little white truths

For me, the biggest problem with this palette is that I feel it's missing a cool-toned crease/transition colour that's matte and that I could use to 'pull back' the warmth of the other shades so I don't look sick. 

Interestingly, I don't have the sick problem with the ABH Modern Renaissance palette. Why? Because ABH completely nailed the tones. I don't think I've seen anyone complain that they look sick when they wear the MR, but I know I'm not the only one who feels the tones in this one aren't quite right. It won't suit everyone, but the ABH one comes close.

While I can make this work, I always need to pull in either a matte grey or a matte neutral brown from another palette. If Too Faced had removed either the peach (Spread the Love) or the white (Extra Creamy) and replaced it with say a mattte, mid-toned, purple-based taupe or a matte lavender, this would have been a stand-alone palette for me - and it would also have addressed the issue that many people have with this palette, being that there's too much 'peanut butter' and not enough 'jelly'.

I have to agree. 

Now for swatches. 

What I've done below is given you swatches of each shade in different lights, and I've first done a finger swatch for each and then one with a fluffy blending brush. I haven't used primer. Even though I always wear one, I feel that the finger swatches give you a good representation of how the shadows look when worn with a primer, while the brush ones show you how they will look if you don't.

Below are the first four shades, swatched in direct sunlight, first with my finger and then with a brush:

*L-R: Spread the Love, Peanut Butter, Peanut Butter Cup, Bananas

 *L-R: Spread the Love, Peanut Butter, Peanut Butter Cup, Bananas

Peanut Butter Cup is a medium-dark, yellow-based bronze with a satin finish and gold micro-glitter. It's a bit rough to the touch but it applies and blends well. The pigment is good and it looks nice on the eye, but there's something about this bronze that I don't love. I think the colour isn't quite rich enough and I have other bronzes that suit me better and do more for my brown eyes. I do like it well enough, though.

L-R: Peanut Brittle, Jammin', Extra Creamy, Jelly, Nuts About U

L-R: Peanut Brittle, Jammin', Extra Creamy, Jelly, Nuts About U

Extra Creamy is a matte off white and it's the only shade in the palette that I don't like because it's too stark and too white for my colouring. Nevertheless, it has the second-best texture in the palette - it's beautifully soft and smooth, and indeed extra creamy. It applies and blends well, and it also has a surprising amount of pigment for such a pale colour. This is the colour I would remove first in favour of another shade (the second would be Spread the Love). It can look dry on me, but that may be partly because it's easy to apply too much, given how soft it is.

Jelly is a bright orchid purple that offers a beautiful, iridescent sheen (with no detectable glitter). It almost looks wet on the skin and I love that about it. It's a bit drier and less smooth than some of the other shades, but it applies and blends well. The complaint most people have about this shade is that it's not very pigmented, but I don't mind this. It's so bright that I don't want it to be pigmented, and because it's more sheer, it almost 'melds' with the skin so it doesn't look powdery at all: it just looks like colour. This makes it a great shade for my dry, 37yo old eyes because it's very flattering and it doesn't emphasise texture.

Nuts About U is a deep, matte terracotta and it's my second favourite shade in the palette. It's smooth and creamy, and it applies and blends well. It's also quite soft. I love the texture. Even though it looks warmer than Peanut Butter in the pan, on me this has a better undertone so it's less likely to make me look sick. This shadow looks extra good when paired with Jammin' and it's the only reason why I don't consider Jammin' to be a complete dud.

Verdict

I've said most things above so I won't ramble on too much here. 

Note that all these shadows last reasonably well on the eye (I use a primer) and none of them are ageing - except Extra Creamy, but not if I use the tiniest layer. That's a big thing for me because some shadows make me look older, which is one of my biggest complaints with many formulas.

Interestingly, even the metallic Peanut Brittle doesn't emphasise texture on my eyelids, which is unusual because many metallics do, so that's a huge plus.

Worth noting is that when you mix Bananas with Jelly, something magical happens. I discovered this by accident when I applied Bananas on the inner corner, then went in with Jelly on the lid, then went back and added more Bananas on the inner corner. Some Jelly was left on the brush and I'm so glad I forgot to switch brushes because when you throw a tiny bit of Jelly over Bananas, I swear bloody angels start singing. It's as though both shades (which I like anyway) are suddenly elevated to some kind of transcendent purple/pink/peach/golden goodness. Just gorgeous.

That's all from me. I hope this review was helpful, and that everything's well with you.

Speak soon x