Share: Tell us what you love and hate about Tarte!
my answer: I wish they had a permanent range of eyeshadows, and then I’d love to see them pull in some of those when they repeat through their limited edition/seasonal palettes.
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I would love permanent eyeshadows. They have really good shadows, but they have a tendency to repeat them a lot in different palettes (see: Tartelette palette vs. the Poppy Picnic palette).
The good: blush.
The bad: the world’s most boring eyeshadows.
The ugly: much like “everyone who wants Orgasm/Laguna already has Orgasm/Laguna,” everyone who wants Park Ave. Princess already has Park Ave. Princess.
I totally agree!
Of course one could argue that if someone already own Orgasm/Laguna/Park Avenue Princess, etc…, obviously it’s something they like/would use, so what’s the problem? At least the names are listed, and you have free will to buy or not!
Its just irritating. I own orgasm 3 times over as they include it in everything, variety is good.
At least NARS makes 99%+ of palette shades available by themselves, which gives the consumer the *option*. That is one reason I personally prefer to buy NARS eyeshadow singles/duos & blush/bronzers separately. I also prefer to not buy an entire palette for one eyeshadow shade I don’t have, even if it is “LE”, as there’s usually something close enough in the permanent range.
But if you’re a fan of their palettes (the ones with shadows, highlighter, bronzer and blush), and you have 2 or 3 palettes already, you have LOTS of Park Avenue Princess and you might really want the other items in the palette but get stuck with yet ANOTHER Park Ave (which, for someone like me, who rarely uses bronzer, it a bit annoying)
All their lip products are pretty strongly mint-scented, so I can’t even try any of them!
Agree! I’m allergic to peppermint oil and it’s in so many lip products. I bought 2 tarte lip glosses that don’t have mint in them but I had to return because they tasted like dish soap. #can’twin
I think the products tarte offers are over-hyped and overrated. Most of the products I have tried are not high quality. I have a ton of issues with their products like I could not sharpen the eyeliner without it breaking; foundcealer smelled like chemicals; and their eyeshadow does not last very long. I have contacted them, but they don’t seem to care about my issues.
They are doing a great job marketing their products by using bloggers. The bloggers get me excited and then I am disappointed once I receive the product.
Overall, I am disappointed with the brand.
Good: 12-hour Amazonian Blushes
Disappointing: pretty much everything else (I’m looking at you, mysterious tone-changing Park Avenue Princess!)
My biggest issue with the brand is that they’ve gone the “cheap” route by adding ingredients like talc as a filler. One of the selling points for me when I began buying tarte was the fact “clean” ingredients were used, and there really isn’t anything tarte offers that I can’t find anywhere else.
Another issue is the fact the same shades are constantly recycled, but different names are used. At least other brands use the same names so the consumer goes in knowing what they’re buying. I don’t have an issue with the specific shades/colors, but if I’m going to buy repeats, I at least want to make an informed decision.
I also miss the concept of reusing the palettes, especially now that such pretty ones are being created…
Rave: Absolutely adore their lip products and blushes!
Rant: Park Ave. Princess is straight orange on me, so it’s a TOTAL bust. Not to mention that ALL of their base products are WAAAAAYYYYY too yellow for me. So no foundation/BB Cream/TM/Powder from them for me 🙁
I completely agree with you regarding the yellow/orange base in their products! Very disappointing.
I guess this is when my yellow toned Asian skin wins because their foundation is the perfect amount of yellow for me. Most brands with yellow toned base products will go from lightly yellow to straight tan and skip those that are like a medium golden color so I really appreciate that.
HATE- The quality of the blushes, they wear off after 3 hours, and I have dry skin; the stripper dust glitter in the bronzes, as well as orange tones; how poorly the mascara wears.
They have nice color ranges in blushes but their quality is so MEH that it’s like throwing $$ away.
I was suckered in by the beautiful colors (especially the mattes), but the quality of their eye shadows disappoints me every time. I don’t get the hype about their blushes at all, especially Park Ave Princess which they feel compelled to put into every palette. And reusing the same shadows but reassigning names is not cool; Too Faced is very guilty of this as well but I still buy Too Faced and have sworn off Tarte.
It’s probably just because tester products sit out open so much, but everything I try from them just feels so… dry and flaky. I move on immediately.
I had a lovely tinted BB cream from them that was a perfect match for me though. But in the past few years my skin chemistry may have changed or their formula has because now it turns orange on me after about 15 minutes. So I’m back to looking.
I’ve a few rants. My first would be just what Christine said – have a permanent line of shadows so the ones we love are always available and this would also avoid the really annoying thing – the way they come out with “new” eyeshadow palettes in which many of the shades are the same as in the “old” palettes, only with different names. Also – apparently, on QVC some time ago, they launched an amazing new liquid foundation. It’s never been available anywhere else and, being in Canada, I couldn’t get it. I emailed them and they said it would be coming to a wider market “in the near future”. This was probably 2 years ago…. And a 3rd thing – a few years ago, they came out with a holiday set of their jumbo shadow liner pencils and in that, there was the most gorgeous colour called Rainforest Black. They are fools for not making that one permanent. ‘Kay, rant over! Rave – I love their blushes, I love their face palettes, I love their maracuja skin products…
I think shipping to Canada is a bit more expensive on the tarte website, but here’s the liquid foundation I think you’re talking about: http://tartecosmetics.com/tarte-item-colored-clay-liquid-foundation-spf-15
(I love it too by the way! It’s soooo light and has such an amazingly smooth and even texture, even when applying with my fingers)
Ooooh, this is good to know because I think the last time I looked on the Tarte site, it wasn’t there. This could mean it’s coming to Sephora soon. I just can’t bring myself to order foundation online without trying it and that factor plus the shipping, possibly duty and then Canadian taxes as well – it makes the price a bit steep….and it’s even worse if the colour isn’t a great match or if I don’t like it.
QVC/HSN have a lot of “exclusives”, from many different brands. I don’t care for online shopping, so even though a product is “available” to me, I still have to wait. I’m currently waiting for the Lancome contour sticks to make it to counters…
I really love Tarte; it’s one of my favorite brands. I have many more raves than rants.
Rant: Lately they’re doing eyeshadows in nothing but earth tones, and they seem to be repeating colors. Or at least, making colors so similar to pre-existing shades I can’t tell the difference. They don’t have eye shadow singles available. The latest palettes have not been up to snuff. The maracuja bronzing serum didn’t work on me even after weeks of use, and made my eyes burn. I didn’t use it on or around my eyes; I think it was a fragrance agent, as I’ve used marajuca on my face before with no issues. (Other people love it, so it’s not necessarily a terrible product, just terrible for me.)
Rave: They have so many good products, and I love the textures of their makeup. With the exception of the bronzing serum, nothing has bothered my eye and skin allergies. They have great blushes; Exposed is the perfect shade to go with everything. I love their eyeshdows: velvet, rich and pigmented. The Tartelette palette is especially outstanding. I never would have thought I’d fall in love with a matte nude palette, but I did. Their gel liners are the smoothest I’ve ever used. Their eyeliner pencils, lipsurgence chubbies, and Lights, Camera, Lashes mascara are excellent. When they do none-neutral eyeshadows, they’re beautiful (the old quads with greens, purples, etc.). The foundcealer is amazing: I hope they sell it by itself soon. Beautiful packaging on special palettes and LE items. The website ships quickly and has frequent specials.
I just haven’t seen enough consistant quality across the brand to accept the mid-range price point. With their blushes, for instance, at $26 a pop I’m not willing to risk getting a mediocre or poor product. Their packaging is always gorgeous, and the matte eyeshadow palette seems to be a hit.
HATE them for cutting the size of their cheek stains in half & still charging the same price. Hate them even more (& Sephora too) for claiming on Sephora’s website that the product is the same size & then posting bot reviews giving the product five stars.
I hate that they’re impossible to get in western Europe!
Because I think I would love their blushes, brushes, foundations and eyeshadow palettes (Bon Voyage still haunts my MU daydreams!)
Agree!!!
They’re gluten-free. Enough said if you have celiac disease.
Brand seems overrated and over-hyped. Any time I’ve taken a look at their products (especially the eye shadows), they remind me of those no-name value sets that were sold in drugstores. Cheap and powdery. The blushes seem ok but the whole brand, in general, doesn’t appeal to me. Ditto Benefit.
Except for Urban Decay which I thought was too goth for me, I always test the product when it first comes out as a new brand. The brand is always at its best when it comes out. It always get worse later. Tarte was unique when it came out in 2000 or so. It was in a violet packaging. I bought three of the powder/cream foundation set. It touted not to have certain bad things (I cannot remember why it too apart from the rest). I bought the cheek stain too. Over the years, I have seen it disintegrate. When the brand starts to make its products in China, then it is done with me. I rather buy from some drug store brand or Geek makeup or the new one Christine is testing now.
In other words, this brand is done.
Whether or not a product is made in a certain country is irrelevant. What happened with tarte is it was taken over by an investment firm, and later sold to another company.
Makes a difference to me.
I just meant in terms of overall quality (I realize there are those who do have strong feelings on the issue). There are many brands now manufacturing in China that are fabulous, while MAC is manufactured in Canada, for example, and isn’t always so great.
Thank for the info on the company’s background and history.
Rave: Many of their blushes wear uncommonly well on my skin. Lights, Camera, Flashes! is one of my favorite mascaras.
Rant: I feel like many of their other products are middling-to-poor quality, and at that price tag they shouldn’t be. Their foundation products are not available in a wide variety of skin tones. Brushes I’ve purchased from them start out soft but the bristles soon get scratchy break (and yes, I treat them well and clean them gently). When I’ve compared blushes in the store with the same (but older version) shades I have at home, it feels like the new versions are not as pigmented nor as long-wearing as they used to be. They reduced the volume of their blush stains by half and kept the same price.
They’ve added talc to the blushes… I don’t know how far back you go with the brand, but there was a time the products were talc-free.
A few years old, I guess? That would explain a lot, though. Talc is the worst.
(…Please don’t judge me for continuing to use “expired” powder products!)
Don’t worry… I have a *ton* of “expired” products!
I mainly wish that the Amazonian Butter lipsticks had more staying power. The colors are so lovely but you have to reapply a lot. Adore the blushes, and the Amazonian Clay foundation keeps my face pretty matte. I don’t even bother with the eyeshadows because I’m already in a long-term relationship with UD Naked 3.
Oh, I forgot about their lipsticks! Agree–lovely colors (Plummy Rose is probably my HG MLBB shade) but they just do NOT last.
I always hear good things about their mascaras, blushes and other products on YouTube, but I just hate their packaging on most things (especially their mascara). I’d be more inclined to try more products if it was packaged a bit differently…
I like their 12-h foundation–good coverage and it’s actually pale enough for me. I haven’t actually tried much else.
Rave: Amazonian Clay Blush in Dollface: the perfect cool pink that lasts hours
Rant: Alllll their lip products have peppermint oil! I don’t mind it here and there, but I’d love the Lipsurgenches so much more without it.
Their products made in the US are fantastic but when they cheap out and make them in China they are not.
Does anyone remember their fragrance, from about 15 years ago? Purple leather-encased square bottle with an atomizer. Loved it!
I love everything Tarte forever. What’s not to love? Cruelty free, great pigmentation, low fallout. I’ll be a fan forever whatever the palette repeats…
I notice that sometimes their bundles will have reallllllyyyyy bad versions of their normal products. For instance, I’ve purchased two special bundles with insanely awful versions of their blush (rough, scratchy glitter). It makes me leary every time they post a “deal”
I wish that they would have a wider shade range when it comes to their foundations. Even the darkest shades are too light for my skin and look ashy. I do love their cheek stains though.
I don’t have any Tarte products – far too difficult to get here in Australia, but from what I have seen on this blog and others, the colours always seem to repeat themselves. Secondly, they just seem to do so many neutrals.
I’m new to Tarte and am loving it! Funny, I rarely get comments about my make up but today someone said my make up looked gorgeous …it made my day. She especially liked my lipstick. I had used the tSV from QVC that’s on sale right now and mixed the lipsurgance that came in the kit with another lipsurgance ( enchanted ). I love the mascara and blush. The eye shadow pallet I do have ( purchased from Macy’s ) is so-so… I love the neck cream, too and eye primer.
Tarte has nice palette sets, but if you’ve got one with eyeshadows, you probably don’t ever need to buy another.
Also, if you want any of the holiday blush offerings, you have to buy it almost immediately, or you won’t be able to get your hands on one. So, I think they should probably up the amount of LE stuff they produce.
I feel like tarte gets very redundant. It doesn’t have the wow factor.
Rave: Tarte blushes, lip surgences, and some of their older eyeshadow palettes. I also really like Tarte packaging for how feminine, classy, and elegant I think it is. I think Tarte makes some of the best blushes–they’re pigmented, high quality, and come in an array of shades to suit every skin tone. Also, as a lover of coral blushes, Tarte makes many of them in slightly different variations and finishes. Tarte’s lip surgences are also great; I like the minty flavor and variety of shades. I also like their butter lipsticks for when I don’t want full-on color on my lips.
Rant: so tired of all the blah neutral eyeshadow palettes Tarte has been putting out for a while now. Don’t they know we like a bit of color now and then? It’s like beating a dead horse; seriously, they should inject a dose of color into the palettes they release to make them more interesting and less dupeable. As a former fan of Tarte eyeshadow palettes, I’m not even interested in the current releases because it’s yet another neutral palette, of which I own many. C’mon, Tarte, release something fun and different, for a change!
That’s the whole “philosophy” of the brand, so to throw in “color” would be contradictory.
They used to do some colors, though. I have quads from them with purples, greens, silver.
Rant: I haven’t had the chance to try anything from the brand yet. Maybe with my next Sephora order…
😉
Love: blushes are great and my favorite. I love the foundation and 12 hour primer. I can use it without breaking out my acne prone skin.
Hate: eyeshadow. They don’t stay on all day like Urban Decay or Lorac. Eyeliner is also inferior to Urban Decay.
I like everything I’ve tried from them so far.
They are not available where I live. I have only one small palette from them (Beauty & The Box Amazonian Clay Eye Shadow Quad in Secret Garden), beautiful colors, but a bit too frosty and I wish there was at least one matte in them.
RANT: Their eyeshadows are the worst I’ve ever tried. I have their NeutralEyes Volume II palette and it sucks (great use of adjectives, right??) I also have eye shadows from a couple of their holiday releases and they’re also complete crap – they’re just super powdery and don’t adhere well on my lids, even with primers and I hate having to use tacky bases.
RAVE: Amazonian Clay 12-Hr Full Coverage Foundation is one of my favorites for the summer. Also love their Champagne Gold highlighter!
OVERALL: Tarte’s definitely not one of my favorite brands, I don’t think I’ve purchased anything from this brand in the last 2 years or so. I’m tempted to try their Tartelette palette but I’m still iffy
I hate that they don’t ship to Europe and Greece.