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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In Review: Tarte Tartelette 2 In Bloom Palette

Tarte are a brand I am still looking to explore. In the UK it is pretty difficult to get a hold of although nevertheless I have got my hands on their two Tartelette palettes so far. If you read my January Favourites, then you would have seen me mention the latest Tartelette palette, Tartelette 2 In Bloom. Essentially a newer update on the original Tartelette palette although this time featuring a few shimmer/metallic shades opposed to being all matte like the first edition. Whilst I have had the first Tartelette palette for a while I haven’t properly reviewed it, so if you would like to see that then let me know! However having tried this palette, I am totally obsessed and definitely prefer this latest one to the previous.

Starting with the packaging and the availability etc. The palette comes encased in a similar way to the original palette with a hard outer casing that is in a beautiful rose gold shade. As it does have the hard casing it does make it feel a lot more secure and sturdy. The design on the front features a very pretty spring appropriate pink/purple floral pattern which is ever so aesthetically pleasing. Inside the palette, it features a full mirror on one side which is pretty handy. I never really use compact/palette mirrors but if you do it is a pretty good size! Like the original, it also comes with a double-ended brush. I like using my own brushes although this one is pretty decent. It comes with a flatter blush at one side and then a fluffier brush which is angled to really help get into the crease. The brush comes alone rather than fitting in the palette but considering the value of a Tarte brush, it is a pretty good deal! In the UK, you can get Tarte via QVC and the prices vary quite often. At the time of writing, you are looking around the £30 mark which is pretty decent and a good bit cheaper than the UD and Too Faced palettes!

On to the actual contents of the palette. There is 12 eyeshadows inside, mostly matte besides the addition of three shimmery shades. The arrangement of the palette is also pretty helpful as there is three rows of shadows with each row sticking to a colour theme that can be used to create a full look with lighter base shades to darker crease colours. The first row follows a taupe, greige-y colour scheme and isn’t too far from the likes of the Naked 2 palette. The shade Jetsetter in this row is a standout for me, a really buttery smooth soft taupe matte shade which works great as a base. On to the next row, the shades are a little warmer with more brown-y tan shades. The shade Firecracker is probably my favourite from the whole palette. This is a bronze shimmer and is so incredibly pigmented, it applies like a wet loose pigment! It is just the most perfect bronze-y shade you will ever need! The last row is probably my favourite selection from the palette with more warm burgundy, rosy tones. There is a gorgeous champagne shade for the inner corner and then a couple of dark burgundy shades great for warming up the crease.

Thinking of the shadows as a whole, the mattes are incredibly buttery and smooth. For me it is a huge improvement on the original palette as I did struggle working with some shades in the previous palette. This palette in fact has pretty much drawn me to all matte eyeshadow looks which is something I wouldn’t have worn before. The shimmers are nice too with Firecracker performing the best with a super soft texture. All in all, these shadows are all really good quality and I’ve been getting a lot of wear out of them! The longevity is also much better than the original palette and these shadows are pretty long lasting on me. So overall, a pretty good purchase! Also, apologies for no swatches I had a little difficulty with that, but do check out Temptalia’s here!

Have you tried the Tartelette palettes?

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