They have some really solid formulas in their core range, but sometimes, they play it so safe that their actual product releases look and feel redundant, even when I look at them as “someone new is always coming into makeup.” I’d like to see them take a little more risk, depart a little more from their usual zone, in small ways.
— Christine
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Agreed that some of their formulas are nice – and I’ve used their BB cream for a while – but their packaging is frequently more interesting than the product it contains and I often think they missed a chance to do something cool. “Redundant” was the right word.
Totally agree, Christine. You buy one palette and you have their complete shade range. They never deviate from the tried and true. There holiday releases in the past have been hit and miss. I had been boycotting them after their foundation shade range debacle but both my daughter and I have decided to go back to using Tarte and when we were shopping recently, we couldn’t find anything we liked or wanted. That is so sad when you have money to spend, have determined to spend and then just nothing, LOL! Seemed like we had seen it all before.
I can’t stand the low-level marketing tactics Tarte employs these days. When I first discovered Tarte, I fell in love with the Rainforest after Dark collection – which was marketed as sexy, sultry, and most of all, CLASSY. This wasn’t lost with the subsequent Rainforest of the Sea collection and continued focus on Amazonian Clay products. I didn’t mind the expansion into skincare products either.
But lately? Over the last 2-3 years, the collections have included, in no particular order: unicorns, fairies, pineapples, rainbows, mermaids, etc. The vibe went from sophisticated hippie boho to #teenybopper at the speed of light. There has been an onslaught of cheap, junky products too, some of which include marketing that almost seems like a scam. It used to be that I would race to Tarte’s website when I got an email about a new release, but now the BRAND NEW PALETTE RELEASE LIMITED QUANTITIES HURRY! emails have gotten so frequent and tiresome that I don’t even bother. I know now that they are just the same eyeshadows arranged in a different sparkly package and are definitely not something to get excited over.
I’m aware this change occurred after the brand was acquired in 2014 and is surely about (what else?) making as much money as possible. I just wonder if Tarte knows how much its reputation has suffered, and how much respect the brand has lost from its customers.
This!!! Tarte used to be the chic brand that focused on natural ingredients, but overtime they became so gimmicky. I lost all hope when one of their holiday palettes was in the shape of a pineapple…
A bit ashamed here, but I actually have the pineapple palette and it’s one of my favourites. I hardly ever use the same palette for more than a couple of days and then pick another one from the stash, but the pineapple I used for more than two months, the only reason I’m not still using it is because I feel
I need to use all of the palettes and singles I have.
This is so true. For examples, they teased a Bee honeycomb palette months ago. I’m a huge fan of anything bees, honeycomb or black and yellow. They still haven’t released it yet. They don’t even address comments on their Instagram regarding it. Bait and switch.
Totally agree! I like Tarte’s foundations and earlier eyeshadow palette releases (tartelette in bloom palette). Lately, the company has evolved into a millennial-centered brand. When I started buying Tarte 5 years ago, their demographic catered to all ages and seemed more inclusive.
Rave&Rave:
-> There’s something odd with Tarte… When I think of the brand, few products come to mind, I always assume they have a curated set of staple items, with solid formulas (although maybe not the best). I mean, people still have in favorites the blushes or the Amazonian Clay foundation.
Then I go to their website and I get reminded they have tons and tons of products, from skincare, to bodycare, haircare and everything in between that’s not make-up.
Raves:
-> They are the only brand that nailed the packaging of a powder SPF. Tarteguard SPF30 Mineral Powder Sunscreen dispenses the product perfectly and continuously. I tried so many powder SPFs for retouching, but I wasn’t able to dispense the product right, especially on the go. Too bad that Tarteguard basically stinks of vanilla.
Rants:
-> They don’t seem to be more than `the brand with the Shapetape concealer`.
-> They have some good skincare items, but I don’t see any efforts to get some marketing behind them. They’re not the best formulas out-there, but they have a couple of well formulated serums. And the Micellar Magic Makeup Remover & Cleanser is a decent make-up remover… but the packaging is the best self-dispensing I have tried… people should just rave about that in my opinion.
-> They release too many palettes, most of them very similar. I mean… even by mistake they could get some variation at least (not even talking about innovation).
-> They don’t communicate releases well; I’m not the best at keeping up with releases, but if I go to their website I never head about 90% of the products.
-> $48 for 5 ml Maracuja Oil. Seriously?
I love tarte’s metallic/shimmer eyeshadow formula. The thinner consistency is easy to apply and has a minimal amount of fallout. On days when I want to do my makeup, but don’t have the time, I usually swipe a shimmer on the eye and add a deepening shade in the outer v and I’m good to go.
I hate their social media marketing. Too Faced, Benefit, etc target the same audience yet Tarte’s instagram seems to be geared toward a much younger demographic. I’ve never seen a beauty brand post so many memes and meme contests on their page as tarte does. Also their IG page rarely features different people with tan to deep skin tones. They usually repost the same influencer or model.
They make one of my favourite eye creams (the Maracuja C Brightening one; I fear Sephora is phasing it out as it’s not longer shown on their site, though I was able to get a backup jar the other day); I really like their single eyeshadows – I just wish they’d expand the colours offered (or maybe that, again, Sephora carried all the shades); I got a wonderful palette from them some years back that I still use and enjoy very much – the Tarte for Aqualilies face and eye palette. I don’t know that there’s anything specifically that I “don’t” like about the company…maybe some of the packaging (and the limited colour selection of some products, I guess).
I don’t think I even own anything by Tarte.
I remember being excited when Sephora NZ finally started stocking it but I don’t think I ever actually purchased anything… I think demographic wise, they seem to have moved from the cool older sister type to squabbling tweenies with Too Faced.
I used to like when their collection wasn’t “all over the place”. It also seemed more “adult”. I liked their lip balms and lipsticks. But they started getting kitschy. I get it that they are catering to influencers and such but it was a hard no. And as others mentioned, their palettes are redundant.
To be honest, I don’t have any of Tarte’s products, so I can’t really give an opinion personally. But I will say that I have been impressed with their latest offering over the past year or so. I love the Tarte Pro Remix palette and would purchase it if I didn’t have so many dupes of the shades I like the most. I like their recent metallic pots too.
For awhile there, all their palettes looked and felt the same – lots of mid tone warm neutrals.
Yawn! Actually, the Amazonian Clay foundation, the Creaseless Concealer, and the Lights Camera Lashes mascara are among the products I use everyday but they are basic, workhorse products. This isn’t a brand that excites me and I tend not to pay attention when they release something new. If I am browsing Sephora or Ulta, I usually walk right by the Tarte display.
Rave: I like their eye shadows, I have the pineapple and some singles. The pinapple is one of my absolute favourite palettes. That said,
Rant: They have so many kitschy brushes, I just don’t get it, they must be hard to store in a good way as some are bulky and most just look like childrens playthings, though some seem quite sharp, so maybe not. 😀
I think they have moved a bit from the mid tone neutrals, at least now they have a few more colourful palettes.
I must admit to not having tried much from Tarte, but the brand is available here now so I’ll not have to pay import tax and the fee to the postal service if I were to try some other products.
More of my all time faves are from Tarte than any other brand, and-still use those regularly after many yrs. The best eyeshadow palette I’ve ever owned was from a holiday collection…maybe 10 yrs ago! 24 subtle, unique colors in various finishes, divided into quads that combined shades in unexpected and beautiful ways. Loved their ‘cleaner’ formula, esp. for lip products. Great stick blushes in gorgeous colors w/ dewy but lasting finish. The best under eye concealer ever (in a navy tube). They had a perfect lash-grow serum (applied w/eyeliner type brush) – affordable, safe, that worked incredibly well, and now…….
I don’t buy anything from them. Nothing seems special re: formula or colors. (well, guilty of not trying Shape Tape, so maybe that’s an exception.) Sad.
Rave: I love Tarte eyeshadows. I think I own more Tarte palettes than any other brand. I also love their Color Splash lipsticks. Some of their newer skincare products are vey good too, like their vitamin C serum.
Rant: The gimmicky, teenybopper marketing is a huge turnoff. I have the pineapple palette which has gorgeous shades, but it’s so bulky and silly looking for a mature woman.
I love their blushes. Their mascaras are my favorites. They have a lot of really great products, such as the PRO palettes, Tartelette palettes, clay pot and clay paint eyeliners. I thought theirquality had gone down somewhat when they were originally bought out, and for a long time their eyeshadows were so neutral, it got boring fast. I think this last year they have made a real effort to get some color back into their lineup, and to bring up the quality again.
I dislike their holiday releases of the last several years. They’ve been big, bulky, and repetitive, and not great quality. I love their blush palettes, but even a coral blush lover such as myself thinks they’ve been leaning too heavily on corals the last couple years. I’ve never been impressed with their foundation color selection. I would like to see more variety in everything.
I love their lip balms. So expensive but I love the gloss like shine. I just can’t quit them. The og matte tartelette is such a great, classic, neutral color scheme as well.
I pass on all the strange LE stuff.
I’m actually a huge fan of Tarte products simply because I feel like at their worst they’re still okay, and generally they work really well for me. Their eyeshadow formula is pigmented but blends nicely, and I feel like their shimmers and metallics are really easy to use. The Be a Mermaid and Make Waves was actually the first thing I bought from the brand and it’s since gotten more use than any of my other palettes. For daily use, a lot of my workhorse products are Tarte, including the smoothing primer, clay stick foundation, and Lights Camera Lashes mascara to name a few.
I know many people are put off by the packaging/marketing, but I like that it’s fun and a little ridiculous sometimes. I bought multiple backups of the holiday flamingo print mascara because it just makes me happy to use. I know some people are still avoiding them after the shade range debacle, but they did also end up pulling the line and relaunching it with a better shade range.
They do have some decent products like clay foundation but lately they have been slacking. Every eye shadow palette is the same. Their limited edition items are not geared to the everyday consumer….the pineapple, flamingo, and unicorn releases are geared towards teenagers. I finally unfollowed them on Instagrambecause i have nothing in common with what they feature…especially their social media representative (Allie?). They are using gimics to cover up some of their basic, sub par products that lack innovation. Rainforest of the sea has been done to death.
The Amazonian Clay blushes have a great formula and consistency and give a bright-yet-natural-looking pop of color to my cheeks. The blushes also have a nicely-sized color range. However, I think Tarte could stand to expand the color range on their eyeshadows and lipsticks a little more than they already have.
I have bought their Winter Wonderglam Pallette and I was disappointed. The smell is very chemical and most shades are not very pigmented. Its not worth the 56,– – its made in Taiwan and the packaging is cheaply made. I don’t own any other products of them, but this is a miss. Nevertheless, I am interested in trying some of their products.
I have the OG all matte Tartelette. I got it in 2015 when I was getting back into makeup after several years of going barefaced. It seemed like a really basic but useful workhorse, and it is. The formula has held up very nicely and I still use it all the time, either by itself for subtle looks or in conjunction with other palettes. The quality is very good.
That said, I can’t remember the last time they put out anything else that looked even remotely interesting to me.
Love their eyeshadow palettes and formula. The all matte one is a travel staple and I was really pleased to add the in Bloom one to my collection as well. I do agree with you that they have a tendency to play it safe and it’d be nice to see more risks and fun colors.
I don’t love their liquid lips.
Crap, meant to also call out their blushes as they’re really good and I have several…..which means something since I’m not a blush girl and rarely want to spend the money on it.
I’m in my late 30s and I felt Tarte was too young for me when I was 19. I’ve purchased their products as gifts for ppl younger than me mostly. Influencer crazed companies turn me off. I realize most cosmetic companies have gone influencer crazy but when I’m drowning in it on YT and IG, on mostly very young ppl (with a lot of Facetune), I get turned off. I know plenty of ppl around my age who love Tarte.