Review: Too Faced "Few of my Favourite Things" Palette

Introduction

Confession: I'm an eyeshadow palette whore (compared to the average 19 year old). Ever since getting my beautiful Naked palette (the original) after months on the waiting list, I have slowly been accumulating quite the collection of (mostly neutral) eyeshadow palettes. I switch around the palettes I use, because (1) I think it would be stupid to not actually use makeup that I have bought, so I make an effort to do so, (2) it keeps my creative juices flowing, but mostly because (3) none of my eyeshadow palettes can stand on its own for a variety of looks. Essentially, none of the beautiful eyeshadow palettes in my collection would satisfy all of my eyeshadow desires. An ideal palette of mine that could be its own one-man-show would abide by the following conditions:

1. Neutral matte shades: highlight, light warm brown, light cool brown, medium brown, dark brown, black
2. Neutral shimmers: golds, champagnes, coppers, taupes, and browns in a variety of shades (some can have glitter but preferably more without)
3. Colours to be included: khaki, purple, cranberry, and maybe a blue. Although I usually remain in my neutral comfort zone, its nice to have a bit of colour for days I feel inspired to experiment
4. Minimal fallout
5. All shadows should be equal size unless the company can magically predict which shadows I'll use more
6. Simple, sophisticated and sleek packaging that would travel easily and has no wasted space (think NARS, Marc Jacobs, Chanel, NYX). Preferably, I also wouldn't have to ruin any nails while opening said packaging (Bobbi Brown...)
7. Decent pigmentation; it need not be perfect (and I would forego insane pigmentation if it is coupled with lots of fallout cough Stila cough Smashbox), but the colours should still all easily appear on the eye with a primer
8. An actual great value for the money (in terms of quantity of product grams for price compared to a single eyeshadow)

Obviously, it would be difficult for one single cosmetics company to produce an eyeshadow palette to meet all of these criterion, especially since many customers would have differing wishlishts than my own. I know that several brands (MAC, Urban Decay, Inglot and Revlon) offer freedom systems to customize your own palette from single shadows, (and I do have a completed custom MAC palette) but these tend to become very expensive endeavours.

Where Too Faced comes in...

As I am currently on the bus home to Toronto from Montreal, it's hard to believe that in just over three weeks, I will be flying to Barcelona (via London) to spend an entire semester studying there. However, when I moved to Montreal, both in university residence and my apartment, my parents were there to help me, fully equipped with our minivan or a rented U-Haul. For Barcelona, I will have to pack rather lightly since I am subject to luggage requirements, and I do not want to take too many valuables/unnecessary items as I am hoping to do my fair share of traveling whilst there. Therefore, when it came to packing my makeup, I had two rules:

1. Stick with what you need
2. Don't take anything that you would be very upset losing/damaging

The only part of my makeup collection that I had difficulty narrowing down was the eyeshadow department, which is also probably my favourite category of makeup to buy/apply/experiment with. If I want to pack light, I should probably stick to one eyeshadow palette, but I couldn't imagine being restricted for 6+ months to just one from my collection. 

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And thus the hunt for an all-inclusive palette began. Coincidentally, Sephora decided to run another VIB special ($20 off when you spend $50) at the same time. Therefore, it was only natural that I had to visit Sephora several times during study breaks in order to properly analyze each brand's permanent and seasonal palette offerings. From Urban Decay to Stila, Dior to Bare Minerals, I really did swatch them all, yet was sort of unimpressed. 
However, I wasn't really giving Too Faced the time of day. Don't get me wrong, I have always thought that they had great eyeshadows, awesome colour payoff, and an assortment of creative palettes. In fact, I used to think the Too Faced Natural Eye palette was like the king of the eyeshadow playground. That being said, it wasn't any sort of presumed lacking quality that kept me from getting a Too Faced palette, but more their horribly tacky packaging and the fact that none of the available palettes had the variety that justified adding it to my collection (but really more the packaging).

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When I first started hearing about Too Faced's Sephora exclusive holiday set, "A Few of my Favourite Things," I sort of  brushed it off as another holiday palette I really didn't need. Even after seeing some of my most valued critics, Marlena and Emily, sing their praises for it, I wasn't convinced that I needed this in my life (which, I mean, of course I still don't need this in my life, but I obviously bought it so something changed). After several visits to Sephora, and several fits of indecision, I was finally able to get over the god-awful packaging. I noticed that this set was a beautiful diamond in the ruff, and that I could happily live for 6+ months using only the shadows from this palette. WIth the added $20 off what was an already amazing deal, I spontaneously grabbed one of the remaining sets, and checked out before I could talk myself out of it. The pictures above show the front and back of the box that the set came in, and the one to my left includes everything that came out: the "A few of my Favourite Things" palette with 20 powder eyeshadows, two blushes and two bronzers, a zipped makeup bag designed in the same chevron pink/gold as the palette, a Better than Sex sample-sized mascara, and a full-sized  Lip Injection Colour Balm in Bee Sting. 

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The "Few of my Favourite Things" Palette

For the purposes of this review, I will be focusing solely on the set's pièce de résistance, the eyeshadow and blush palette. As you can see in the picture to my right, the palette is a decent size, but what's amazing is how thin it really is. However, it should be noted that once this palette is in the included makeup bag, there isn't really room for much else beyond a couple of lipsticks, eyeliners or mascaras.
The entire set cost $64 CAD ($56 in the U.S.), but technically only cost me $44 CAD, and Too Faced claims it was a $437 U.S value - so that's pretty decent.

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For the record, I really still hate the packaging. The cardboard texture makes it feel cheap, the inside is rather tacky, and there is a good chunk of wasted space for Too Faced's classic How-To Glamour Guide. Honestly, I just don't feel that the packaging honours the quality of the products included. On the up side, I actually like the pink and gold chevron pattern, the thinness of the palette, and the fact that it can open flat on your counter.

As you can see, the A few of my Favourite Things palette has twenty eyeshadows, each weighing in at a whopping 0.06oz for a grand total 1.2oz of eyeshadow. For comparison purposes, each Naked palette has 12 full-sized Urban Decay shadows weighing in at 0.05oz each, so the amount you get here is insane. There are a variety of neutrals with a couple of fun colours, and the finishes include several mattes, shimmers and glitters. Additionally, the palette contains 2 blushes (one cool with glitter and one warm matte), a matte bronzer, and a two-toned shimmery bronzer. The palette is incredibly versatile and the inclusion of cheek products makes it perfect for my travels!

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Eyeshadow swatches for days!

Since there's lots of eyeshadows to keep track of in this kit, I thought numbering them in swatches would be the easiest way to keep track of them. As you can see, pigmentation is strong overall, and all of these were swatched on bare skin, so the colour could be even more vibrant if placed over a good primer. Since Leesha and Christine already provided amazingly in-depth descriptions and dupes for each shade, I'll stick to some general pros/cons and highlights of the shadows:

Pros:

• The mattes had amazing texture and colour payoff, and there are enough matte shades to keep me satisfied
• Ooh la Orchid, Blue Satin Sashes, Evergreen and Soiree give you some fun colours to play around with
• All of the shadows are of equal size, which is unique for Too Faced palettes
• Standout shadows: Honey Honey, Buche de Noel, Crisp Apple Strudel and Bluff (shimmers); Chocolate Milk, Woolen Mittens and Dark Chocolate (mattes)
• The thematic motif of the Sound of Music song "Few of my Favourite Things" in the colour's names = adorable

Cons:

• Some matte shades have glitter in them...I have never understood this type of shadow (like it makes no sense to me)
• The brighter colours really don't show up true to their shade in the pan, particularly Evergreen and Part Time. Those who are looking for bright colours, go look in another palette. However, the neutral whore in me secretly loves this because it's a whole lot easier to work with muted colours (rather than bright ones)
• Technically there's no matte black, which I like to use as liner, but Pure Glam suffices if you ignore the glitter
• To be honest, I don't see myself ever touching those light glitter shades (Snowflakes, Whiskers on Kittens), like ever
• Alas, there is fallout, but there is less than most pigmented shadows, so I digress...

Overall, I was very pleased with the variety of colours/textures in A few of my Favourite Things and how they swatched on my skin. There weren't really any surprises as I had swatched them previously in store and read many reviews online (I recommend you do this before purchasing any makeup, if possible!). I'd prefer less glitter overall, and the inclusion of more taupes/coppers, but the sheer amount of product you get in here is phenomenal so I can't really complain.

Swatches: cheeks

I realize that these letters of identification don't make a lot of sense, but bear with me. The A few of my Favourite Things palette comes with four cheek shades, each at 0.14oz for a total 0.56oz of product. For reference, a full-sized NARS blush is 0.16oz, so Too Faced was not skimping around with these.

• (A) is the infamous Chocolate Soleil matte bronzer, which I have always wanted to try. It has a super creamy texture, and is a little darker than Dior's matte bronzer in 002 Honey Matte, and a little warmer-toned than Benefit's Hoola (the other bronzers I own). I loved that this was included in the palette as it can be the only bronzer I need for Barcelona!
  
• (B) and (C) are the two shimmer shades in Sun Bunny, and I also swatched them mixed together. Once combined, these two make the perfect cheek colour to warm up a light complexion (individually can also double as eyeshadows)
• (D) Raindrops on Roses is a cool/neutral light pink with shimmer that would flatteringly brighten light-medium skin
• (E) Melt into Spring is a super-pigmented matte coral/peach that requires a light hand but can work on all skin tones

Although A few of my Favourite Things would have benefitted from a highlighting powder, and I have only heard great things about those formulated by Too Faced, one of the lighter eyeshadow shades (Snowflakes, Moon on Their Wings, Cream Coloured Ponies, and even Honey Honey) could easily fill this void. I’m thrilled that I can see myself getting use out of all four of the included cheek powders. The versatility of this palette is really undeniable.

Oh right there's these...

These are the four looks Too Faced detailed in their How-To Glamour Guide. Most of the Too Faced eyeshadow palettes come with some sort of instructional colour-pairing guide, so the inclusion of such wasn't much of a surprise. Personally, I never give these pre-set looks the time of day, and only included their pictures because obviously Too Faced deemed them worth enough of an entire quarter of surface space in this palette. I know some people do use and love these, but I hate that it takes up so much space. Ideally, they could have added more product, a mirror, or even made the palette smaller right?

So should you get this?

My first foray into Too Faced cosmetics was rather successful, and has left me intrigued to try some of the brand's other offerings. When it came down to getting a great value of product in a palette that was versatile enough to stand on its own for 6 months, A few of my Favourite Things came to me at the perfect time. A couple of the eyeshadows were kind of blah, but given the multitude of great ones, I can see myself doing tons of looks ranging from neutral to super dramatic. The two bronzers and blushes are hidden gems, and I have no trace of buyer's remorse. Yes, I still detest the packaging, but I will probably try to depot this into a Z-palette in the future. (For those who don't know, "depotting" refers to removing the actual product pans out of there packaging and customizing your own magnetic palette). Also, some people really do love this packaging, and I mean no offence if you are one of them.

Would I recommend picking up A few of my Favourite Things? It depends:

• For someone who is just getting in to makeup, and has very few eyeshadows, this would be the perfect way to start a collection
• For someone who already has a lot of palettes or makeup in general, see if you have enough dupes for these colours (and if yes, then I would probably pass)
• For anyone who is a fan of Too Faced cosmetics, this palette will not disappoint. The brand has also released several other holiday palettes, which you can view here, in case those would interest you more
• For those who are looking for a great value for their dollar, then this is it
• For anyone looking for an ideal palette for long-term travel, look no further
• For glitter-phobes, I would probably pass
• For neutral lovers, don't write this gem off, since the neutral shades are amazing quality and you're getting a bunch of full-sized ones
• It would make a wonderful gift for any makeup-user, though the packaging makes it more appropriate for a younger demographic

Unfortunately, this palette has sold out at Sephora online, and it was a Sephora exclusive. However, there were still several sets remaining at many of the Sephora stores in Montreal, and so I presume there should be some elsewhere. So if you are even considering A few of my Favourite Things, I would get it while you can! 
If you miss out, don't fret. There's always eBay, and several other great palettes being released this season (it's hard to keep up). All in all, I am extremely pleased with my purchase, and I am confident that I will get a great amount of wear from this palette (I see several FOTD tutorials in the future). 
Happy holiday shopping!