Unboxing Beauty

image from http://beautynetkorea.com/product/Etude-House-Give-Me-Chocolate-Shadow-3-Color-4-5g/KRETUDMK0002690

 

When I read that Etude House was offering a limited edition of a Give Me Chocolate line, I was immediately hooked.  I searched for the products and discovered that they had eyeshadow palettes and nail polishes in this line.   I own Too Faced Chocolate Bar, which is a fantastic eyeshadow palette that does smell like cocoa, but it is too big to carry around in my purse (if I need to do touch ups!).  I was interested in trying out this line for several reasons ~  I am a neutral shadow junkie.  I admit, I have a problem.  I also love chocolate and cocoa scented products.   I have a nail polish addition as well!   These items were all very affordable so I decide to order some.    Since I ordered from two different sites for the shadows and polishes, and I am still waiting for my polishes to arrive, I am reviewing the eye shadow palettes first.   I will have another blog post on the nail polishes when I receive them.

First Up

What eye shadow palette should I choose?   Give Me Chocolate Eye Shadow comes in 3 palettes, all of them designed to look like a candy bar and chocolate scented.  My first pick is Cherry Truffle, as it had a matte shade in it.  I also wanted a 2nd palette, so I went with what I consider a classic, Cacao Fudge,  with dark brown and golden glitter shades.   At this point, since these are $9.00 each, I said what the heck, and decided add the 3rd palette, my last choice, Salted Caramel, which looks very orange-y to me in the photo.  Now, I just have to wait for these to be delivered from South Korea!

 

image from http://beautynetkorea.com/product/Etude-House-Give-Me-Chocolate-Shadow-3-Color-4-5g/KRETUDMK0002690

image from http://beautynetkorea.com/product/Etude-House-Give-Me-Chocolate-Shadow-3-Color-4-5g/KRETUDMK0002690

 

The Goods

The packaging is so nice ~ different shades ~ orange, pink and milk chocolate brown, representing the theme of the palette ~ caramel, cherry, cacao.   The palette is contained within the box and you just slip off the outer sleeve.  All of the palettes are small, thin and have a clear plastic lid, in order to see the colors.  The brown shade covers two-thirds of the palette, looking like a chocolate bar and then brighter accent color is designed to look like you dipped your chocolate bar in a gooey topping, complete with drips!  Alas, the scent of these palettes are nothing like Too Faced Chocolate Bar ~ that palette has a strong cocoa scent, whereas these are a whisper, a memory of cocoa.  Hardly any scent at all.   

 

Salted Caramel ~ This was my last choice and the one I wasn’t sure if I would care for it.   I actually love this palette and it is my favorite of the three!  The darker color is a copper shimmer/satin (caramel color glowing in red) and the lighter shade is a micro glitter of peach and pink-gold (gold opal glitter).  The copper shimmer is so beautiful and I do like the peachy glitter as a highlight.   

Cacao Fudge ~ This is the workhorse of the trio ~ it is dependable and solid.   The bright golden yellow glitter (gold glitter) has tons of fallout, but is workable as a highlighter and the deep dark satin brown (cacao color) is really pigmented and great for contouring.    These colors are not unique or unusual, but they should be standard colors that (for those who love neutrals) has in their makeup kit.

Cherry Truffle ~  This was my first choice, and the one I like the least.   The darker shade is gorgeous, a satin brown with mauve tones (dark cherry color) and the lighter shade is matte warm pink-salmon color (warm pink tone without pearl).   I wish they had picked a different color for the lighter shade ~ with my skin tone (Mac NW20), this is just horrible and makes me look like I have pink eye.  The darker shade is lovely and I will wear this on its own.  

image from http://beautynetkorea.com/product/Etude-House-Give-Me-Chocolate-Shadow-3-Color-4-5g/KRETUDMK0002690

Swatches

I used Urban Decay’s Potion Eye Primer before applying the shadow.

1. Salted Caramel ~ gold opal glitter ~ 3 swipes
2. Salted Caramel ~ caramel color glowing in red ~ 2 swipes
3. Cacao Fudge ~ gold glitter ~ 3 swipes
4. Cacao Fudge ~ cacao color ~ 1 swipe
5. Cherry Truffle ~ warm pink tone without pearl ~ 3 swipes
6. Cherry Truffle ~ dark cherry color ~ 2 swipes

Final Thoughts

These shadows are not heavily pigmented and I highly recommend using a eye primer before applying the shadows.  I made the mistake of not applying an eye primer the first time I used them, and I looked washed out and ill ~ it was the Cherry Truffle palette that caused my “sick” look.    The Salted Caramel glitter shade doesn’t have a lot of fallout, but the Cacao Fudge glitter does have quite a bit of fallout.    The matte salmon-pink shade is really hard to pull off on a warm tone skin and I am not sure how to incorporate this color as an eyeshadow, as it seems more suitable as a blush.   The only shade that didn’t need multiple applications was the Cacao Fudge Cacao Color.  All others required 2 to 3 applications, if not more.

The shadows, as mentioned before, only have the memory of a chocolate scent.  The packaging is very cute, but I wish they would have had a lid that matched the cardboard sleeve design, as that is really nice, instead of the transparent lid color.  I like that the palettes are slim and small, easy to tuck away in a purse, but I do miss having an all over lid/base color in this palette.  I have a LOT of space between my eye and brow, so I always use an all over lid/base color.  In this case, a nice creamy color, like Mac’s Brule, works for all three.    

Only Cacao Fudge’s darker shade is good for contouring.   I do not find that Cherry Truffle or Salted Caramel’s darker shades are good for contours ~ they are too light or too rosy.  However, they are great as a lid color. 

The only palette that I think would be worth purchasing is the Salted Caramel because both colors are unique and wearable.   Cacao Fudge is a good solid palette, but those colors are commonplace and I have many similar shades already.  The biggest disappointment was Cherry Truffle ~ the darker color is SO beautiful, but that matte lighter shade is awful for me.    Would I recommend getting all 3 of these?   They are $9.00 each, so that would make it $27.00 for 6 shades ~ for $22.00 more, you can get the Too Faced Chocolate Bar ~ they have the original and a semi-sweet version ~ and that has 16 matte and shimmer shades and it smells like a creamy hot chocolate.     The Too Faced Chocolate Bar is too big to carry around on the go, so if you do not care about the scent, Too Faced has several lovely smaller palettes, some of which are on sale. 

I am glad I purchased these, only to compare and review ~ plus these are small enough that  I will use them up quickly.    I purchased these at beautynetkorea.com and they were $9.00 apiece with free shipping.  

Did you purchase the Etude House Give Me Chocolate Eye Shadow palettes?  Which one(s) did you get and what did you think of it?  Please let me know in the comments below!

Kawaii Chocolate Bar by Rooshoo 

 

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