Hey y’all!  I picked up this palette from Ulta the other day and thought I’d do an in-depth review for you.  I’ve been wanting a new palette for a while (I don’t want you to get burned out on me using the same ones over and over!), and a lot of you have recommended the Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette.  Let me tell you, I was tempted.  Y’all know how much I love me some UD shadows, but as a beauty vlogger, I feel it’s my duty to branch out and show you lots of different products! Plus, I still believe that between the Urban Decay Palettes I already own, I’ve got pretty similar shades to those in the Basics Palette.  So after much swatching and deliberation, I decided on the Too Faced Matte Eye Palette.

Even though I wasn’t keen on buying the Basics Palette, I did want to expand my collection of matte shadows, and was pleased to find this entirely matte palette.  I was drawn to the variety of neutral shades in Matte Eye (hahaha my Harry Potter-loving brain just thought of Mad-Eye and giggled).  It is not filled with browns alone, but includes a purple, a few grays, and a rich navy.  I am also pleased by the size and variety of nude, base shadows.  In my world, those always go the quickest because I’ll usually sweep shades like these all over my lids before every look or wear them on their own with a bit of eyeliner.  In a palette, it’s annoying to have that one particular shade run out long before the others.  So thank you, Too Faced, problem solved.

Let me back up for a second before I delve into an in-depth review of the shadows and swatches.  As you can see, the packaging is quite nice, and even came with a sample of the Too Faced Shadow Insurance.  Like most Too Faced palettes, the shadows are housed in a cardboard case (which sounds worse than it is) with a magnetic closure and a grosgrain ribbon tab for easy opening.  My one complaint is the lack of a mirror, as shown in the photo at the top.  To be honest, I didn’t even notice the few times I’ve used the palette at home.  However, we rushed out the door yesterday and I brought this along thinking I could finish my makeup while we were out, only to open it up and realize I was mirrorless.  This isn’t a make or break thing for me, but something to keep in mind if you’re constantly relying on these mirrors to get your makeup done.

It also comes with these three little look cards tucked into the lid of the palette.  I always enjoy it when palettes come with these because it gives you a jumping off point of different ways to use the products.  If you aren’t particularly comfortable with playing with different color combos, or creating looks on your own, you could easily stick with these three looks and still get a lot of mileage out of the palette.  It is actually arranged and labeled according to these look cards, with separate rows of shadows for Day, Classic, and Fashion (as seen above).

Now it’s time to get to the good stuff.  The shadows themselves!  All of the shades are true mattes, so that has been omitted from my descriptions to avoid being repetitive.

Tufted Suede – a warm, light tan
Velveteen Bunny – a true cream
Fresh Linen – a warm, very pale pink

Chinchilla – a mid-tone brown with slightly cool undertones
Coffee Bean – a rich, milk chocolate brown

Pebbles – a medium gray with cool undertones
London Fog – an almost black, navy blue
**While some may be disappointed by the lack of a true black in this palette, I love the idea of having this super-dark navy instead as a fun twist on a classic.

Vintage Violet – a mid-tone plum violet
Midnight – a dark, slate gray

The shadows all swatched nicely and are quite pigmented.  Although matte, they aren’t chalky or powdery, and they all apply evenly.  The only shade that I had any trouble with is Velveteen Bunny, but when applied to the eyes with a brush, it goes on just as you’d expect.  It is the least pigmented shadow, but as it is designed to be worn as base color, I wouldn’t want this shade of cream to be any more pigmented.  And even still, I probably will stray from using this as instructed by the cards and will use it as a subtle highlight shade instead.

Tufted Suede / Velveteen Bunny / Fresh Linen / Chinchilla

Pebbles / Vintage Violet / Chinchilla / London Fog / Midnight

Since Urban Decay is known for their fabulous eye shadows, I swatched a few matte UD shades similar to colors from this palette for your reference.

Left : Chinchilla / Fresh Linen; Right : Buck (Naked) / Anonymous (Vice)

As you can see from this picture, the Too Faced shadows (on the left) are nearly identical to the Urban Decay shadows (on the right).  The shadows feel extremely similar to the touch, and swatch much the same.  As far as matte shadows go, I’d say Too Faced is right on par with Urban Decay.

Overall, I’m extremely pleased with this palette.  It was definitely worth the $36, and I have yet to even explore the endless possibilities that it has to offer.  I am also pleased to report that since I’ve been using this palette, I’ve experienced very little fall out from any of the shades, which is a huge win in my book.  In the short time that I’ve owned Matte Eye, these creamy, super blendable shadows have already become staples in my makeup routine.

I hope y’all have enjoyed this review and found it helpful.  I can’t wait to start filming looks with this palette.  Be looking out for a Matte Eye tutorial soon!

Best & Blessings,