Grande Hotel Cafe - Too Faced (Christmas Collection 2016)
Hey everyone!
I just wanted to start off with saying I have changed my URL, What was once teenwithacookingdream.blogspot.com (Which ended up having zero correlation to what my blog was about) has now been changed to lifewithastudentbudget.blogspot.com (Which has way more to do with this blog and I'll explain why)
I feel like this URL works better with my overall blog because I am a university student and live on a really tight budget, due to not work and other factors. The posts to come are to help you know what products/subscriptions are worth the money to anyone really, but also to allow you to have 100% honest opinions on these things from someone who has to make money stretch and only wants the highest quality products/subscriptions when I have to save for a while to buy them (or drop hints about them to my boyfriend - If you're reading this I love you and thank you for supporting my makeup addiction!) I do not get paid to say that I love these products, these are 100% raw opinions.
Now, Too Faced is my all time favourite makeup brand, and if you're not familiar with the brand just know it is on the high end side so it is pricey. When they released what the Christmas collection would be, I automatically wanted it all (However, that was not going to happen so I spent weeks researching the collection to choose which part of the collection I REALLY wanted) I finally made my decision and asked for the Grande Hotel Cafe for my birthday (Luckily the collection was available in October and my birthday was on October 28th)
When I say I spent a lot of time researching it I mean that I read multiple blog posts, watched countless amounts of YouTube videos, and of course checked out the reviews on the Too Faced website and Sephora.
Anyway I chose this set because of three reasons:
1. The packaging was too cute and really grabbed my attention (Too Faced always slays packaging)
2. It included 3 palettes, each featuring a different scent (Eggnog Latte, Gingerbread Cookie, and Peppermint Mocha)
3. It seemed to be the best value in my opinion, it was 62$ (Like I stated earlier pricey, however they do not test on animals and use the best ingredients they can) It had 3 palettes, with 6 eye shadows in each and a blush or bronzer, as well as a deluxe size of their most coveted Better Than Sex mascara.
So, Lets break down the price:
- Better Than Sex mascara; Retails for $15
- The palettes with the remaining $47, end up working out to $15.67 each
You can't compete with that price once you do a run down, and the colours in each palette are very unique.
So, Let's see some photos of the set:
(Pictured with it is: Too Faced Melted Matte Liquid Lipstick - Queen B, and Ariana Grande Perfume - Sweet Like Candy)
(Pictured with it is: Too Faced Melted Matte Liquid Lipstick - Queen B, and Ariana Grande Perfume - Sweet Like Candy)
( This is the inside of the little cafe, when all the palettes and mascara are removed - Isn't it so cute?)
(This is all of the palettes, the mascara and the glamour guide - which shows you looks you can create)
Lets start off with the Gingerbread Cookie palette, which is my favourite of all three:
It actually does smell like a gingerbread cookie, which is amazing. The colours inside are mostly cool toned, you get 3 matte and 3 shimmer shades in this palette, as well as a matte bronzer - which is perfect for fair skin tones and isn't extremely orange. I think this would work well for fair, light, and medium skin tones. This palette is extremely pigmented and overall very creamy. I find the shadows very easy to blend and very long lasting with minimal fallout! My favourite shade has to be Gingersnap, I struggle to explain it, it to me is a true copper/gold colour, but I hope the photos I include do it justice.
(The outside of the palette is just too cute)
(There is a plastic sheet included that helps protect the shadows, I just took it out for this photo)
From Left to Right; Gingerbread (bronzer), Black Coffee (Matte shadow), Cup of Joe (Shimmer shadow), Winter Dream (Shimmer shadow), Gingersnap (Shimmer shadow, but almost a foiled shadow), Maple Syrup (Matte shadow), and Ginger Cream (Matte shadow - you can't see it that well because it's the shade of my skin) These are the swatches without primer, the matte shadows can be built up even without primer, but primer adds that extra oomph.
From Left to Right; Gingerbread (bronzer), Black Coffee (Matte shadow), Cup of Joe (Shimmer shadow), Winter Dream (Shimmer shadow), Gingersnap (Shimmer shadow, but almost a foiled shadow), Maple Syrup (Matte shadow), and Ginger Cream (Matte shadow - you can't see it that well because it's the shade of my skin) These are the swatches with primer, I absolutely adore all of the shadows.
Next we'll explore the Eggnog Latte palette, which is my second favourite:
Again this palette smells true to its name, which I love, Eggnog is the best drink in my opinion. This palette has 2 matte shadows and 4 shimmer shadows, as well as a blush which is matte. These shadows are more warm toned, and the blush is a peachy colour which I think would flatter every skin tone, it definitely warms up your cheeks (Which is perfect for fall and winter) This palette is also extremely pigmented, and very easy to blend and work with. There is a bit more fallout in this palette which is why I say it is my second favourite, but the shades are very unique. My favourite shade oddly enough is Iced Coffee - A true brown base with bronze and gold glitter.
(The outside of this palette is my favourite design, it is just so festive and pretty)
(Again this comes with a plastic cover to protect all of the shadows inside)
From Left to Right; Peach Cobbler (Matte Blush), Central Perk (Shimmer shadow), Cold Brew (Shimmer shadow), Skinny Latte (Matte shadow - gorgeous transition colour), Iced Coffee (Shimmer shadow), Eggnog Latte (Shimmer shadow), Frosty Nog (Matte shadow) These are the swatches without primer, they are a bit more pigmented than the other palette.
From Left to Right; Peach Cobbler (Matte Blush), Central Perk (Shimmer shadow), Cold Brew (Shimmer shadow), Skinny Latte (Matte shadow - gorgeous transition colour), Iced Coffee (Shimmer shadow), Eggnog Latte (Shimmer shadow), Frosty Nog (Matte shadow) These are the swatches with primer, It adds more intensity to the shadows.
Lastly we'll look at the Peppermint Mocha palette, which is my least favourite:
This palette scared me at first, because I'm not that fond of the smell of peppermint, however I was pleasantly surprised as it smells just like a peppermint mocha - not with a huge overpowering peppermint scent thank goodness. This palette has a mix of cool and warm toned shadows, which is really nice to see. There are 4 shimmer shadows, 2 matte shadows and a slightly sparkly - more of a sheen to the blush. The reason this is my least favourite is because there is quite a lot of fallout with the shimmer shades, and unlike the other mattes these ones seem to be more chalky. My favourite shade is Sprinkles, just because it is so unique.
(This packaging is still super cute, and would definitely appeal to a girly girl)
(For the last time this comes with a plastic sheet to protect your shadows, I just removed it)
From Left to Right; Santa Baby (Sheen/Shimmer blush), Coffee Chip (Shimmer shadow), Sprinkles (Shimmer shadow - Gorgeous true cranberry), Candy Cane (Matte shadow), Peppermint Mocha (Shimmer shadow), Christmas Blend (Shimmer shadow), Peppermint Cream (Matte shadow) These are the swatches without primer, I did not include a with primer photo because they looked the same. The pigmentation is very high for this palette.
The last thing in this set is the Better Than Sex mascara, and I mean if a mascara is better than sex are you even doing it right? (That was a joke, I'll stick to school instead of being a comedian) This mascara is phenomenal honestly, it curls your lashes, lifts them, gives a great amount of length, all while giving you a crazy amount of volume. It's like you're wearing falsies but it still looks natural, I'm crazy about it.
(Even the tube is super cute)
(This is such a unique wand, I've never seen anything like it - Shoutout to my boyfriend for allowing me to use his hand in the photo)
Well that concludes my opinions, and review.
On a scale of 1-10 I give this set a 10, for the price and quality, plus cuteness it exceeds my expectations. I could not be happier owning this new staple set of mine.
If you want to go buy it I'll link their website, and Sephora's.
https://www.toofaced.com/p/sets/grand-hotel-cafe/
http://www.sephora.com/grand-hotel-cafe-P413179?om_mmc=ppc-GG_671268232_35756988362_dsa-125694095804__144988606207_9000865_c&publisher_id=255779&sub_publisher=g&is_mobile=&sub1=b&sub_keyword=_cat%3Atoo+faced&gdevice=c&sub_campaign=671268232&gclid=CjwKEAiA6YDBBRDwtpTQnYzx5lASJAC57ObMIYYhd2IOCpPqV0DPLhLDe2jtM4QRa2iMU-lGBG3IGhoCMJPw_wcB&sub_placement=&site=ca_search&gmodel=&country_switch=ca&lang=en&sub_ad=144988606207
Stay tuned for more reviews, and leave a comment if there's anything you've been wanting to try but haven't and I'll do my best to review it!
Much Love, Tiffany
I just wanted to start off with saying I have changed my URL, What was once teenwithacookingdream.blogspot.com (Which ended up having zero correlation to what my blog was about) has now been changed to lifewithastudentbudget.blogspot.com (Which has way more to do with this blog and I'll explain why)
I feel like this URL works better with my overall blog because I am a university student and live on a really tight budget, due to not work and other factors. The posts to come are to help you know what products/subscriptions are worth the money to anyone really, but also to allow you to have 100% honest opinions on these things from someone who has to make money stretch and only wants the highest quality products/subscriptions when I have to save for a while to buy them (or drop hints about them to my boyfriend - If you're reading this I love you and thank you for supporting my makeup addiction!) I do not get paid to say that I love these products, these are 100% raw opinions.
Now, Too Faced is my all time favourite makeup brand, and if you're not familiar with the brand just know it is on the high end side so it is pricey. When they released what the Christmas collection would be, I automatically wanted it all (However, that was not going to happen so I spent weeks researching the collection to choose which part of the collection I REALLY wanted) I finally made my decision and asked for the Grande Hotel Cafe for my birthday (Luckily the collection was available in October and my birthday was on October 28th)
When I say I spent a lot of time researching it I mean that I read multiple blog posts, watched countless amounts of YouTube videos, and of course checked out the reviews on the Too Faced website and Sephora.
Anyway I chose this set because of three reasons:
1. The packaging was too cute and really grabbed my attention (Too Faced always slays packaging)
2. It included 3 palettes, each featuring a different scent (Eggnog Latte, Gingerbread Cookie, and Peppermint Mocha)
3. It seemed to be the best value in my opinion, it was 62$ (Like I stated earlier pricey, however they do not test on animals and use the best ingredients they can) It had 3 palettes, with 6 eye shadows in each and a blush or bronzer, as well as a deluxe size of their most coveted Better Than Sex mascara.
So, Lets break down the price:
- Better Than Sex mascara; Retails for $15
- The palettes with the remaining $47, end up working out to $15.67 each
You can't compete with that price once you do a run down, and the colours in each palette are very unique.
So, Let's see some photos of the set:
Lets start off with the Gingerbread Cookie palette, which is my favourite of all three:
It actually does smell like a gingerbread cookie, which is amazing. The colours inside are mostly cool toned, you get 3 matte and 3 shimmer shades in this palette, as well as a matte bronzer - which is perfect for fair skin tones and isn't extremely orange. I think this would work well for fair, light, and medium skin tones. This palette is extremely pigmented and overall very creamy. I find the shadows very easy to blend and very long lasting with minimal fallout! My favourite shade has to be Gingersnap, I struggle to explain it, it to me is a true copper/gold colour, but I hope the photos I include do it justice.
Next we'll explore the Eggnog Latte palette, which is my second favourite:
Again this palette smells true to its name, which I love, Eggnog is the best drink in my opinion. This palette has 2 matte shadows and 4 shimmer shadows, as well as a blush which is matte. These shadows are more warm toned, and the blush is a peachy colour which I think would flatter every skin tone, it definitely warms up your cheeks (Which is perfect for fall and winter) This palette is also extremely pigmented, and very easy to blend and work with. There is a bit more fallout in this palette which is why I say it is my second favourite, but the shades are very unique. My favourite shade oddly enough is Iced Coffee - A true brown base with bronze and gold glitter.
Lastly we'll look at the Peppermint Mocha palette, which is my least favourite:
This palette scared me at first, because I'm not that fond of the smell of peppermint, however I was pleasantly surprised as it smells just like a peppermint mocha - not with a huge overpowering peppermint scent thank goodness. This palette has a mix of cool and warm toned shadows, which is really nice to see. There are 4 shimmer shadows, 2 matte shadows and a slightly sparkly - more of a sheen to the blush. The reason this is my least favourite is because there is quite a lot of fallout with the shimmer shades, and unlike the other mattes these ones seem to be more chalky. My favourite shade is Sprinkles, just because it is so unique.
The last thing in this set is the Better Than Sex mascara, and I mean if a mascara is better than sex are you even doing it right? (That was a joke, I'll stick to school instead of being a comedian) This mascara is phenomenal honestly, it curls your lashes, lifts them, gives a great amount of length, all while giving you a crazy amount of volume. It's like you're wearing falsies but it still looks natural, I'm crazy about it.
Well that concludes my opinions, and review.
On a scale of 1-10 I give this set a 10, for the price and quality, plus cuteness it exceeds my expectations. I could not be happier owning this new staple set of mine.
If you want to go buy it I'll link their website, and Sephora's.
https://www.toofaced.com/p/sets/grand-hotel-cafe/
http://www.sephora.com/grand-hotel-cafe-P413179?om_mmc=ppc-GG_671268232_35756988362_dsa-125694095804__144988606207_9000865_c&publisher_id=255779&sub_publisher=g&is_mobile=&sub1=b&sub_keyword=_cat%3Atoo+faced&gdevice=c&sub_campaign=671268232&gclid=CjwKEAiA6YDBBRDwtpTQnYzx5lASJAC57ObMIYYhd2IOCpPqV0DPLhLDe2jtM4QRa2iMU-lGBG3IGhoCMJPw_wcB&sub_placement=&site=ca_search&gmodel=&country_switch=ca&lang=en&sub_ad=144988606207
Stay tuned for more reviews, and leave a comment if there's anything you've been wanting to try but haven't and I'll do my best to review it!
Much Love, Tiffany
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