Tarte Cosmetics has had the opportunity to work with HBO’s True Blood makeup artist to create some limited edition products inspired by the hit show. I’ll be reviewing the Tarte for True Blood Limited-Edition Palette here.
Overall Impressions
The color variety is very nice but I think the shades lend themselves more to fall and winter looks than spring or summer. I love that there are several matte and/or low shimmer shades (the light, fairy, dusk, werewolf, stake, legend). As with any other palette I’ve ever bought, I’m not a fan of the shades with large pieces of glitter in them (waitress, telepath) because the glitter ends up all over my face by the end of the night. I do, however, love the shades with loads of shimmer (noctournal, bayou, charmer, the true death, moss, “V”). The matte black (legend) and the glittery black (immortal) are pretty much useless as far as I’m concerned because every other palette out there has similar colors. I wish all brands would stop putting matte or glittery black colors in their palettes because they are a waste of space and I’d bet most people already have enough similar colors from other brands.
Tarte’s products are all natural, and as such, they may not be of the consistency you are used to in other brands like Urban Decay. But, for natural products, I think the quality is very high, but does vary slightly from shade to shade.
My favorite shades and ideas for looks
I am very impressed with the matte (dusk, werewolf, stake) and low shimmer shades (the light, fairy). They are more blendable than some other matte shades I’ve used and can be used to create some very nice classic, natural looks.
The true death is a lovely metallic silver color, and although I’ve got a ton of other silver shades, I think this might be one of my favorite ever. The quality is very high and it has loads of metallic sheen when applied.
Noctournal is one of the most unique colors, I think. Its a navy blue color with tons of blue shimmer in it. I’ve never seen another shade like it and it can be used to create a very sexy dark dramatic eye when paired with a black or a used for a blue smokey eye when paired with some other blue shades from other brands.
Glamour me is a very lovely plum shade and will pair well with a ton of other shades in the palette (bayou, telepath, fairy, charmer, the true death, “V”) depending on the look you are going for.
Moss and “V” are both very pretty, unique colors but I don’t think they are quite as wearable as most of the other shades. But if you are the type that likes to go for very colorful eye makeup, you will love these.
Honestly, the only colors I don’t really care for are waitress & telepath because they have way too much glitter and legend & immortal because I already have tons of shades just like them.
Value
This palette is a great value, at $52. It has 17 shades, and other than the matte and shimmery blacks, they are all fairly unique and should be a welcome addition to even the largest of makeup collections. It is possible to create a ton of varied looks from this palette, from natural matte looks to dark smokey looks to bright colorful looks. This is a very versatile palette and perfect for the coming fall and winter.
Packaging
The packaging for this product is absolutely adorable. The 17 shades are revealed by pulling up on a magnetically sealed top flap adorned with a red and black laced corset design. There is a mirror on the lid. There is a plastic overlay that has the names of the shades on it. I’m not a fan of this as I’d like the names to be on the actual packaging so they are less likely to get lost but most people don’t really need to know the names of the colors so I doubt this is an issue for everyone.
There is a tray below label “Open After Dark” that contains a full size emphasEYES™ aqua-gel eyeliner in black, a deluxe lights, camera, lashes! clinically-proven natural mascara and a deluxe lifted™ natural eye primer with Firmitol™. I’ll talk about each of these products in detail below.
Tarte also includes a laminated folder with instructions on creating 4 looks from the palette.
emphasEYES™ aqua-gel eyeliner
I pretty much hate this eyeliner. The applicator is not very precise and when I used it on my waterline it was extremely irritating for my eyes. My eyes basically watered and burned so much I had to remove all my eye makeup after an hour. And I do not have sensitive eyes. If I use just a little bit of this eyeliner on just to create wings it doesn’t bother my eyes, but since the application is so imprecise, it’s not ideal for this purpose either. I was unable to use this liner to create any of the looks they have in their book, but I think I would be able to with a finer tipped eyeliner brush and some other brand of gel eyeliner.
lights, camera, lashes! mascara
I am very much a fan of this mascara. It separates and creates massive volume. It is not clumpy at all and lasts all day. What else can you ask for in a mascara? Tarte includes deluxe samples of this mascara with pretty much every special edition product they put out so if you like it you may not need to rush out and buy a full-sized product just yet. If you buy a lot of Tarte products, you may find yourself with several of these sample tubes of mascara.
lifted™ natural eye primer with Firmitol™
This primer works fine as a primer. The product comes in a small tube with an applicator attached to the lid. I prefer my primer to come in a tube without an applicator like Too Faced’s Shadow Insurance because I like having more control over the amount of product I can apply but other than that, I think this is a good product. I can’t vouch for the firming, lifting aspect that Tarte advertises because I haven’t used it long enough to see a difference, but it does do a good job of keeping one’s eye makeup on all day without creases.
Pros
- Tons of unique shades
- Includes eyeliner, primer, and mascara
- Can be used to create a variety of looks
- Products are all natural
Cons
- Some shades too glittery
- A couple shades may be similar to ones you already have
- Eyeliner isn’t that great
Rating
I would definitely give this product 5 out of 5 stars for its uniqueness, attractive product design, value, and variety of possible looks that can be made using this palette alone.
