I think the majority of us swooned when we first clapped eyes on the Too Faced Gingerbread Spice Eyeshadow Palette | £39! It was cleverly put together to appeal to lovers of warm neutrals whilst keeping happy people who prefer more colour and want to see something a little different in a sea of same-y new beauty launches. I feel like a lot of people have been iffy on Too Faced since they were bought out by Estee Lauder and have had mixed feelings about the quality of their releases. However, is the Gingerbread Spice worth picking up...?
Background, theme & packaging
Hopefully this palette is in stock when this post goes up! I was reticent to share my review until we were reasonably proximate to Christmas but here I am... Obviously this palette has a festive theme and - yes, it does smell of gingerbread! It's nothing overpowering and I do quite like it, but it might not be for you if your skin is sensitive to fragrance (a lot of Too Faced products fall into this category, so you probably know the drill by now). It comes in their usual tin larger packaging like the Chocolate-themed palettes and the Peach palette. I am normally a bit sceptical of Too Faced's Christmas launches, as a lot of people have said the quality of those big sets and palettes they bring out for the holidays just aren't up to scratch when compared to their permanent products. What swayed me to make this purchase is that it's in the same format as their standard range, so although it's limited edition, I had hope that it was going to be just as good as my other Too Faced palettes. A lot of people raved about the metallics in the Chocolate Gold Palette too, though that didn't quite appeal to me like this colour selection did and you get plenty of metallics in here!
Colour story
This shade selection just called my name! I'm more or less on an eyeshadow palette ban, so if I do make a purchase, it has to be a product that's truly adding something to my collection and can't really be duplicated with shades I already own. This treads that fine line between being 'up my street' without being just like everything else I own. It also strikes the balance between being 'different' but not too out there, so I can still get a good amount of wear out of it. So, for that; I congratulate you, Too Faced! It has enough warm neutrals in there for me (the rosy tones of Oh Snap and Bake It 'Til You Make It, through to the yellow gold Warm & Toasty to the orange-to-pink duo-chrome - Hot Toddy) and the basic shades I need to construct a look (like the two brown matte crease / transition colours and the champagne inner-corner highlight), plus the pops of matte colour are the kinds of shades that are easy for me to incorporate into my looks (Spice is Nice is a rich orange, Figgy Pudding is a warm purple and Gumdrop a hot pink), adding them to the crease or the lower lash line. I can look at this palette and know exactly what I want to do with it!
This probably isn't going to be my 'everyday at work' palette but there are shades in here that mean I could definitely get an office-appropriate look out of it. And, what's the harm in having a weekend palette in my stash? I've had a lot of fun creating looks with this, so even if I'm not going to use it every single day, it's a product I'm always excited to reach for and enjoy using.
Formula
Ok, so I've ascertained that there are about six finishes in this palette, which I'm dubbing: matte, satin, pressed glitter, micro glitter, metallic and shimmer. The mattes are pretty self-explanatory! The satin eyeshadow (only the deep purple Reindeer Paws has this finish) has a slight sheen and soft, smooth finish. The pressed glitters - Frostbite and Spiced Rum - aren't my favourites as they need a bit of work (like using your fingers and / or a setting spray) to get them to apply smoothly and adhere. There's one micro glitter shade - Oh Snap - but the glitter is so fine that it just looks like there's a very soft shimmer is running through it. The metallics are my favourites and we have several in here! They apply with this gorgeous foiled finish, even if you use them dry - they're absolutely stunning and have amazing impact on the lids. Finally there's a standard soft shimmer finish in here (in the form of Spiked Eggnog).
I find the formula very easy to work with - more colourful mattes can often be dry and patchy but these are so smooth and opaque! If you'd like to try some brighter tones but want something that isn't going to be difficult to apply then I can definitely recommend this palette. I generally find Too Faced shadows to last well on me and this palette has been no exception - they don't crease and barely fade throughout the day, so I really have no complaints in that department.
The verdict
I'm somewhat enamoured with this palette! In a sea of substandard festive releases, this really stands out both in terms of concept and quality. If these look like your colours; I recommend picking this up because you won't be disappointed with the performance! This is totally worth the hype for me.
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Background, theme & packaging
Hopefully this palette is in stock when this post goes up! I was reticent to share my review until we were reasonably proximate to Christmas but here I am... Obviously this palette has a festive theme and - yes, it does smell of gingerbread! It's nothing overpowering and I do quite like it, but it might not be for you if your skin is sensitive to fragrance (a lot of Too Faced products fall into this category, so you probably know the drill by now). It comes in their usual tin larger packaging like the Chocolate-themed palettes and the Peach palette. I am normally a bit sceptical of Too Faced's Christmas launches, as a lot of people have said the quality of those big sets and palettes they bring out for the holidays just aren't up to scratch when compared to their permanent products. What swayed me to make this purchase is that it's in the same format as their standard range, so although it's limited edition, I had hope that it was going to be just as good as my other Too Faced palettes. A lot of people raved about the metallics in the Chocolate Gold Palette too, though that didn't quite appeal to me like this colour selection did and you get plenty of metallics in here!
Colour story
This shade selection just called my name! I'm more or less on an eyeshadow palette ban, so if I do make a purchase, it has to be a product that's truly adding something to my collection and can't really be duplicated with shades I already own. This treads that fine line between being 'up my street' without being just like everything else I own. It also strikes the balance between being 'different' but not too out there, so I can still get a good amount of wear out of it. So, for that; I congratulate you, Too Faced! It has enough warm neutrals in there for me (the rosy tones of Oh Snap and Bake It 'Til You Make It, through to the yellow gold Warm & Toasty to the orange-to-pink duo-chrome - Hot Toddy) and the basic shades I need to construct a look (like the two brown matte crease / transition colours and the champagne inner-corner highlight), plus the pops of matte colour are the kinds of shades that are easy for me to incorporate into my looks (Spice is Nice is a rich orange, Figgy Pudding is a warm purple and Gumdrop a hot pink), adding them to the crease or the lower lash line. I can look at this palette and know exactly what I want to do with it!
This probably isn't going to be my 'everyday at work' palette but there are shades in here that mean I could definitely get an office-appropriate look out of it. And, what's the harm in having a weekend palette in my stash? I've had a lot of fun creating looks with this, so even if I'm not going to use it every single day, it's a product I'm always excited to reach for and enjoy using.
Formula
Ok, so I've ascertained that there are about six finishes in this palette, which I'm dubbing: matte, satin, pressed glitter, micro glitter, metallic and shimmer. The mattes are pretty self-explanatory! The satin eyeshadow (only the deep purple Reindeer Paws has this finish) has a slight sheen and soft, smooth finish. The pressed glitters - Frostbite and Spiced Rum - aren't my favourites as they need a bit of work (like using your fingers and / or a setting spray) to get them to apply smoothly and adhere. There's one micro glitter shade - Oh Snap - but the glitter is so fine that it just looks like there's a very soft shimmer is running through it. The metallics are my favourites and we have several in here! They apply with this gorgeous foiled finish, even if you use them dry - they're absolutely stunning and have amazing impact on the lids. Finally there's a standard soft shimmer finish in here (in the form of Spiked Eggnog).
I find the formula very easy to work with - more colourful mattes can often be dry and patchy but these are so smooth and opaque! If you'd like to try some brighter tones but want something that isn't going to be difficult to apply then I can definitely recommend this palette. I generally find Too Faced shadows to last well on me and this palette has been no exception - they don't crease and barely fade throughout the day, so I really have no complaints in that department.
The verdict
I'm somewhat enamoured with this palette! In a sea of substandard festive releases, this really stands out both in terms of concept and quality. If these look like your colours; I recommend picking this up because you won't be disappointed with the performance! This is totally worth the hype for me.
Have you tried / will you be trying this palette?
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