In Review: Tarte Tartelette Palette

I’ve already covered the Tartelette 2 palette (here) and it is clearly about time that I reviewed the original Tarte Tartelette palette. Also, having tried the two editions of the popular palette I can also lend a hand in comparisons behind the two, so does this one beat my beloved Tartelette 2?

AVAILABILITY/PRICE

Starting with the general info on the palette. As I have covered before, Tarte is pretty difficult to get a hold of outwith countries that (luckily) have a Sephora store. In the UK, Tarte is only available via QVC so annoyingly it is an online only brand. I believe their own Tarte website also offers international shipping however this may come at a high cost. In the UK at the moment (QVC’s prices can vary now and again) it retails for £35 and £33 on the own brand Tarte website which are fairly standard for the price of a high end eyeshadow palette.

PACKAGING

Yup, a whole section dedicated to the packaging. It is important, okay. Both of the palettes have a similar outer sturdy encasing which is in an eye catching gold with a purple ombre top. The second palette is nicer looking with the floral design but it isn’t necessarily a big deal! Again, this palette features a full lid length mirror inside which I know many people will appreciate. Also, the palette comes with a double-sided brush, if you have bought from Tarte before you may be aware of their much generosity when it comes to added on brushes!

SHADES

Compared to the Tartelette 2, this palette is much more cooler in tone. If you are into cooler shades then this might be more suited to your tastes. Again there is 12 shades in this palette with all 12 being matte compared to the Tartelette 2 that features a few shimmery shades. What I really like about these palettes is the layout of the shades with each row corresponding to a different look with the light shades first working up to the darker shades. The good thing here is that it also means you can create a full look with this palette with great light shades, transition colours and darker crease colours too. Looking at the colour range in the palette, the first row is the warmest you will get with more brown-y toned shades. The next two are much cooler in tone with the second having a lilac-y purple tone to it and the last a more grey smoke-y vibe.

FORMULA

 The most important part and sadly the part were this palette disappoints. Starting with the pigmentation, the colour pay off varies which you may be able to see from the swatches. A couple of shades such as the last shade has pretty decent pigmentation but others fall short. The lightest shades are pretty sheer and didn’t swatch well but that is usually expected. The real issue I had however with the formula was the blend-ability. I felt like many of the shades were hard to work with, they just didn’t blend well and they also were a little tricky to pick up on a brush. It is a strong contrast from the Tartelette 2 palette which I actually believe to have an incredible buttery smooth formula. The lasting power is also pretty poor as the colour seems to slide off my lids and crease in no time.

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS

What is a beautifully presented palette with a good range of neutral shades falls short when it comes to the formula. For any eyeshadow beginners out there, I wouldn’t recommend this palette as it definitely requires much extra effort in the blending department. However if you are eager to try the Tarte eyeshadow range then I cannot recommend the Tartelette 2 palette enough. Probably one of my favourite ever palettes, the shade range is more appealing and the formula is much superior and longer lasting.

Have you tried the Tartelette palettes?

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