Review: I Want Kandee Candy Eyes Eyeshadow Palette by Too Faced
I have a lot of eyeshadow palettes. And when I say a lot, I mean a LOT. Like, "send help, I'm about to be buried in an eyeshadow avalanche" a lot. That means I have to be pretty selective about the palettes I add to my collection, and, at first, I wasn't planning to add the I Want Kandee Candy Eyes Eyeshadow Palette to my collection. It just didn't catch my attention the first few times I saw it. I was just kind of like "that's cute I guess" and moved on with my life.
Then, I started seeing YouTubers talking about how they didn't think they were going to like the palette but ended up loving it and I started seeing looks with this palette, and I started getting interested in the palette. Then I looked at the shades and the swatches more closely online, and I knew that I was going to have to get it. I was just like "okay, Too Faced, you got me, take my money now" (I actually bought it with a gift card so really it was someone else's money). This happens to me ALL THE TIME. I think I'm not going to like something, then I get it and love it! The same thing happened to me with the Too Faced Chocolate Bar.
Anyway, I had to tell you all of that to explain why I'm reviewing it MONTHS after it was released. I have it now, I've had it for a while, I've had a chance to test it out, and I'm ready to review it, so let's get started!
First, let's talk about the details of the palette. This palette was created in collaboration with Kandee Johnson. To be honest, I hadn't heard of Kandee Johnson before her collection with Too Faced was released, but it's cool to see a beauty guru release a whole collection with a big brand like Too Faced. This palette costs $45 and contains 15 eyeshadows. That's about $3 per shadow, which seems pretty fair to me. Too Faced's Chocolate Bar palette contains 16 shadows and costs $49, so the price of the I Want Kandee palette seems to be in line with the rest of the brand. Sometimes brands jack up their prices when they collaborate with beauty gurus or celebrities, so I appreciate that Too Faced kept their pricing consistent.
Now, let's talk about my favorite part of makeup: the packaging (JK, I guess the actual product is important too). On a scale of one to cute, this palette is a cute and a half, and this is coming from Too Faced, which is a brand that's known for being cute. The palette is designed to look like a box of candy, which is painfully adorable. Looking at this palette, it really reminds me of the boxes of fancy chocolates that you used to be able to get around Valentine's day and the holidays in the 90s/early 2000s. It's a box of chocolates, but it's a slightly vintage box of chocolates, which I appreciate. The palette even has the slightly domed lid that chocolate boxes used to have.
Some other great packaging details are the wax-paper looking insert that comes inside the palette (which is totally exactly like the piece of paper that covers the candy in chocolate boxes) and the map of the shadows on the bottom in which the shadows look like pieces of candy. (I'm sorry, that was a very long and convoluted sentence, but there was simply no other way to describe all that). Any way, long story short, the packaging is very cute, and it's clear that someone spent a lot of time thinking about it and designing it. My only complaint is that it is a very thick palette; I understand that Too Faced did this intentionally to make it look more like a box of chocolates, but it makes it difficult to store this palette.
I do appreciate that this palette has tin packaging; it feels very sturdy, and I would feel very comfortable traveling with it. It doesn't have a snap closure or a magnetic closure; the lid is actually hinged and it fits into the bottom part of the palette when you close it. However, the top lid fits pretty tightly into the bottom, so I don't think there's much chance that it would open accidentally. I should also note that this palette does not have a mirror; I never use the mirrors in palettes, so this doesn't really matter to me. If you use the mirrors in palettes, this is something to take into consideration when you're thinking about the price.
Now, let's talk about shade selection. As I said, there are fifteen shadows in this palette. As you can see, they're organized into three groups of five shadows. Each group of five seems to be selected so that you can create a complete look -- more or less -- with those five shadows. I think this is a really smart way to arrange a palette. If you're a beginner, the organization of the palette allows you to put together a look very quickly and easily.
That being said, I don't think any of these shades -- maybe with the exception of Raspberry Cocoa -- are very unique. For example, I have a million bronzy shimmer shades like Sweet Toffee. So, if you have a large makeup collection, you'll probably be able to dupe all of these shades pretty easily. The appeal of this palette is that they're all together in one place. I mean, this palette isn't re-inventing the wheel or anything. If you're a makeup collector like me, you should probably take a good look at all your other palettes before deciding that you really want/need this palette.
Now, let's talk about the actual formula of the shadows. If I had to sum it up, I would say that these shadows have a dependable formula. The formula of these shadows isn't my favorite (I'm pretty sure that honor goes to the formula of the Lorac Unzipped shadows), but I like it a lot, and I feel like I can rely on this formula to give me a nice look without a ton of effort. All of these shadows are decently pigmented (not so pigmented as to be overwhelming, but not so un-pigmented that you have to build them up for hours and hours), have very little fallout, and blend fairly easily.
I will say that I wish that the mattes were a little creamier (but maybe I'm just spoiled by Lorac), and I wish that the shimmers were a tad more pigmented. You do have to apply the shimmery shadows wet or with your finger to get the best color payoff, but I find that that's the case with most shimmer shadows these days, so I'm not bothered by it. As I said, I feel like this is a reliable formula, and it definitely lives up to the standards of quality that I've come to expect from Too Faced. I have no complaints about this formula. Plus -- and this is important -- the shadows have a sweet, almost vanilla-ish smell, which I absolutely love.
All in all, I feel like you won't be disappointed with this palette if you pick it up. The palette is well organized, well thought out, and the quality is definitely there. If you have a lot of makeup, you probably already have all of the shades in this palette, so I don't think this is something you have to run out and buy right now.
However, if you think you'd use these shades, I think this would be a great addition to your collection. It just depends on what you use and want in your eyeshadow palettes. As I said, this palette isn't reinventing the wheel, but it's a great, reliable palette for everyday use. Personally, I know that I'll get a lot of use out of this palette for everyday, work appropriate looks.
Final rating: 8/10
Now, let's talk about my favorite part of makeup: the packaging (JK, I guess the actual product is important too). On a scale of one to cute, this palette is a cute and a half, and this is coming from Too Faced, which is a brand that's known for being cute. The palette is designed to look like a box of candy, which is painfully adorable. Looking at this palette, it really reminds me of the boxes of fancy chocolates that you used to be able to get around Valentine's day and the holidays in the 90s/early 2000s. It's a box of chocolates, but it's a slightly vintage box of chocolates, which I appreciate. The palette even has the slightly domed lid that chocolate boxes used to have.Some other great packaging details are the wax-paper looking insert that comes inside the palette (which is totally exactly like the piece of paper that covers the candy in chocolate boxes) and the map of the shadows on the bottom in which the shadows look like pieces of candy. (I'm sorry, that was a very long and convoluted sentence, but there was simply no other way to describe all that). Any way, long story short, the packaging is very cute, and it's clear that someone spent a lot of time thinking about it and designing it. My only complaint is that it is a very thick palette; I understand that Too Faced did this intentionally to make it look more like a box of chocolates, but it makes it difficult to store this palette.
I do appreciate that this palette has tin packaging; it feels very sturdy, and I would feel very comfortable traveling with it. It doesn't have a snap closure or a magnetic closure; the lid is actually hinged and it fits into the bottom part of the palette when you close it. However, the top lid fits pretty tightly into the bottom, so I don't think there's much chance that it would open accidentally. I should also note that this palette does not have a mirror; I never use the mirrors in palettes, so this doesn't really matter to me. If you use the mirrors in palettes, this is something to take into consideration when you're thinking about the price.
Now, let's talk about shade selection. As I said, there are fifteen shadows in this palette. As you can see, they're organized into three groups of five shadows. Each group of five seems to be selected so that you can create a complete look -- more or less -- with those five shadows. I think this is a really smart way to arrange a palette. If you're a beginner, the organization of the palette allows you to put together a look very quickly and easily.
- The first group (on the left) of five contains warm toned, bronzy/yellow toned shades.
- The second/middle group is focused on pinks and browns with more neutral undertones.
- The third group (on the right) is full of mauve and purple shades with cooler undertones.
All in all, I think the shade selection in this palette is really excellent. You have everything you need to create a full look: brown bone highlights, inner corner highlights, transition shades, and everything else in between. Usually, I don't mind dipping into another palette for a shade or two when I'm creating a look, but I really appreciate having everything I need to create a look in one palette, and, quite honestly, when I'm rushing around in the morning, I'm more likely to use a palette if I know that I'm going to be able to get a full look out of it. You have a full range of neutral (neutral as in everyday, not neutral as in neutral undertones) shades that are easy to use on an everyday, I'm-just-going-to-the-office-and-supermarket basis. You also have a few pops of color, like Sugar Plum and Raspberry Cocoa, that you could use to create a bolder, "nighttime" look.
If you're a beginner, I think this would be a great palette for you because it really covers all your bases in terms of shade selection. You can create tons of different "genres" of looks (everyday, nighttime, etc) with this palette and you can create a diverse range of looks with this palette, by which I mean that you can create looks that look totally and completely different from each other with the same palette.
That being said, I don't think any of these shades -- maybe with the exception of Raspberry Cocoa -- are very unique. For example, I have a million bronzy shimmer shades like Sweet Toffee. So, if you have a large makeup collection, you'll probably be able to dupe all of these shades pretty easily. The appeal of this palette is that they're all together in one place. I mean, this palette isn't re-inventing the wheel or anything. If you're a makeup collector like me, you should probably take a good look at all your other palettes before deciding that you really want/need this palette.
Now, let's talk about the actual formula of the shadows. If I had to sum it up, I would say that these shadows have a dependable formula. The formula of these shadows isn't my favorite (I'm pretty sure that honor goes to the formula of the Lorac Unzipped shadows), but I like it a lot, and I feel like I can rely on this formula to give me a nice look without a ton of effort. All of these shadows are decently pigmented (not so pigmented as to be overwhelming, but not so un-pigmented that you have to build them up for hours and hours), have very little fallout, and blend fairly easily.
I will say that I wish that the mattes were a little creamier (but maybe I'm just spoiled by Lorac), and I wish that the shimmers were a tad more pigmented. You do have to apply the shimmery shadows wet or with your finger to get the best color payoff, but I find that that's the case with most shimmer shadows these days, so I'm not bothered by it. As I said, I feel like this is a reliable formula, and it definitely lives up to the standards of quality that I've come to expect from Too Faced. I have no complaints about this formula. Plus -- and this is important -- the shadows have a sweet, almost vanilla-ish smell, which I absolutely love.
All in all, I feel like you won't be disappointed with this palette if you pick it up. The palette is well organized, well thought out, and the quality is definitely there. If you have a lot of makeup, you probably already have all of the shades in this palette, so I don't think this is something you have to run out and buy right now.
However, if you think you'd use these shades, I think this would be a great addition to your collection. It just depends on what you use and want in your eyeshadow palettes. As I said, this palette isn't reinventing the wheel, but it's a great, reliable palette for everyday use. Personally, I know that I'll get a lot of use out of this palette for everyday, work appropriate looks.
Final rating: 8/10
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