I thought the Tarte Tartelette In Bloom eyeshadow palette would be the perfect neutral palette. And I also thought that it was the ideal eyeshadow palette to travel with.
The perfect travel palette, this is for me the ultimate status for a neutral eyeshadow palette. Indeed, if you can take it with you while traveling for weeks and not get tired of it, it means that it’s the chosen one, doesn’t it? wink
But after several weeks of using it, I realized that I had maybe got a little bit too excited about it when I ordered it. I wouldn’t say it’s a bad palette, but it certainly isn’t as perfect as I was hoping it would be.
So let me explain in detail why:
Tarte Tartelette In Bloom eyeshadow palette, presentation:
What the brand says about it:
“Introducing our tartelette 2 in bloom palette – featuring 12 brand new, never-before-seen shades.
With 9 mattes and 3 lusters, these lid liner and crease pairings allow you to create stunning, smoldering looks without the guesswork.”
Tarte cosmetics products are usually great quality. They are made with Amazonian clay (among other ingredients of course), cruelty-free, gluten-free, paraben + mineral oil + phthalates + triclosan + SLS (Sodium Lauryl Sulfate) -free (let’s be honest here, I don’t really see why some of these ingredients would be in eyeshadow ingredients list anyway but hey, I guess a little green-washing doesn’t hurt, does it Tarte? ;) ). They are also manufactured in the United States.
About the shades inside the palette: it’s a true neutral eyeshadow palette, for classic everyday makeup looks. They are mainly warm neutral colors, with some neutral, slightly cool undertones colors. There’s a big trend for warm colors at the moment, so Tarte didn’t take too much of a risk with the colors in this palette. All the shades are also exclusive to this palette.
The finishes in this palette:
– 9 mattes, perfect for some natural eye makeup looks: Charmer, Jetsetter, Smokeshow, Flower Child, Smarty Pants, Activist, Sweetheart, Rebel, Leader
– 3 shimmery shades, to give some light and dimension to the makeup looks: Rocker, Firecracker, Funny Girl.
The eyeshadows smells like chocolate or vanilla, I’m not sure but it’s a sweet scent. I don’t really have an opinion on it. For me, it doesn’t add anything to the palette, but it doesn’t really bother me.
Tarte Tartelette In Bloom eyeshadow palette, my test and thoughts:
– Packaging and praticity:
My favorite part of this palette: compact, sleek, with a mirror, it’s very practical. You can put it very easily into a travel bag and it’s robust enough to be taken about without fear that it will break. And the packaging is also very cute with its pink flower lid, I love it!
Inside the box, there is also a small leaflet with two examples of possible looks to do with the palette, which is quite a nice touch.
– Color and finishes choice, versatility:
To be honest, I was quite disappointed.
I’ve looked at a lot of reviews and swatches on the internet but maybe I was blinded by my desire that this was the perfect travel palette. I also thought that some of the eyeshadows inside the palette were more pink than they are in reality.
Because for me, a perfect neutral palette contains warm eyeshadows as well as cooler shades. And the cool shades I like are the pink and the taupe ones (not grey, they don’t look good on me).
But in fact, the Tartelette In Bloom palette is overall very warm. There are also some neutral shadows but the colors mainly have the same undertone. Maybe 1 or 2 years ago, I would have been delighted with this choice of colors but now I like to vary and combine warm and cool colors to achieve different makeup looks. This is also why I love the ABH Modern Renaissance palette so much, it’s much more versatile!
In this Tarte palette, some of the darker shades look almost the same on the skin and in my opinion, it’s such a waste to have 2 dark browns which look so similar on the skin (Smokeshow and Activist).
As you will see at the end of this review, the makeup looks I did with this palette don’t look super different… So clearly, it’s not a very versatile palette.
About the different finishes, this palette is mainly matte (9 shades of 12), which I like because it’s perfect to do everyday looks (I’m just not very pleased by the color choice but that, you had already understood :) ). The 3 shimmery shades are quite subtle, not very metallic.
– Overall eyeshadows quality:
I’m quite disappointed by the lack of intensity and pigmentation of the shimmery shades. There are only 3 in this palette. But for me, these 3 shades should be the “spice” of this palette. Unfortunately that’s not the case.
Rocker is probably the worst of them. I find it dull (even though I love the color, so it’s really a shame). The other 2 (Firecracker and Funny Girl) are better but if I want them to be more intense, I have no other choice but to use them with a wet brush.
Maybe I’m asking too much and if you like the more subtle shimmery shades, you will be happy with theses 3, I don’t know…
To end on a positive note (after all that lol), I really like the matte eyeshadows in this palette: they are well pigmented, they blend easily and they last pretty well on the skin. Their texture is a little dry, they’re not as creamy as some the other eyeshadows I own but honestly, they apply perfectly well with a brush, so it’s not a concern!
– Value for money:
The value of this eyeshadow palette is pretty good, there are 12 eyeshadows for $45 so it’s pretty decent IMO! wink
– Availability:
The palette is part of the brand’s permanent collection and it can be found on tartecosmetics.com (they deliver internationally).
Tarte Tartelette In Bloom eyeshadow palette, shades and swatches:
– Charmer: a light ivory shade. It’s a matte shade. I use it as a base or as a highlighter shade, under the brow bone or in the inner corner.
– Jetsetter: it’s a very light brown, like a caramel / amber shade. It’s a matte and it’s perfect in the crease for example
– Rocker: a taupe beige shimmery eyeshadow. This one disappoints me, it’s more satin than shimmery and it’s not very luminous. Such a shame because I love this color.
– Smokeshow: a dark brown almost black matte shade. the undertone is neutral, almost cool. I use it to intensify the outer corner or along the lash line, as a liner.
– Flower Child: a matte light orange-beige. I use it as a light transition color (it allows me to blend the other transition shade from below with the lighter ivory shade I apply under the eyebrow, for example) but also as an “eraser” with darker smoky eyes. This is a very useful color, in short! wink
– Smarty Pants: a light orange shade with a slightly ochre undertone, perfect as transition shade for very intense and dark smokey eyes or even used by itself on the entire eyelid.
– Firecracker: a bronze shimmery shade, perfect applied all over the eyelid. I prefer use it with a wet brush to reveal its metallic intensity.
– Activist: a dark warm brown matte shade. I use it to intensify the outer corner or along the lash line, as a liner.
– Funny Girl: a light golden shimmery eyeshadow. Like Firecracker, it reveals its metallic intensity used with a wet brush. I use it as an highlighter in the inner corner of the eye or on the center of the eyelid.
– Sweetheart: I was hoping this shade would be pink and it’s actually a peachy shade. The undertone is quite warm and it’s a light shade. I use it as a transition color but honestly, it’s a shadow that I find a bit useless in this palette… (I would have preferred a cooler shade, it would have given it more versatility to this palette) It’s still a pretty shade though.
– Rebel: a warm chocolate shade. It’s a matte finish. I use it as a dark transition shade or in the outer corner or also, applied all over the lid for a brown smoky eye.
– Leader: I thought this was a burgundy color but it’s a matte brown with a slightly red undertone. Too bad, I would have loved a burgundy shade in this palette! But it’s still a very nice shade though and if I had to skip one of these three dark eyeshadows of this palette, it would probably have been Smokeshow or Activist, which I find too similar on the skin.
Finally, here are several makeup looks I did with the Tarte Tartelette In Bloom eyeshadow palette:
– Look 1:
For this look, I applied Charmer all over the eyelid, Sweetheart in the crease, Jetsetter and Rocker on the eyelid, Rebel in the outer V , Leader along the lash lines and Funny Girl in the inner corner.
My lipstick: Bite Beauty Amuse Bouche Meringue.
– Look 2:
Here, I applied Charmer and Flowerchild all over the eyelid, Jetsetter and Smarty Pants in the crease, Leader in the outer V and along the lash line, Firecracker on the eyelid and Funny Girl in the inner corner. My liner is the Grandiôse Liner by Lancôme.
On my lips: Vice Lisptick Sheer Liar by Urban Decay.
– Look 3:
A matte makeup look:
I applied Charmer and Flower Child all over the eyelid, Smarty Pants and Rebel in the crease, Activist on the eyelid, Leader in the outer V and along the lash line, and Charmer in the inner corner.
On my lips: Estée Lauder Pure Color Envy Shine in the shade Innocent.
– Look 4:
For this look, I applied Charmer all over the eyelid, Smarty Pants in the crease, Flower Child and Firecracker (wet) on my eyelid, Activist along the lash lines and Funny Girl (wet) in the inner corner.
On my lips: Ofra Cosmetics liquid lipstick in the shade Bel Air.
In summary:
[wprs-pros][wprs-cons]
It’s not a bad eyeshadow palette because I really like the good quality of the Tarte eyeshadows, but I don’t think it’s a must-have. I was disappointed by the color choice and the shimmery shades are not intense enough for me.
In short: not bad but could have done better. wink
Tarte Tartelette In Bloom eyeshadow palette is available on tartecosmetics.com for $45 (and the brand delivers internationally).
Do you know the Tarte Tartelette In Bloom eyeshadow palette? What do you think of the color choice in this palette? Boring or not? wink
Photo credit: bonnie-garner.com