Too Faced Grande Hotel Cafe Review & Swatches
As a film buff I have to say that the Too Faced Grande Hotel Cafe had me thinking of Wes Anderson’s the Grand Budapest Hotel. Doesn’t it just have that vibe? This limited edition Holiday 2016 set might look like a Wes Anderson film but the inside holds a trio of eyeshadow palettes inspired by Christmas treats like Eggnog Latte, Peppermint Mocha, and Gingerbread Cookies! Not to mention each palette is scented like the treat it is named after.
Here’s a look!
If you’re not a Too Faced fan you’ll easily recognize the lay out of the Grande Hotel Cafe as it is a standard offering from the brand for the Holiday season. They have consectively released the same eyeshadow palette trio for the last few years but each is themed differently like Too Faced Grande Hotel Cafe which is essentially the same idea as the Grande Hotel Cafe.
This year’s theme is all about Christmas in New York but also about the treats you can get around the Holidays. From macarons to a Chocolate Shop Scented Eyeshadow Palette and even a Peppermint Mocha scented and flavor lipstick, each Too Faced Holiday 2016 piece caters to those of us with a sweet tooth! As a foodie, a New Yorker, and a Shag-lover (I’m sure you can see the resemblance to Shag’s art work in many of this year’s offerings), I love this year’s theme!
As you can see the palette is shaped like a little pink hotel! Remove the roof and two doors swing open to reveal a cafe scene inside along with the tree palettes nestled inside. It’s a very pretty, giftable presentation not to mention it can also be broken up and gifted individually should you like as each palette has a little To: and From: field located on the back!
You get 18 eyeshadows that are 0.04 each which are broken up into sets of 6 each per palette as well as a 0.19 oz Bronzer and two blushes that are 0.19 oz each. Each palette is inspired by a different Holiday treat and apparently is supposed to smell like that treat but I find the smell very, very weak and barely noticeable, not to mention they all smell the same to me. The scent seems like a weak play-doh of some sort so, no gingerbread here, no peppermint, and no eggnog or at least my nose is not picking any of that up. This is weaker in scent than the Too Faced Sweet Peach Palette. The eyeshadows are matte and shimmer finishes where as the blushes are satiny mattes.
Too Faced Eggnog Latte Palette Swatches (Frosty Nog, Eggnog Latte, Iced Coffee)
Too Faced Eggnog Latte Palette Swatches (Skinny Latte, Cold Brew, Central Perk, Peach Cobbler Blush)
Too Faced Gingerbread Cookie Palette Swatches (Ginger Cream, Maple Syrup, Gingersnap)
Too Faced Gingerbread Cookie Palette Swatches (Winter Dream, Cup of Joe, Black Coffee, Gingerbread Bronzer)
Too Faced Peppermint Mocha Palette Swatches (Santa Baby Blush, Candy Cane, Sprinkles, Coffee Chip)
Too Faced Peppermint Mocha Palette Swatches (Peppermint Cream, Christmas Blend, Peppermint Mocha)
There aren’t a lot of unique shades in these palettes if you already own a good deal of Too Faced palettes. Even though you might not find exact dupes from last year’s Holiday palettes, the looks you’ll be creating are basically the same just with subtly different shade selections. Unlike the Chocolate Shop Palette, this is made in China. The quality wasn’t too terrible but it isn’t great either. I don’t really judge palettes that are made in China too harshly because I have run across some that I do like but in most cases when items are made in China the quality does suffer a good deal. In this case, the palettes have a mix of both good and bad formulas. I’d say 99% of the eyeshadows are quite powdery not not chalky nor dry. The shimmer shades are the worst offenders as they are flakier and chunkier with sheerer color pay off and a good deal of fall out during application. All the shades were soft and blended easily although some shades needed a good base under them since they didn’t adhere well to my lids. Pigmentation was good on many shades but the shimmers needed a bit of building to get the best color pay off. The blushes were soft and powdery but applied nicely and the bronzer was a little harder but still applied well. This formula isn’t quite what you get from individual Too Faced product purchases or even from some of their more popular palette offers. The shades are a little thinner and a lot more powdery in comparison. I actually enjoyed some of the mattes in these trios but I did hate on the shimmers were applied rather poorly.
The Too Faced Grande Hotel Cafe is a gift set you might just need to see and swatch in person before purchasing. However, I wouldn’t recommend a purchase if you already own a good deal of the brand’s palettes already because there isn’t anything particularly special in this line up shades that you likely don’t already own already. A more unique shade assortment might make this set more tempting but it’ll be appealing to hardcore fans of the brand as well as new ones. Just beware, as the quality is wishy wash with the mattes winning my heart but the shimmers not so much. Some shades applied better than others and there is some patchiness to contend with as well as issues with shades adhering to the lid well!
I’ve come to expect a lot less from Holiday offerings lately and I’m hoping some brand might change my mind because I’m begining to become more and more jaded with these gift sets.
If you tried the Too Faced Grande Hotel Cafe do share your thoughts!
The Too Faced Grande Hotel Cafe is available now at Sephora.com, Ulta.com, and toofaced.com.