeks, but for now I’ll just say that I have a lot of palettes. Therefore, this series will run the rest of the year…at least. To clarify, some weeks I’ll be using two “palettes”, mostly in cases where the main palette I’ve picked is either all-matte or all-shimmery shades.

How will this series work?

Each week on Saturday (or Sunday, if I don’t wear makeup on Saturday) I choose the palette for the upcoming week. I try to push myself to do a different look each day, even if the differences are small. Depending on what’s in the palette, I sometimes pick a second palette or a few single shadows to supplement. I also allow myself to incorporate any of the other powder products I’m using for my face that day as well, which lately has been the Fiona Stiles sculpting palette and whatever highlight I use for the day.

For the next few weeks I’ll be posting these reviews Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday to catch up on the palettes I’ve used so far this year, and then I’ll cut down to Fridays only. (I use each palette Saturday-Friday, so the review will be super fresh each week!)

Now, let’s get into reviewing this palette!

Whenever I’ve tried to rotate my palettes more frequently in the past, I always start with the Semi-Sweet palette, so I figured I should do it this time too. Don’t get me wrong – I like this palette a lot for what it is, but I have a hard time being inspired by it.

Toward the end of the week, I watched a few tutorial videos using it and I think if I pick it up again, I’ll have better luck with it. I had no idea that this palette was getting discontinued when I chose this, so in hindsight I appreciate it a bit more since it’s the only one of the chocolate palettes from Too Faced that I own. (It is still currently on Too Faced’s website, as of this post, so go grab it if you want it!)

Pros

• The mattes in this palette are all really great transition and crease shades that can be used as bases for just about any look. I love both the formula and the colors they’ve chosen.
• I really love how these shades complement my blue eyes.
• This palette has both a matte cream and matte black, which are (again) helpful for many different looks.
• Most of the shimmers in this palette are nice, soft, and pigmented. They complement the mattes well.
• Butter Pecan is a beautiful highlight for anywhere on the eyes or face.

Cons

• Pink Sugar is basically just a sheer glitter topper. Do not try to pick it up with water, because it will seal over. I need to try to lift up the hard layer I (unintentionally) created with tape and try to use it over a cream shadow stick or something, but it’s a bit more of a hassle than I want with an eyeshadow.
• Blueberry Swirl looks like it would be a beautifully shimmery deep peacock blue, but it’s really just a not-so-pigmented matte base with a good amount of blue glitter in it. The glitter is pretty, but after what happened to Pink Sugar, I’ve been afraid to get too creative with trying to use it.
• Cocoa Chili is a nice matte brown with bits of gold glitter throughout it. This isn’t really a con for me since I just use it as a matte shade and sweep any leftover glitters away, but I know it would bother some people (and the product shots of the palette make that shade look like a full-on shimmer).

When I started this project, I hadn’t even started this blog, so I wasn’t intentionally taking photos of the looks I created each day. After we get through the next few weeks of back posts, there will be more photos. For now, here’s a picture of when I used this palette a couple years ago alongside the Urban Decay Liquid Moondust Eyeshadow in Chem Trail.

I can’t wait to share more reviews with you each week! Please share in the comments if you have a request for my next palette or if you’ve done a look with the Semi-Sweet palette. I am always looking for more inspiration!

– Natalie

P.S. Here’s some referral links to some of my favorite sites. Use if you’d like!

• Ebates – This is a great way to earn cash back from online shopping (that you’re already doing) at many of your favorite stores! (Including Sephora & Ulta!) If you join through this link and make a purchase of $25 or more, you’ll get an extra $10 cash back and I’ll get $15, as well as your own referral code.
• thredUP – I love using thredUP to clean out my closet and shop for new pieces at a discounted price – sometimes they’re even brand new with tags! When you join thredUP through this link, you get $10 to spend and I get $10 to shop after you place your first order.
• StitchFix – This is a great way to try out some new items for your closet, without the hassle of going to the stores and the bonus of a personal stylist. If you sign up with this link, you’ll get a FREE styling fee (usually $20) on your first Fix, and I’ll get $25 credit once it ships.