REVIEW & SWATCHES: Tartelette Palette

ITEM: Tarte Tartelette Palette (Aus: Buy at Sydney Sephora. U.S. link HERE)
RRP: $68AUD (Sydney Price) $44USD (U.S. Price)

So there is obviously a lot of hype circulating around this product so... you know I had to go out and get my hands on it. As soon as I saw it in Sephora (Sydney), I grabbed it and was at the register. I have used it a couple of times and feel I can sufficiently review the product now!

Whether or not you like the product inside, there are few things I want to start off with that make this product irresistible for so many people - the packaging and the mirror. The packaging is a beautiful gradient purple with gold detailing (exactly like the box). It's absolutely gorgeous. It's comfortable in the hand and light weight. Although I think it could've been a bit thicker and sturdier, I don't think it's cheap feeling or looking.

Then when you open the packaging (which is a safe clicking one so it doesn't just come loose in your bag), there is a beautiful big mirror. I personally love palettes that come with big mirrors because I love to use that when I'm travelling, in the car or even on a day to day basis. This one is a good quality mirror that's so big it can fit my entire face (close-up)! I love it. I also love that it has the names of the shades right under the shadow (unlike say the Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette - the original).

Okay so that's all the 'non-product' type stuff. Let's get into the nitty-gritty and talk about the product itself. Let's start with one of the most unique and obvious things about the palette - it's an all matte palette. So if you're a shimmer-y sparkly type of gal, then this might not be your cup of tea. However, I personally love matte eyeshadows and an all matte palette gets a huge thumbs up from me.

Then, the colour range within the palette is beautiful. On first sight you can see a beautiful array of neutral shades with some cool tones, some slightly purple based tones, and then some warm tones. I love that the palette is set out logically - each row has it's own "vibe" and then each column serves a similar purpose - all over lid/highlight; transition; crease/outer corner; deepening the outer corner/liner. It just makes sense!

So here's a close up shot of the palette. I apologise that it's not the best shot but this palette was very hard to photograph because of the huge mirror (that doesn't bend back the whole way) and the reflective gold surface of the palette. This doesn't detract from the palette itself, it just made it an absolute pain to take pictures of!

Top Row L-R:
Free Spirit - Force of Nature - Dreamer - Multi-Tasker
Middle Row L-R:
Caregiver - Natural Beauty - Best Friend - Bombshell
Bottom Row L-R:
Super Mom - Wanderer - Power Player - Fashionista

As you will see in the below swatches, the pigmentation of these colours were generally on point. The swatches seem patchy but that's because I had an excessively moisturised arm (and it was quite a humid day) so my arm itself wasn't the best surface for swatching. However after using it on my eyes after swatching, the colours did blend and did not skip on the eye. The darker colours however were more difficult to blend than the lighter ones (but I do think that's something to expect with every single eyeshadow formulation out there).

Another positive was that the lighter shades were all quite distinguishable. The first (Free Spirit) pulled a nice yellow-based cream shade. The second (Caregiver) is a beautiful pinky-purple shade. The third (Super Mom) is a neutral cream shade. They are actually not similar when on the skin, making them quite useful in their own way.

Unfortunately, I do have to agree with the negatives that I have read about this palette - the colours have a tendency to blend "into" each other. I think all the darker shades were not distinct enough and so when you try to layer them to create depth and dimension to your look, they all just blur into one deep shade. You can actually even predict that happening looking at the below swatches.

Another negative that I found was that they were a little powder-y and made my eyelids look a little bit dry. I normally set my eye primer (the NARS Smudge Proof Eye Base) with a cream colour just to help blend other shades that I put on my eyes. However, when I put any of the cream colours onto my lid for this purpose, my eyelids looked dry and crepe-y. It's not something that happens to me often so I was pretty surprised. Despite this, the rest of the colours did blend well on the eye lid area on top of a powder base (blended so well it just mixed together).

Top Row L-R:

Free Spirit - Force of Nature - Dreamer - Multi-Tasker

As you can see, this first set of swatches really didn't turn out the best. But like I said earlier, please remember that my arms were not in the best condition for swatching. In saying that, as aforementioned, the darker colours are not easily distinguishable. (Dreamer & Multitasker). 

Middle Row L-R:

Caregiver - Natural Beauty - Best Friend - Bombshell

Bombshell here is clearly a deep dark purple. However, when put on the eye, it is really not very different from a complete black. Natural Beauty however is a beautiful transition shade.

Bottom Row L-R:

Super Mom - Wanderer - Power Player - Fashionista

Wanderer and Power Player are not too distinct in colour on the eye, but there is a subtle difference when swatched.

Overall: The packaging and the outside of the palette is fantastic. The colour range and idea of an all-matte palette is fantastic. The shade range and pigmentation is also fantastic. However, I do find that the colours are a little bit powder-y and dry. They do not apply as smoothly as some other eyeshadows, and I do find that the colours tend to blend into one another on the eye (it's hard to distinguish them when applied). The darker shades are also slightly harder to blend than I would like. I actually do like the palette though. I feel that I can make a versatile range of looks, the colours are super pigmented so it doesn't take long to build up colour. Just feel the formula isn't the best on the market.

Rating: 6.5/10