I was afraid to buy this palette because there was a lot of people that said it's performance was poor. There were a lot of people who loved it too though! What polarizing opinions.
I had a discount for the tarte website so I choose to spend a little more money on this palette because it had a variety of colours that appealed to me more than the other Tarte palettes. Because I bought this palette on the Tarte website, I wanted to be sure of my choice so I stood in Sephora swatching colour after colour from every one of their palettes. They all had a different texture than I was use to but the pigmentation seemed the same throughout. This palette swatched amazing. I've had this palette for maybe a year now. Here's what I think:
The packaging is great quality but it gets dirty fast. The mirror gets covered in kick-up and the black packaging shows makeup like crazy.
The vanilla scent smells great. It's unnecessary but it doesn't irritate my eyes so i'm okay with it.
I had a discount for the tarte website so I choose to spend a little more money on this palette because it had a variety of colours that appealed to me more than the other Tarte palettes. Because I bought this palette on the Tarte website, I wanted to be sure of my choice so I stood in Sephora swatching colour after colour from every one of their palettes. They all had a different texture than I was use to but the pigmentation seemed the same throughout. This palette swatched amazing. I've had this palette for maybe a year now. Here's what I think:
The packaging is great quality but it gets dirty fast. The mirror gets covered in kick-up and the black packaging shows makeup like crazy.
The vanilla scent smells great. It's unnecessary but it doesn't irritate my eyes so i'm okay with it.
The colour selection is perfect to create wearable looks but it can also create glam looks.
All the shadows are pigmented enough with a brush to please me. Some are SO pigmented, some are buildable, and some are sheer (the lightest shades). The lightest to mid-tone shades are soft and powdery. The darker shades are hard, more grainy and don't have kick up.
I mainly use the same 6 (neutral) shadows everytime which is funny because that's the exact opposite reason of why I wanted it. I wanted it because of those pops of colours. That's not the palettes fault. I just like my comfortable, boring looks mostly. I love the shade Indie. I've made a good dent in it because I use it everyday in my crease and to contour my nose. I also use the shades Classic and Vintage daily to set my eyeshadow primer. I mix the dark brown and black shade constantly to fill in my brows.
All the shadows are pigmented enough with a brush to please me. Some are SO pigmented, some are buildable, and some are sheer (the lightest shades). The lightest to mid-tone shades are soft and powdery. The darker shades are hard, more grainy and don't have kick up.
I mainly use the same 6 (neutral) shadows everytime which is funny because that's the exact opposite reason of why I wanted it. I wanted it because of those pops of colours. That's not the palettes fault. I just like my comfortable, boring looks mostly. I love the shade Indie. I've made a good dent in it because I use it everyday in my crease and to contour my nose. I also use the shades Classic and Vintage daily to set my eyeshadow primer. I mix the dark brown and black shade constantly to fill in my brows.
ADRESSING THE 'CONTROVERSY'
1. Are the dark shades rough feeling?
Yes, a few of the daker shades feel rough and almost grainy when finger swatching. Regardless, these shades are still pigmented and work.
2. Do the shades muddy together?
This is kind of true but I didn't have much of a problem with it. A lot of the shades are pretty similar and dull in colour. The shade Mod in particular has a hard time staying vibrant when blending out with a brush. Looks way better in a swatch. The muddying is not something I really experience because I mostly use similar shades together. It's down to technique and desired look. If you use a bunch of different colours together, you might be frustrated when blending.
3. Are the duochromes really duochromes?
There is one true duo-chrome which is the shade Trendy. The rest are mostly beautiful metallics, especially the shade Ethereal.
4. Are the shades inconsistent?
The lightest shades are the most powdery and sheer. The mid-tone shades consistently have the 'Tarte eyeshadow' feeling. Whimsy is a great shade, probably the best in the palette. The darkest shades are much more stiff and gritty but have a very good pigmentation regardless.
5. Does the black packaging show dirt?
Oh yes it does, this palette gets dirty like no other. Most matte black packaging do...
FINAL CONSENSUS
As someone who's used high end and low end shadows and creates every kind of makeup look this palette leaves me feeling very satisfied with the wearable matte looks I create but frustrated with the more jaw-dropping looks. For example, if I wanted to create a vibrant more foiled look like this look, I wouldn't be able to with this palette. It's not on that level.
I feel the intense hate on this palette is undeserved. I also feel the intense love on this palette is undeserved. It's good but it's not that good. '5/5 star good' is hard to hit for me. For me the issue is that it's got minor inconsistencies, limitations and challenges to work with which for the $70 CAD / $53 USD price, it has room for improvement. Das all i'm sayin'!
For the average makeup wearer, this is a great daily palette!!! It has pretty much every kind of shadow you will need to create look you will actually go out in. It's also very easy to use when doing wearable looks.
Hope this helps you decide if it's something for you!
I feel the intense hate on this palette is undeserved. I also feel the intense love on this palette is undeserved. It's good but it's not that good. '5/5 star good' is hard to hit for me. For me the issue is that it's got minor inconsistencies, limitations and challenges to work with which for the $70 CAD / $53 USD price, it has room for improvement. Das all i'm sayin'!
For the average makeup wearer, this is a great daily palette!!! It has pretty much every kind of shadow you will need to create look you will actually go out in. It's also very easy to use when doing wearable looks.
Hope this helps you decide if it's something for you!
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