the brand of (my) year

when you go through your stash and realize you have almost a full face of makeup from the same brand, and realise that the shopping of most of the products occurred in the past year or so, you know they’re doing something right.

Too faced is a girly-cute-vintage-inspired-with-a-touch-of-madness-design makeup brand from California, on the affordable yet high-end scale of things, that can be purchased virtually and physically basically everywhere (bonus points) and a selection of star-products that have been raved one by one all over the place. I decided to gather them all in one post and throw them a party.

they started to stand out with their eyeshadows. after a — let’s call it — teenager phase, filled with glitters and less wearable colours, they have grown into an amazing selection of shades in all the arrays of finishes, all with the same buttery, super-blendable, highly-pigmented eyeshadow palettes, mostly neutrals, but also reaching the “need the crazy pop of colour” crowd.
the 9 pan palettes have been around for years (e.g. Natural Eyes, Natural Mattes for the discrete ones, and Sugar Pop for the daring), and they have more recently ventured into the 16 shadow palettes with their amazing Chocolate Bar and Semi-Sweet Chocolate Bar palettes, which are a great investment for neutrals and a pop of something more. and did I mention… they. smell. like. chocolate.
and, of course, there’s always the special edition work-of-art-in-a-palette palettes that they come up with. just be on the lookout because sometimes the quality of the eyeshadows is NOT the same as the permanent collection’s.

Born this Way foundation is a recent launch, but it has already reached the spotlight for all the good reasons. since the Summer is gone, my skin is agreeing to have something on that is a little bit more dewy and nourishing, and I’m gravitating towards this product more and more. super light on the skin, with a satin finish, medium to full coverage, doesn’t settle on my laugh lines, doesn’t sink into my pores, and seems to look better as the day goes on.
perfect for dry-normal-combo skin, but I think that, even if you’re oily, you should still try a sample, maybe with a mattifying primer underneath (Make Up Forever Step 1 is great).
it has a great shade range, too, (18 colours) if you’re not in Portugal.
just one thing: it has silicone in it (9th ingredient on the list). if you’re allergic, proceed with caution.

Chocolate Soleil bronzer is a matte pressed powder bronzer, so soft and buttery, that blends beautifully, not too orange, not too grey, so you can reach the sunkissed look or define and contour your features with it. also smells of chocolate. there are three shades in the range (Chocolate, Milk Chocolate, and Dark Chocolate), that I think do cater to almost every skin tone.

La Crème lipsticks… why isn’t anyone raving about these creamy, luxurious, super pigmented lipsticks in a great shade range that feel and look perfect on the lips, if you’re on a classic sheeny-but-not-glossy pout mood? I don’t get people! and the packaging… oh my, the packaging… *swoon*

Melted Lipsticks are pretty raved about, unlike their counterparts. a matte liquid lipstick that stays on all day. I only own melted peony, and it’s a bit too Barbie-ish for me. still, I can vouch for the quality and longevity of these little suckers, and I’m planning on getting a bold colour to make sure they are all as good. eheh.

Love Flush blushes are too cute… but it’s the inside that counts and these don’t disappoint. they melt into the skin (no red cake face!), and are seriously pigmented! my face likes to eat blush. seriously, blush gets devoured in a couple of hours by my cheeks. but this little sucker stayed on for the most part of the day! never. happened. to me. before.
downside: no light cool tones, as per usual throughout the WHOLE MAKE-UP INDUSTRY. why, make-up God? why?  it’s been so hard to cope ever since Benefit discontinued Thrrrrob…

Better than Sex Mascara is… the new replacement for my dearly departed and deeply mourned Volume Fast and Perfect by Bourjois! and that is the only information you need to know about this product.
fluttery, thick, super black lashes, no clumps, no gathering all the hairs in one chunky lash, no crispy stiff lashes, no flaking, no raccoon eyes, and lasts a whole Lindy Hop dance until 4 a.m…. I mean, shut up and take my money!

other things that deserve the mention are the Shadow Insurance Primer (just as good as the UD one), the Pink Leopard Bronzer (I think this was limited edition, but they’re coming out with something similar) for a highlighter and bronzer in one for the full-on glow.
I really want to test out the Primed and Poreless pressed powder, too.
always be on the lookout for are those cute kits with travel and full size products that Too Faced frequently puts out: they’re a great chance to know what the hype is all about before committing to the full-sizes.