Too Faced Boudoir Eyes Soft and Sexy Eye Shadow Collection Review and Swatches

Look! I'm reviewing something that's not a lippie! *pats self on back* I picked this up during Sephora's F&F because I wanted a cool-toned palette of "neutrals", since I gravitate towards those shades during winter and felt a lack in my collection.

The 9 shades are grouped into trios with corresponding "looks" on an included card. Each trio contains one highlight, one lid, and one definer shade. I'm not a huge fan of the theme of the palette (the idea that I'm wearing eyeshadow to appeal to someone in the bedroom makes me feel a bit squicky), but the shades themselves are quite nice. (All swatches are two finger swipes on primed skin.)

The Day trio consists of In the Buff, an ivory matte, which works fantastically as a lid-evening shade on my Casper skin but could look ashy on darker tones; Fuzzy Handcuffs, a light peach matte; and Voulez-Vous, a dark purple satin.

left to right: In the Buff, Fuzzy Handcuffs, Voulez-Vous

The recommended application for these is Fuzzy Handcuffs on the lid, Voulez-Vous in the crease, and In the Buff on the browbone. I did not adequately blend this look, but it gives you an idea how it looks applied:

I SEE YOU

also wearing Clinique High Impact mascara, Prestige Powerful Purple
Total Intensity eyeliner

from a normal-person distance

The Classic trio has Satin Sheets, a semi-sheer rose gold shimmer; Sugar Walls [I wasn't sure how this fit into the theme until googling the meaning, and good lord is that raunchy!], a light mauve shimmer with silver glitter; and Garter Belt, a matte grey.

left to right: Satin Sheets, Sugar Walls, Garter Belt

They recommend Sugar Walls [bahahaha] on the lid, Satin Sheets on the browbone, and Garter Belt along the outer lashline, but I wore Garter Belt lightly in the crease as well, since I felt like it lacked definition without that.

no mascara or eyeliner this time

now, with mascara! (Maybelline Volum' Express
One by One, to be precise)

The Fashion trio contains Birthday Suit, a semi-sheer beige shimmer; Lap Dance, a purple-leaning taupe shimmer; and French Tickler, a very dark brown with gold glitter.

left to right: Birthday Suit, Lap Dance, French Tickler

The look for this has Lap Dance on the lid, French Tickler in the outer corner, and Birthday Suit to highlight. For more dramz, I bring French Tickler up into the crease, but wore it as suggested here.

Clinique High Impact mascara, no eyeliner

whole shebang, with Clinique Mightiest Maraschino on lips

The textures and pigmentation for most shades are good. All the highlight shades are sheer enough to work as intended, though I do sometimes wish Satin Sheets were more pigmented so I could easily wear it on my lid (it's the only rose gold I have, and it takes a lot of layers to build it up to opacity). The mattes are soft and smooth, though a wee bit powdery, and I've used Garter Belt in my brows when I didn't have my usual options. Sugar Walls is somewhat gritty and prone to fall-out, so I don't wear it very often, but French Tickler is gorgeously pigmented and blendable and I don't have issues with stray glitter. I use Lap Dance a lot; one of my go-to eyes is it on the lid, Garter Belt in the crease, and In the Buff on the browbone, which illustrates another nice fact about this palette––the shades are versatile, so there's no need to stick to their suggested trios. Over primer, I have no issues with wear or creasing.

here's the whole line-up for reference

I didn't bother doing comparison swatches for most shades, but I have so many taupes that I wanted to figure out where Lap Dance fit in the line-up.

left to right, one swipe on moisturized skin: Urban Decay Underground, L'Oreal Bronzed Taupe, LMdB Corinthian,
Too Faced Lap Dance, Guerlain Les Fumés right, Tarina Tarantino Fantastical top, theBalm Selfish

It's kind of hilarious the range of things that get called "taupe", but regardless: Lap Dance is most similar to the Guerlain, though it's darker and not as shimmery, and is close in depth to theBalm, though less brown and cooler.

I'm not crazy about the juvenility (holy shit, that's a word?!) of the outer package design, but the packaging besides that is pretty ideal––it's tin, and therefore durable, and is thin, lightweight, and compact. Definitely better than the old TF palettes! A mirror would be a nice addition, but I guess we can't have everything.

Overall, I'm really pleased with this palette. It has a lot of choices that combine well, and the range of shades means it could suffice perfectly well all on its own (say, for a trip, because I'm not about to imagine getting rid of all my eyeshadows...). If you're in the market for a cool-toned alternative to the glut of warm-leaning neutral palettes, it's definitely worth a look!

Overview
$36 for 0.39 oz (3 x 0.07 oz, 6 x 0.03 oz), available from Sephora, Too Faced, Ulta, among others

Quality: 8.75
Effectiveness: 4.5 (thus far, these shadows have not made my eyes "so sweet and seductive that when someone looks into them, they get lost inside" [also, HAHAHAHA])
Ease of Use: 4.75
Senses: 5
Pigmentation: 4.5
Duration: 5
Consistency: 4.5
Price: 2
Value: 4.75
Packaging: +0.25 (it's really, really great for travel)
Grade: B+

What do you think of Boudoir Eyes? Which look is your favorite?