Makeup Memories - My First High End Palette - Too Faced Matte Eye

I wanted to show you a behind the scenes sort of look at my eyeshadow palette collection and put the spotlight on the first high end eyeshadow palette I ever bought. My Too Faced Matte Eye palette is very well loved and I still use it regularly.

The Story

I bought this palette almost 3 years ago (feeling old!) on a trip across the country to visit my then boyfriend/now husband's family. Before the trip, I was really nervous and excited to meet them - I was his first serious girlfriend to be brought to meet the extended family, and I was feeling the pressure! His awesome cousins took me out shopping and made me feel loved and welcome. On that shopping trip, I picked up the Too Faced Matte Eye palette at Sephora, along with some other goodies. I remember being so frustrated by the lack of good matte eyeshadows at the drugstore (still true to this day, alas), and I used the crap out of this every single day after buying it. I still use it regularly and love remembering that trip. 

 Too Faced Matte Eye Palette - Interior

Too Faced Matte Eye Palette - Interior up close

Shades

• Tufted Suede - matte warm beige, great for a subtle crease or all over lid wash
• Velveteen Bunny - matte soft white, my favorite brow bone color and most used shade from this palette
• Fresh Linen - matte pink toned ivory, excellent all over lid shade (I have since hit pan after photographing)
• Chinchilla - matte warm mid toned brown, easy crease/transition shade
• Pebbles - matte steely blue grey, hardly ever used
• Vintage Violet - matte dusty lavender, crease/transition shade
• Coffee Bean - matte dark brown, used often as an eyeliner with a sealant 
• London Fog - matte navy blue, used rarely
• Midnight - matte dark charcoal grey, used as an eyeliner with a sealant

The shades in this palette give a very soft look. The eyeshadow formula is high quality, but the texture feels very thin and silky. The formula never exacerbates dry lids and glides over fine lines around the eye, but lacks the dense buttery texture that other brands are known for.

Swatches

As always, swatches are on bare, unprimed skin. The darkest shades were swatched with an angled brush and Makeup Forever Aqua Seal, my eyeliner sealant of choice. I rarely use dark eyeshadow in my looks and instead prefer to use them as cake eyeliners. Fresh Linen is almost a perfect match for my skintone.

Too Faced Matte Eye Palette swatches

Pros

• A very nice 100% matte eyeshadow palette with no sneaky glitters or sparkle
• Excellent for a soft, muted look
• Smooth and silky formula 
• Base / most used shades have larger pans

Cons

• Imperfect shade selection - I would love to replace Pebbles with a cool toned crease color like MAC Omega or Urban Decay Naked2. I would also like to see a rosewood brown and a mid tone peach. It's just my personal opinion though, I'm sure someone out there would use Pebbles, Vintage Violet, and London Fog a lot more than I do.
• Only ideal for soft looks
• Lightweight formula is nice for what it is, but someone expecting a dense buttery formula will be disappointed

Overall, I love this palette and use it all the time. I can see why it is polarizing, and I agree that it is not for everyone. I would recommend it for someone who works in a conservative office, someone with mature or dry skin around their eyes, or for someone who prefers soft, natural makeup. If you aren't sure, I would highly recommend swatching in store!