Too Faced The Return of Sexy Palette

The first time I saw promo photos of Too Faced's The Return of Sexy Palette ($48), I'm pretty sure I fell half in love with it on the spot.

I am a total sucker for shimmer, and in the photos, that's all the palette seemed to be - 15 ridiculously beautiful, shimmer filled eye shadows.

The colors themselves weren't that much of a sell for me (If I'm honest, I've probably got shades just like them in my collection already), but all that shimmering goodness just did me in.

Still, I talked myself out of buying it on the spot. There were a few other palettes coming out at the time, and I just that there were other options available that were better worth my money.

However, I've got a wonderful sister who made my Christmas by giving me the Return of Sexy Palette (along with a few other makeup goodies!) and indulging my lust for shimmer.

She knows me too well.

As I mentioned, the palette comes with 15 shimmery eye shadows.  They're grouped together in 3 separate blocks that each contain a different color family - a brown/gold section, a purple-y section, and a gray/black smokey eye section.  The palette also comes with a Too Faced Perfect Eyes Waterproof Eyeliner in Perfect Black and a mini-sample of the Too Faced Shadow Insurance (my favorite eye primer, for what it's worth).

The shades in the brown/gold section are: Naive, a beige or skin tone shade; Ingenue, a bronze; Innocent, a mid-tone golden brown; New In Town, a bright gold; and Casting Couch, a dark chocolate brown.

Top: Naive; Middle (l. to r.): Ingenue, Innocent, New In Town; Bottom: Casting Couch

The shades in the purple-y section are: Pink Diamond, a pale pink; Icon, a light purple-y mauve; Divorcee, a dark taupe; Hopeless Romantic, a bright mid-tone purple; and Primadonna, a dark plum.

Top: Pink Diamond; Middle (l. to r.): Icon, Divorcee, Hopeless Romantic; Bottom: Primadonna

The shades in the gray/black/smokey eye section are: 7 Year Itch, a white gold; Bombshell, a light silver; Hollywood, a dark charcoal; Maneater, a warm golden brown; and Beautymark, a black with silver glitter.

Top: 7 Year Itch; Middle (l. to r.): Bombshell, Hollywood, Maneater; Bottom: Beautymark

As its name implies, the Perfect Eyes Waterproof Eyeliner in Perfect Black is a rich black shade.

Too Faced Perfect Eyes Waterproof Eyeliner in Perfect Black

Too Faced Perfect Eyes Waterproof Eyeliner in Perfect Black

All of the shadows are extremely soft, so they're pretty creamy and easy to blend.  As you can probably tell from the swatches, a few are somewhat sheer - it's mostly the light shades like Naive, Pink Diamond, and 7 Year Itch, which doesn't bother me that much since I use them mostly as brow bone and inner corner highlights and I don't particularly like when a shimmery highlight shade is super opaque. All of these shades still show up on my super fair skin, so I think they'll be find on most skin tones.

While none of the shades in the palette are particularly unique, there are a few standout shades. It probably doesn't look that impressive in the swatch, but I'm crazy about the way Icon looks on the lid - a pop of color without being too bright or dark.  I also really like Divorcee for the crease, and Ingenue really makes blue eyes pop. 

I also love that they included a warm brown like Maneater in the gray/black grouping. It looks amazing in the crease with Bombshell on the lid - I've never really tried a silver/brown combo before but it really works well.

The Perfect Eyes Waterproof Eyeliner is an amazing dark, opaque black and it's super creamy - almost too creamy if you're an eyeliner spaz like I am. I find that it's easier for me to get a little on a liner brush and apply it that way - and since the liner is so creamy, you can load up the brush without a problem.

As with all of Too Faced's palettes, there are a few idea cards tucked inside that suggest color combinations. I don't always follow them to the tee, but I appreciate the suggestions since I sometimes lack creativity when it comes to shadow combinations.

Too Faced's Shadow Combo Suggestion Cards

Verdict: While I don't think this palette is an absolute must-have, it's definitely a beautiful, wearable, easy to work with collection of shadows. If you've been thinking about picking it up, do it.  If you already have plenty of shimmery shadows in basic brown, purple and gray shades, I think you can pass.  

I'm definitely enjoying mine, though - thanks, sis!

Do you have the Too Faced Return to Sexy Palette? Is it a must-have palette for you?