Got A Little Carried Away With Tarte

Okay, so earlier I spilled the beans and told you guys about my little shopping spree.  Well, it would only be fair of me to also show n' tell you what I got.  Again, it wasn't but two eyeshadow palettes and two lip products, but I feel guilty nonetheless.  Well, I did until I opened the boxes and started sampling the goods...

So this regal looking beauty (above) is the Tarte Carried Away Collector's Set - one of Tarte's early offerings for the upcoming holidays.  It is my first time purchasing anything from Tarte and I figured this would be a good way to get familiar with the brand and some of its products.  I actually purchased this and another palette of theirs which I will review later.

Tarte is a cosmetics company that prides itself on the use of natural ingredients that not only look good, but are good for you.  Their products are paraben-free and infused with vitamins and other skin benefiting properties.  I'd heard a lot about their Amazonian Clay blushes, (which they also have in a holiday set consisting of four new shades) but wasn't really interested in the colors offered.  Besides, I have enough blushes.  So I decided to take a look at their shadows.

This particular set comes with 24 full-sized eyeshadows, 8 lip glosses, 1 travel sized blush, 1 domed blush brush, 1 mini mascara and a sample sized finishing powder.  Action packed, right?  And it all comes in a pretty purple and gold travel case, housed in a pink and gold box that's prepped perfectly for gift giving.

Tri-fold case snaps in front

Okay, when I tell you that the eyeshadows are so pretty... Wow.  The colors are really rich looking.  And, thankfully, that's how most of them feel, too.  They are buttery soft and very pigmented; there were only two shades that were flaky.  And when I say flaky I mean that they didn't really swatch well and weren't as pigmented.  They "flaked" on my finger.  You'll see.  But overall, I am very happy and excited about this palette.  Two out of twenty-four?  Not bad!

See the second swatch from the top?  Flaky!  Boo!

Flaky culprit #1 (middle)

Again, second from the top - Flaky shadow #2.

Flaky culprit #2 (middle)

The Amazonian Clay blush in Adventurous (below) is described as a "shimmering rose" and is very nicely pigmented.  Very happy, happy, happy!

 

3/4 View of Blush Brush

Side view

I did not swatch the lip glosses because, well... they're typical lip glosses!  They provide a nice wash of color to lips, work fantastic over lipsticks and smell of mint.  If you are familiar with Make Up Forever's HD finishing powder then you are already familiar with Tarte's offering: it's a white, translucent powder used to set your foundation/concealer, leaving a smooth, "soft focus" finish.  Mascara, haven't tried it yet but heard good things about it.  But my real interest here was the shadows and blush.  And I must say that I am pleased with my purchase. 

I believe this set, along with their other holiday sets, are being sold at Sephora.  However, Ulta also carries an exclusive holiday set from Tarte (I believe it may be a lip gloss set?).  The retail for Carried Away is $54.00 and for all you get, including the travel bag, it's more than a great deal.  You do the math.