Yesterday, in the midst of a much-needed shopping day with my mom (my best gal pal - what mom isn't?), I came across the
tarte cosmetics display at Ulta. Tarte, a line of all-natural cosmetics, was started by Maureen Kelly in 1999 from her little one bedroom apartment. The cosmetics have since blossomed into a best-selling beauty brand which still maintains its eco-friendly stance. Inspiring, isn't it? I had heard of tarte before, but had never tried any of their products. My mom, who ironically has inherited
my obsession with make-up, was also curious about the line so we decided to get this fabulous starter pack and split the contents. Of course, I couldn't resist trying out everything once (except the bronzer - I don't do bronzers; conveniently, she does) so I thought I'd share my thoughts on the products today.
The set is the
Intro to Tarte 7pc. Kit ($25, Ulta.com) and it's exclusive to Ulta. Here's a list of what it includes (corresponding with the above picture from left to right):
- Mineral Bronzer in Park Ave Princess
- ReCreate silicone free primer with Wrinkle Rewind technology
- emphaEYES Inner Rim Eye pencil in Black
- Lights, Camera Lashes! clinically proven mascara
- Natural Cheek Stain in Flush
- Lifted Natural Eye Primer with Firmitol
- Vitamin Infused Lipgloss in 40 Winks
And here was my result:
However, I'm not using the emphaEYES inner rim eye pencil in this picture; instead I'm using Urban Decay's 24/7 Glide-On pencil in Zero. I like a lot of definition around my eyes and the emphaEYES was a bit too toned-down for me.
My favorite products were the ReCreate primer, Lights Camera Lashes mascara and the Natural Cheek Stain. Being all-natural, these cosmetics are designed to give you a natural look rather than the more theatrical results from other brands, like Urban Decay and MAC. I tend to favor the more theatrical looks for myself, but if you're looking for a good quality everyday make-up I would certainly recommend this. The mascara, which retails at $19, is said to "increase lash volume by 424% and lash curl by 90.2% while lengthening and conditioning." No small feat, to be sure, but it does an excellent job. I'm picky about mascara brushes and this one worked wonderfully for me. The mascara also goes on evenly, it didn't clump at all. The cheek stain is faint, but it goes on well and the color is quite fun. I liked the feeling of the primer; it didn't dry out my face like a lot of others and it provided a very smooth canvas for my foundation. The 40 Winks lipgloss is very minimal, it gives you just a touch of pink and a bit of shine. If you like shiny lips but don't fancy that super-sticky feeling most glosses give you, you might enjoy this one. All-in-all, I quite enjoyed most of these products and I'll certainly be on the look-out for more from this brand.
Have you ever tried tarte cosmetics? If not, I hope this post worked to introduce you to some products you might be interesting in trying out!
