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Review And Comparisons: Too Faced Semi-Sweet Chocolate Bar Palette vs The Chocolate Bar Palette With Swatches

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After loving the first Too Faced Chocolate Bar palette (review here), I had a sneaking suspicion I would adore the Semi-Sweet Chocolate Bar palette. And I was right. I absolutely do. But I do see a few differences so I figured I would do a blog post to help compare one palette to the other. For those of you who may be on the fence about which one to get, hopefully this will help you make your decision, or completely confuse you – whoops, sorry!  Here is a look first at the two palettes next to one another.

1. Pigmentation – As far as pigmentation, intensity and pay-off, I find that they are both very similar.
2. Matte vs shimmer shadows – The Semi-Sweet palette has 7 matte shadows whereas the original Chocolate Bar palette has 6. For those of us that love matte shadows, that extra one could really be the deciding factor.
3. Wearability – Sorry to say for those of you looking for a major difference here – there is little to no difference. They both blend beautifully and wear all day long with little to no creasing (with an eye primer – I currently use this one).
4. Color comparison – Many people have been saying that the new Semi-Sweet is much warmer than the original, but I actually find it to be slightly the opposite. There are definitely more cool and gray-toned shades in the Semi-Sweet palette that balance out nicely with the warmer shades. Obviously there is a wild card shade in each palette – the Chocolate Bar’s is the sparkly purple and the Semi-Sweet’s is the vibrant teal. I find that the purple is more wearable and easier to incorporate into different looks, but I prefer the finish/texture of the teal. So it’s a draw for me on that point! Another major difference is the inky, rich black shade in the Semi-Sweet palette that may or may not be a major draw for some people. It definitely is quite pigmented and wears well as a liner or addition to a smokey eye, but for some people it may just be too much. I am neutral on the matter – I could take or leave it. I do love the matte beige better in the Chocolate Bar palette, but prefer the browns in the Semi-Sweet palette. Trust me, there are a million of these distinctions I could make for either palette, so it will ultimately come down to your personal taste.

 

5. Smell – Surprisingly I found that the original Chocolate Bar palette had a stronger initial chocolate scent than the Semi-Sweet. I don’t particularly mind it one way or another, but if the chocolate aroma really pulled you in, then just know that the Semi-Sweet scent is much less powerful.
6. Case/packaging – They both have a magnetic closure, but the original chocolate bar definitely has a stronger magnet. I found that the Semi-Sweet’s magnet was just a tad weaker. That being said, I did an upside down test on both and found that they both stayed shut, so that sort of negates the difference but I felt it was worth pointing out. I did also notice that the Chocolate Bar palette seems to be a touch heavier in weight than the Semi-Sweet. It may not register heavier on a scale per se, but when I hold both of them, that’s what jumps out at me first.

It’s a really tough decision, because I honestly adore them both so much, but if I had to choose just one – it would be the new Semi-Sweet palette. The addition of more matte shades and cool toned colors really appeals to me and helps make it a balanced assortment of shades. But many of you may just splurge for both, and I can’t fault you for that – they are such a draw and I guarantee you will be happy with either.

*pr samples included

Have you tried the new Semi-Sweet palette? Which one is your favorite?

Shop other neutral palettes:

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Review: Estee Lauder Pure Color Envy Sculpting Eye Shadow Palettes and Lipsticks

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It’s been quite a few years since I’ve had Estee Lauder heavy in rotation in my makeup bag, but I am more and more impressed with each and every new launch. Their Sumptuous Extreme Mascara is one of my holy grails, and I just raved about this brow pencil in my latest October beauty favorites so Estee Lauder is slowly strong arming other brands out of the way in my makeup routine. I recently had the chance to test out a few products from their new Pure Color Envy Sculpting line and can simply not say enough great things about it. Well I haven’t yet started reviewing it, but I will be saying great things about it in the next few paragraphs. I get ahead of myself. Heehee.
Estee Lauder Pure Color Envy Lipstick Swatches on fair skin
1. Pure Color Envy Sculpting Lipsticks in Red Ego, Insolent Plum and Rebellious Rose – A moment of silence for that color pay-off in the above swatches. Shhhhh. Ok – now let’s talk. THOSE COLORS. THAT TEXTURE. The pictures do a good job of capturing the beauty of these lipsticks, but you can’t truly appreciate them until they are on your lips. Let me first start by saying they glide on like silk – I have not tried a lipstick this creamy in a long time. Typically with full coverage lipsticks, I need to clean up the edges after applying because they don’t stay within my lip lines. However, that was not the case with these – in fact, I applied Insolent Plum without a mirror for these swatches just to see if I could get an even application. And I did!! This formula is absolutely magnificent and I kick myself that I didn’t discover them sooner. They are incredibly long wearing and leave my lips feeling comfortable for most of the day. It’s too soon to say holy grail, but these for sure earned a spot on my top lipsticks of all time. They should be very proud of themselves.
Estee Lauder Pure Color Envy Eye Shadow Palette swatches

2. Pure Color Envy Sculpting Eye Shadow Palette in Fierce Safari (top swatch) and Untamed Teal (bottom swatch) – When I was browsing these eye palettes online a few months ago, I was intrigued but not moved enough to buy. And then I saw them in store and could not believe my eyes. It was as if there was nothing else on the counter, that was how strongly they stood out to me. From the packaging to the color combinations, they are stunning in person. I find that the matte shades in the palettes are extremely pigmented (just wiping these swatches off was a chore) and the shimmer shades are a bit more sheer. However, I am not personally a fan of intense shimmer so I like the more sheer shimmer pay-off. I initially thought I would wear the heck out of Fierce Safari, but instead forced myself to wear Untamed Teal first. I was unsure how often I would dab my brush into the teal shade of the compact, but found that when I layer it over the deep brown as a liner, it looks absolutely gorgeous! It’s a nice change from my boring dark plum or black/brown I usually do. I like to live life on the edge sometimes.

 *pr samples included

Have you tried the Pure Color Envy line? What are your thoughts?

Don’t forget to enter my NUDE Skincare giveaway!!! Click here to enter.

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