Too Faced Gingerbread Spice eyeshadow palette

When I first heard of the new Too Faced limited edition for Christmas 2018 I was skeptical. Mostly because the items always sell out quickly and they are notoriously hard to get outside the USA. But then, lo and behold, I found the palette on ASOS of all placesand snatched one up. This is my review of the Too Faced Gingerbread Spice eyeshadow palette.

Too Faced Gingerbread Spice eyeshadow palette

So I already mentioned that I got mine via Asos. Yes, Asos! I knew they sold some beauty products already but I had never ordered anything like that on there. I mostly use it for shoes and dresses. Other places that sell the palette are Douglas and Cultbeauty, but it seems to be selling out quickly, especially online. You may still be able to find it in stores though. I paid a regular price for mine: £39.

The Packaging

The outside packaging of the palette is in line with the classic Too Faced Chocolate Bar palettes: the palette comes in a metal tin with a mirror. The design of the palette is very playful though: there is a gingerbread man on the front and the palette is made to look like a decorated gingerbread cookie. Not my type of preferred styling and as with many Too Faced palettes this is also scented but the gingerbread scent is not too bad.

The Palette

The reason why I was interested in this palette was the color selection. Doesn’t this look like the perfect fall palette? It is fairly neutral palette but there are also a few shades that are more interesting to add something different to my makeup collection. There are 9 mattes and 9 shimmers, but not all of the shimmers are consistent. One, Oh Snap is one of those mattes with glitter speckled through which Too Faced is notorious for adding to their palettes and never my favorite. But overall, there is a good mix and the shades that are matte and the shades that are shimmers are the right ones.

The Swatch

I swatched out each row separately. As you can see each of these shades is very pretty and has great pigmentation. The only shade that is a let down? Oh Snap which is that weird matte with glitter shade: the matte color transfers to the skin quite nicely but the glitter does not. I wish that would have been a better shade, but everything else looks stunning.

The Application

Look 1:
Lid | Oh Snap
Crease | Gingerbread Latte
Liner | Reindeer Paws
Inner corner | Spiked Eggnog
Lower lash line | Spice is Nice
Brow bone | Powdered Sugar

For the first look I wanted to create a neutral, everyday look but I don’t think it really worked out. What I was hoping to create was a pretty soft look with a shimmery lid. But that shimmery lid didn’t really work out. Oh Snap might work better as a crease shade because the glitter really doesn’t translate well to the eye. I managed to safe the look by adding some dimension with some warmth and depth, but this look is not my favorite.

Look 2:
Lid | Hot Toddy
Crease | Gumdrop & Gingerbread
Blend shade | Lookie at my Cookie
Lower lash line | Ooh Burn! & Warm & Toasty
Brow bone | Sugar Daddy
Inner corner | Frostbite Me!
Liner | Figgy Pudding

Look 2 has to be my favorite. This is definitely a go to combo for me with this palette. Hot Toddy is such a stunning shade: it is a duochrome that shifts from a berry to a peach. It is really one of those shades that you need to see in real life to truly be able to appreciate it. The only part of this look that I am not a fan of is the warm yellow on the lower lash line. Those shades are never my favorite, but I still wanted to show you what it looks like.

Look 3:
Lid | Bake It Till You Make It & Spiced Rum
Crease | Gingerbread
Lower lash line | Spice of Life
Inner corner | Frostbite Me!
Brow bone | Powdered sugar

After making those two makeup looks, I had a few shades left that I wasn’t sure of how they would combine. I decided to through them in one look and I was happily surprised with the outcome. This is very pretty. I foiled Make It Till You Baked It and dabbed some Spiced Rum on top. Spice of Life is a surprisingly pretty shade on the eyes. That green/ olive tint is very pretty and I have used it in other looks where I put it all over the lid and it is absolutely stunning.

The Conclusion

The Too Faced Gingerbread Spice has a few true dud shades for me, but most of the shades are great. Hot Toddy and Spice of Life in particular are standout shades and really make the palette for me. The main question however is: is this the musthave everyone makes it out to be? I don’t think so. While it is pretty and it has some unique shades, I do think that you shouldn’t buy a palette just for two shades. If you already have berries and warm tones in other palettes, then you might already own something similar. For instance, if you happen to own Modern Renaissance and Urban Decay Naked Heat and put some of those shades together, I think you will be able to pull out nearly identical looks. Is it pretty? Yes. Is it THE palette you need to get? No.

What do you think of the Too Faced Gingerbread Spice eyeshadow palette?