What they are: Tarte Maracuja Juicy Lip Vinyls are thick lip glosses in stick form that coat the lips quite heavily for a glassy, high-shine finish that smooths over the look of lip lines. This is not plumping formula but the thickness of the product has a plumping visual effect. 

Price/Quantity: $26 for 2.7 gram / 0.095 oz

Availability: Tarte, Sephora

Shade Range: 16 Shades. 8 of them are shimmery and the other 8 are not. Of those that are not shimmery, 4 are sheer and the other 4 are more opaque.

Packaging: Slim click up pen with a lid that snaps on and off. The clicking mechanism feels a bit more high quality (quieter, smoother, requires less force to press) in this pen than the ones from NYX and Elf. Other than that, the rest of the plastic casing feels like comparable quality to those brands.

Smell/Fragrance: All 8 of the ones I’m reviewing here have the same noticeable but not very strong sweet scent. It’s not fruity or floral, just a generic sweet scent, similar to a sugar cookie. They do not taste sweet and are not minty/tingly either. In addition to the fragrance, I also smell something that reminds me of synthetic oil.

Expiration/Shelf Life: 12 months after opening.

Ingredients: Dextrin Isostearate, Phytosteryl/Isostearyl/Cetyl/Stearyl/Behenyl Dimer Dilinoleate, Diisostearyl Malate, Dimer Dilinoleyl Dimer Dilinoleate, Synthetic Wax, Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Seed Oil, Passiflora Edulis Seed Oil, Citrullus Lanatus (Watermelon) Fruit Extract, Citrus Limon (Lemon) Fruit Extract, Euterpe Oleracea Fruit Extract, Fragaria Vesca (Strawberry) Fruit Extract, Lycium Barbarum Fruit Extract, Malpighia Punicifolia (Acerola) Fruit Extract, Passiflora Incarnata Fruit Extract, Prunus Persica (Peach) Fruit Extract, Punica Granatum Fruit Extract, Vaccinium Angustifolium (Blueberry) Fruit Extract, Vaccinium Macrocarpon (Cranberry) Fruit Extract, Flavor/Aroma, Sodium Hyaluronate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Synthetic Fluorphlogopite, Phenoxyethanol, Benzyl Benzoate, Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Tin Oxide, Triethoxycaprylylsilane, Benzyl Alcohol, Tocopherol, Trihydroxystearin, Glucomannan. (+/-): Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Red 6 Lake (CI 15850), Red 7 Lake (CI 15850), Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499), Yellow 6 Lake (CI 15985). Source: Sephora.com

Performance

Texture/Consistency/Finish: These are like thick solidified glosses at room temperature that melt instantly as they touch the skin. They have a fairly thick feel and transfer heavily as I swipe them across the lip. They look and feel thicker than most lip glosses or oils I’ve tried as well as the NYX Slick Clicks and Elf Pout Clouts. This causes them to smooth over the look of lip lines better than those products. For the most part I don’t find the thicker feel uncomfortable and as long as I don’t go overboard, they don’t get too goopy. If I am too heavy handed, they can start to gather a bit toward the corners of my mouth. The color mostly stays evenly dispersed over the lips, even if I press them together several times.

Half of the shades have shimmer/sparkle and the other half do not. For a few of them, if I press my lips together, the feeling of the shimmer is hardly noticeable. I have to really try hard to feel that the shimmer is there. Most of them have a mixture of ultra fine shimmer and slightly larger sparkle. Shimmering Mixed Berries and Shimmering Rose are the only 2 that do not have larger sparkle and have more of a glossy satin finish. The shimmer and sparkle in all the shades is subdued and not super noticeable unless you’re looking really close.

Application: For the sheerest shades, I am able to simply sweep these across the lips, doing maybe 2-3 passes for an even coat. For all of the opaque shades I feel the need to use a lip brush to apply the product cleanly around the edges of my mouth just because so much of the product deposits even with a light touch. I can reapply the deeper shades decently well without a brush as long as it holds up okay around the edges. Reapplication of the sheerer shades is no issue and I don’t feel the need to remove the previous layer for a fresh layer to look good.

Pigmentation/Color Payoff: This varies by color and finish. Of the non-shimmer shades, 4 are sheer and 4 are nearly opaque. All of the shimmer shades are sheer. Because the formula is so thick, I feel the color for the majority of the sheer shades shows up very well and is buildable if I feel like I want it to pop some more. Sheer Petal is the least pigmented and the only shade that is basically like a clear gloss on me.

Longevity: They do not seem to absorb, or dry down after wearing them but after an hour or so I notice the glassy reflection they have upon initial application begins to fade to more of a soft balmy glow. The color also seems to migrate over time even if I’m not eating or drinking anything. When wearing the shade Apple for a couple hours, I saw that the pigment started traveling into the very fine lines around the edges of my lips and the product in general starting moving into the corners of my mouth. I don’t think this is as much of an issue with the sheerer shades.

Pros and Cons

Things I like:

• Not sticky when pressing lips together.
• Smooths over look of lip lines more noticeably than most other glosses/oils/balms I’ve tried.
• If I press my lips together, the color doesn’t slide around and create weird looking lines on the lip. 
• The sheerer/lighter shades do not look milky.
• Packaging feels ever so slightly better quality than the drugstore alternatives.

Drawbacks and other considerations:

• Deeper and more opaque shades require using a lip brush for the best looking application.
• Deeper shades travel into fine lines around edges of lips and migrate into the corners of my mouth after wearing them for a while.
• The deeper shades are more high maintenance than I prefer.
• The synthetic oil scent is not super pleasant to me and I continue to notice it as I wear it.
• Many of the shimmer shades are way too similar to each other.

Do I Recommend Them?

If you like a thick glossy lip product that’s not sticky, I think you’ll enjoy these. I’m not as much into the more opaque shades personally because I don’t feel they look as flattering and are not as easy to use.

Swatches

Sheer Petal

Sheer Petal is an ultra sheer pale pink without any shimmer or sparkle. This barely adds any noticeable color to my lips and mostly looks like a clear gloss.

Sheer Iris

Sheer Iris is a sheer pale mauve without any shimmer or sparkle. This one has slightly more color payoff and opacity than the previous shade and the color itself is super close to my natural lip color which is more muted and cool toned.

Sheer Lotus

Sheer Lotus is a sheer bubblegum pink without any shimmer or sparkle. This shade adds a noticeable brightness to my lips but still looks pretty natural.

Sheer Berry

Sheer Berry is medium, cooler-toned, purplish berry without any shimmer or sparkle. It is applied somewhat heavily here but can be worn more sheered out if you want. It is the deepest of the sheer shimmer-free shades and I am still able to apply it straight to the lips without the help of a lip brush. The next four shades are the opaque shimmer-free options and I feel the need to use a lip brush with all of them.

Rosy Brown

Rosy Brown is a nearly opaque medium pinky brown with no shimmer or sparkle. This one is more difficult to apply. As I swipe it across the lips the, product melts a little too easily so ALOT of it transfers. With the sheerer shades, it’s not as much of an issue and doesn’t look bad. But this one being so pigmented, that heavy application can look very messy/goopy and with sloppy lines. I mainly sweep this on to transfer a decent amount of color to the lips and then use a lip brush to clean up the lines around the edges and make sure the product is sitting evenly/smoothly on the lips. Once I do that, the color mostly stays where I put it and remains even-looking, even if I press my lips together.

Hibiscus

Hibiscus is a nearly opaque warm reddish mauve without any shimmer or sparkle. I apply this one the same way I apply the previous shade.

Apple

Apple is a cool-leaning red without any shimmer or sparkle. It has a bit of depth to it so it doesn’t look too bright on me. It also doesn’t not start to look pink or orange if it is sheered out. I most definitely need a lip brush for this one.

Cacao

Cacao is a deep brown without any shimmer or sparkle. I also need a lip brush for this one.

Shimmering Mixed Berries

Shimmering Mixed Berries is a lighter, cooler toned sheer pink with a lot of super fine shimmer particles. The shimmer in this shade is smaller than in some of the other ones. It doesn’t look super obvious or add much noticeable sparkle unless you are looking super close up. I’d describe it as a glossy satin finish.

Shimmering Pink Lily

Shimmering Pink Lily another sheer pink that is a tiny bit brighter, warmer, and pinker than the previous one. This one has a mixture of the same fine shimmer as the previous shade as well as some slightly larger sparkle. The larger sparkles are a bit more noticeable on the lip.

Shimmering Bright Pink

Shimmering Bright Pink is similar to Sheer Lotus in that it adds a noticeable pink hue and brightness to the lips without looking “unnatural”. It also has a mixture of fine pink shimmer and larger sparkle.

Shimmering Cranberry

Shimmering Cranberry is a sheer cooler red with a hint very fine pink and gold sparkle.

Shimmering Cinnamon Spice

Shimmering Cinnamon Spice is a brownish nude with more prominent gold sparkle. The sparkle in this is the largest of all the shimmer shades so far, but is still not large enough to actually feel gritty on the lips. I don’t feel it at all if I press my lips together.

Shimmering Rose

Shimmering Rose is light peachy pink with all fine shimmer and no larger sparkle. It is SOO similar to Shimmering Mixed Berries, however this one is ever so slightly warmer. Both have the same subtle satin gloss finish.

Shimmering Daisy

Shimmering Daisy is a pale cool pink with some larger, more noticeable gold sparkle.

Shimmering Coconut

Shimmering Coconut is a pale warm nude with larger gold sparkle.

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Tarte Love, Trust & Fairy Dust Palette contains 10 eyeshadows and 1 highlighter. The compact includes a large high quality mirror and opens all the way so that it can be laid out flat on a table if desired. Each eyeshadow is contains 1g and the highlighter contains 2g. It is limited edition, retails for $39 and can be purchased from Tarte, Sephora, and Ulta.

I really dig the mix of colors in this palette. They balance each other out and there isn’t too much overlap except for the two darkest shades which could be used interchangeably. It’s the type of thing I could easily reach for everyday, if I were using the same palette on a daily basis.

The purple toned shades (Giggle and Whimsical) are very muted so the undertone doesn’t show up very well on the eye. It ends up looking more taupe/greyish. They stand out more if you incorporate the warmer shade (Frolic) somewhere in your look as well to provide some contrast.

After using it a few times, I would give the quality of the product inside an 8/10. It’s not perfect but it’s pretty darn good. The parts that could use improvement are the lasting power when used on bare eyelids, a smidge of patchiness from some of the matte shades, and shimmer fallout from the shade Magic. I’m not too bothered by lasting power because over a primer these last at least 8 hours. The tiny bit of patchiness is there but I’m nitpicking so that you are aware of it. The shimmer fallout for me personally is the most annoying thing because it affects the order in which I apply my makeup.

• Gossamer – Very pale peach with a matte finish. Soft and smooth but not too powdery in the pan. Good color payoff. Sits nicely on the eyelid without looking dry or powdery.
• Frolic – Midtone peachy brown with a matte finish. Good color payoff, blended out easily. Looks warmer-toned on the skin than in does in the pan.
• Wonder – Deep chocolatey brown with a mostly matte finish. There are some super tiny sparkles but once this is applied, it reads as matte. This swatched exceptionally well in a single pass without any patchiness or streaking. I didn’t notice any fallout from it either during application. It did “stick” a bit where I first applied it and required me to be extra mindful to blend.
• Wish – Deep plummy brown with a mostly matte finish. Like Wonder, this also has some tiny sparkles that pretty much disappear once applied. This shade is more patchy and also has a drier feel to the touch. It seems to apply and blend equally as well as Wonder, though.
• Whimsical – Midtone muted mauve with a matte finish. This was somewhat powdery and messy in the pan.
• Giggle – Pale muted mauve with a matte finish. This has an incredibly smooth, creamy feel to the touch. It is still a powder though.
• Mystical – Bright pink shimmer with a subtle orange base that becomes more visible as the shade is blended out.
• Magic – Classic rose gold with a metallic finish. This shade has significant shimmer fallout. If you plan to use it, I recommend doing your eye makeup before your face makeup.
• Flitter – Pale warm pink with a shimmer finish.
• Twinkle – Golden peachy shimmer. It’s not so obvious in the swatch, but this has some larger glitter particles that become more visible during application. It wasn’t bothersome, but just something to note. It applied fairly well with a dry, flat brush.
• Flower Crown – Champagne shimmer with subtle yellow undertones. This can be applied lightly and the shimmer will spread out and give you more of a sparkly highlight effect. Applied with a heavier hand, this will give off more of a metallic highlight. The yellow undertones are subtle enough that they don’t look obviously warm-toned on my cooler-toned skin. This is loose, powdery and messy in the pan.

In this look I am wearing:

• Gossamer – Inner corner, brow bone
• Giggle – Transition
• Whimsical – Crease
• Wonder – Outer lid
• Twinkle – Inner lid (applied with dry flat brush)
• Magic – Center of lid (applied with finger)
• Frolic – Lower lashline

Everything worked out well for this look except for a tiny bit of fallout from Twinkle and some more extensive fallout from Magic, which I had to buff away with a small powder brush. Frolic is much warmer and more orangey on the eye than it looks in the pan, so it’s a good thing they balanced it with the purple-y shades on the opposite side of the palette. After 5 hours, I could see some slight fading in the crease both with and without primer. It looked like it was the shimmer shades that were most affected.

In this look I am wearing:

• Gossamer – Brow bone
• Frolic – Transition
• Wish – Crease
• Mystical – Outer lid
• Flitter – Inner lid
• Giggle – Lower lashline

The shimmery shades (mystical and flitter) had a bit of fallout but not enough that I’d feel the need to do my face makeup after doing my eyes. They applied okay with a brush at first but I went over them and applied the same shades with my fingers to intensify the color. The mattes generally applied fine though I think Frolic was a tad patchy which was more noticeable as I tried to build up the color. This look gives me Urban Decay Backtalk Palette vibes with the overall warmth and orange/cranberry tones. This wore for 9.5 hours with primer with a tiny bit of fading. The unprimed eye was very faded and visibly creased.

The Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush Palette Color Wheel is a limited edition palette containing 8 blushes and 2 highlighters. Each pan contains 0.084 oz/ 2.38 g, compared to the full size blushes which are 0.2 oz. It retails for $44 and is exclusively available at Sephora.

The palette opens up like a clamshell and closes up with a clasp. There is no mirror but the back of it has a mirror-like reflective finish so you could use it as a mirror if you wanted to. It is surprisingly not as thick and bulky as I had imagined. I included a couple images below comparing it to one of Tarte’s regular permanent size blushes.

The product inside is decent but not excellent. I have Blissful and Exposed from the permanent line and they are great – not powdery, and just the right amount of pigmentation. The matte shades in the palette were pretty close in quality to the permanent blushes, but a couple of them are a tad powdery. Ironic, Montage, and Icon are all fairly similar in tone and look about the same once applied to the cheeks. It would have been nice to see more variation in color. Surreal, Deco, and Mod had enough variation to look different on the cheek, though. The two shimmery blushes, Concept and Culture, are very powdery and leave a mess in the palette which was disappointing, but they did look nice once applied. Concept looks more shimmery in the pan but a lot of the sparkle brushes away when applied to the cheek. Culture’s finish has a much stronger sheen.

Crafty is pale pink-toned highlighter with a sparkly finish and a pinkish sheen that can be seen depending on how light falls on the skin. Idol has a muted yellowy-bronze tone to it with a finer shimmer finish than Crafty. They are both a little powdery.

Pros:

• Good pigmentation
• They blend well
• Nice compact packaging
• Blushes are large enough for a blush brush
• No mirror, but the packaging is mirror-like
• Pretty good value for the number of shades

Cons:

• More variation in color would have been nice
• Some of the shades are powdery

Worth Buying?

If you already have a pretty good blush stash, this is probably not something worth picking up as the colors aren’t really unique. Also, if you are a stickler for quality, it’s going to be more of a miss. It could be a good option for travel, though, because it does manage to pack a bunch of options in relatively small packaging.

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Product Description

The Tarte Tartelette in Bloom palette is the sequel to the original Tartelette palette with a different assortment of neutral shades plus a few shimmers. The way the palette is arranged, the top row generally consists of grey-toned shades, the middle row yellow-toned shades, and the bottom row pink-toned shades and each row has a shimmery shade that complements the matte shades. You can mix them any way you want but this makes it really easy to pick up and quickly put together a look. There is a very noticeable sweet gourmand fragrance when I open the palette which reminds me of the Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette. To me, it smells like vanilla or white chocolate. There is a small insert included in the box with the palette that guides you through two looks you can create. Each shadow pan contains 1.5 g / 0.053 oz. It retails for $46 and can be purchased at Tarte, Sephora, and Macy’s.

Performance

This palette took some getting used to because the shades are a little softer than eyeshadows in other palettes I have. I don’t have to use much pressure when sweeping a brush over the shadow to pick up color. Working in thinner layers is the way to go to get a well-blended look.

The shimmer shades tend to swatch better than they apply to the lid. The texture of both Firecracker and Funny girl remind me of pressed pigments. They have a very metallic finish which is a little more rough and varied than the finish of other shimmery shades. For example, Urban Decay’s shimmery shades have a very smooth reflective sheen whereas these have more of a gritty, textured sheen, which is a nice change. Using a flat stiff brush or even your fingers works the best to apply these. Then they blend out easily with a brush once they are placed on the lid and there is some fallout if you don’t tap the excess off the brush. The third shimmery shade, Rocker, has more of a traditional satin-shimmer finish and feel with very little to no fallout.

All of the light and mid-toned matte shades are very soft and “creamy” to the touch and seem to be packed somewhat loosely in the pan. Color transfers very easily both when swatching or applying to the lid. The shadows adhere fairly well to brushes so I am able to build up color quickly. They blend easily on their own but the color selection adds even more ease to the blending process because they create such beautiful gradients. The 3 darkest shades in the right column have a somewhat drier firmer texture and aren’t as smooth but still have excellent color payoff and blend relatively easily (for being dark colors).

The first time I only got 3 hours out of it before it creased on unprimed eyes. It lasted 8 hours with Nars Pro Prime though which is surprising because usually primer only gives me 2-3 extra hours, not 5! The second time I wore it with Urban Decay Anti Aging Primer and that really didn’t extend the wear but it did make the shadows look smoother on the lid. I was able to smooth the creasing over and quickly fix up my eyes without having the redo the whole look.

Tartelette in Bloom vs. The Original Tartelette Palette

In comparing this to the original Tartelette palette, the shadows in this one seem a smidge softer but have about the same color payoff. It seems like they aren’t pressed quite as firmly into the pan. These also have a bit more powder kick-up when sweeping a brush over the shadows.

The shades in the original palette are all matte and generally neutral to cool in tone while the Tartelette in Bloom has a good balance of neutral, cool, and warm shades plus 3 shimmery eyeshadows.

The packaging is very similar between the two palettes but the Tartelette in Bloom packaging has a sturdier hinge that holds the mirror up better than the original one. Only the new palette has the sweet fragrance. Both contain the same amount of product and cost the same.

Dupes and Comparisons

Firecracker is similar to:

• Unattainable (Lorac Unzipped) – Slightly brighter, and has a thinner, grittier texture that doesn’t adhere as well to the skin
• Chai (Lorac Pro to Go) – Nearly identical, chai is maybe a hair warmer-toned
• Mocha (Lorac Pro Palette 2) – A bit more muted and cooler-toned
• Chopper (Urban Decay Naked 2) – Somewhat brighter, with a smoother finish and micro glitter, which Firecracker does not have
• Trick (Urban Decay Naked 3) – Brighter, pinker, and has a significant amount of micro glitter

Rebel is similar to:

• Bordeaux (Too Faced Chocolate Bon Bons)
• Unbridled (Lorac Unzipped)
• Succubus (Kat Von D Shade + Light Eye)
• Cherry Cordial (Too Faced Chocolate Bar)
• Row 2, Column 3 or “Taupe” (Viseart Neutral Matte Palette)

Worth Buying?

This has quickly become one of my favorite palettes. Despite the few cons below, I would absolutely purchase this again.

Pros

• Overall great color payoff
• Smooth, creamy texture
• Blends easily
• Well thought-out shade selection
• Perfect for neutral/natural looks, students, work, travel
• Beautiful, sturdy packaging

Cons

• Funny Girl and Firecracker require a little bit of a learning curve because they do have some fallout. They also have issues sticking to skin if you tend to have very dry eyelids. A primer can help with this.
• Smokeshow and Activist don’t look all that different once applied to the lids.
• The fragrance in it could be a problem for those that are sensitive.
• They don’t always last all day on me if I don’t wear a primer underneath.

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Phew! I feel like this was a TON of steps and I used 9 out of the 12 eyeshadows in this palette but I think the blending came out really smooth. It’s really not necessary to go that far to get a similar look but I felt like experimenting a little.

Products used and how I created this look:

• Physicians Formula Cushion Foundation in Light – Though you can’t see much of it, this is what I have on everywhere except my lid and under eye area.
• It Cosmetics Bye Bye Under Eye Corrector in Light – With a small concealer brush I applied this lightly to my dark circles and blended it in.
• Urban Decay Naked Skin Concealer in Fair Neutral and Light Neutral (mixed) – I swiped both shades on the back of my hand to mix them and then applied it on top of the corrector and blended it all out.
• Bare Minerals Mineral Veil Loose Powder – Using a small fluffy brush to avoid getting powder on my brows, I set the foundation and concealer with this.
• It Cosmetics Your Skin But Better CC+ Airbrush Perfecting Powder in Fair – Since this is such a pigmented powder I used this with a small blending brush to add even more coverage to my dark circles.
• Anastasia Brow Powder Duo in Taupe (lighter side) – I took an angled brush and applied this all over my brows to generally fill in my brows. The shade is a little light for me and doesn’t show up a whole lot so I can be generous when applying it.
• Anastasia Brow Wiz in Medium Brown – For a bit more definition I used this along the bottom part of my brow, the tail, and to fill in any sparse spots. I used the spoolie on the end of the pencil to blend in any harsh lines.
• Nars Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base – I used a couple dots on my lids and blended it all the way up to my brow bone.
• Tarte Tartelette in Bloom Palette
• Charmer – To kind of “set” the primer, I used this as a base with a fluffy blending brush all over the lid and up to my brow bone.
• Flower Child – With the same brush, I applied this liberally to the entire crease but stopped shortly before the brow bone.
• Smarty Pants – Again with the same brush, I applied this a bit more tightly in the outer crease. This creates a nice even gradient so the eyeshadow looks much more blended.
• Jetsetter – I used the same technique as the last step but I focused this more on the inner half of the crease area to give a bit of dimension using both warm and cool transition shades.
• Rebel – With a flat shader I applied this to the outer crease, first concentrating the color on the lid. As most of the color wore off the bristles, I slowly started to “drag” the color up into the outer crease. I also used just a tiny bit along my lower lash line.
• Leader – To darken the outer crease, I used the same flat shader and used the same technique as the last step to make sure I was blending the color as well as I could.
• Smokeshow – Using a small flat brush (mac 231), I tightlined my upper lash line. Without adding any more color to the brush and just using what was left on the bristles, I used the rest to darken up my lower lash line.
• Firecracker – To add a nice pop of shine to the lid I applied this with my finger to the center of my lid and then took the flat shader I used earlier to blend this in with Leader. It was helpful to do this step a few times to add more shine and blend the colors together nicely. I also used the fluffy crease brush from before to blend the top part of the shimmer with the crease shades.
• Funny Girl – With a small flat brush (e.l.f. concealer brush) I applied this to both the top and bottom of my inner corner.
• Lorac Front of the Line Pro Liquid Eyeliner in Black – After curling my lashes, I applied this as I normally do with a slight wing at the end.
• Covergirl LashBlast Length Mascara in Very Black – I applied a light layer of this to darken my lashes before applying the falsies.
• Duo Lash Adhesive in Dark Tone – I applied a thin layer of this along the entire lash band and allowed it to dry down for about 30 seconds.
• Revlon Beyond Natural Lashes, Defining #91181 – After allowing the lash glue to become tacky, I used a pair of tweezers to apply the lashes starting at the center of my lash line. After placing the lashes where I wanted them, I used the back of a small eyeshadow brush to tap down the outer ends and inner ends of the lashes. The eyeliner is a helpful guide for where to place the lashes and also disguises the band. If you can still see the band or glue, you can use a little eyeliner to hide it even further.