It’s hella cherry blossom central out here, ladies! I’m talking about the Japanese Tea Gardens in Golden Gate Park. El Hub and I spent a couple hours there yesterday. I really needed a little time to relax, so we walked around the gardens, took a billion pictures of blooming cherry blossoms and shared a pot of Jasmine tea. If you’re ever in the area and looking for a break from the hustle and bustle of the city, you could do a lot worse.
Mother Nature was all up in the house! The garden was bursting with pink, magenta, yellow, green and blue. With spring colors on my mind, I dove straight for the Cargo Tahiti Palette ($28) as soon as I got home.
The palette comes with four shimmery shades of royal blue, yellowish green, emerald green and jade. The mere sight of it teleports me back to the tea gardens.
Swatches with flash
Swatches without flash
Not only are the colors gaw-geous, they’re super easy to use. Each one glides on smoothly and delivers intense pigmentation, yet the shades blend together with hardly any effort at all.
I love the sturdy compact (isn’t the decoration on the top lush?), and the pans are huge, too. I think they contain more product than MAC’s. You definitely get a lot of product for the price.
Cargo Tahiti Palette
Price: $28
Use: A spring palette of blues and greens for the eyes
Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: A+
If there were one minor thing I could do to tweak this palette I’d ask Cargo to include a shimmery golden brown like MAC Soba, so that girls who aren’t partial to blues and greens in the crease would still have something to use. But even as it is, without changing a thing, I think this palette borders on perfect and I’m loving it!
I’m about to pump myself full of Zyrtec and go for a quick run. What are you plans for today?
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Mishel says
March 29th, 2009 at 11:46 amaw, that sounds super relaxing, i wish we had gardens like that here in austin, tx…
i LOVE that jade and emerald green colour! i wonder if i can find cargo products at ulta?
Karen says
March 30th, 2009 at 9:44 amHi Mishel,
I think they are a Sephora only brand. You can also buy the palette on the Sephora website, too. 🙂
Kerri says
March 29th, 2009 at 11:47 amOhhh! I love this! I am a huge fan of green/blue shadows and I’m developing a huge lemming looking at the pretty shades (and they look so good on you, Karen). Please tell me this is easily dupeable or else I might have to pop out to Sephora…
Karen says
March 30th, 2009 at 9:50 amHi Kerri,
Somebody in the comments mentioned that the Cover Girl Tropical Fusion Palette is similar. I haven’t seen it in person, but here’s a link to the palette. A few of the L’oreal HIP Duos also seem to have similar colors. 🙂
Kate says
March 29th, 2009 at 11:53 amOh, I need to go to Cali and see those gardens. I’m also in desperate need of that quad.
Why?
It SNOWED. Yes, you heard me. It snowed all night here at the end of MARCH. I hate the snow! Even Zena hates it. I’m fervently waiting for the sun to come out and melt all the icky, cold and wet snow.
Karen says
March 30th, 2009 at 9:51 amHi Kate,
Yikes! Snow in March is just wrong! Has it melted away yet?
Catherine says
March 29th, 2009 at 1:05 pmOh man, I miss those gardens so much – they’re sooooo gorgeous and I bet even more so now in the spring.
Thanks for the info too! I’ve always thought that Cargo’s quads were really pretty looking, but never heard much hype about them compared to other brands. I’ll have to look into these now. =)
Catherine´s last blog post..Vacation! Summary and pictures
Karen says
March 30th, 2009 at 9:51 amHi Catherine,
I really like the brand and think they make some good things! You should totally check out this palette next time you’re at Sephora. 🙂
Heidi says
March 29th, 2009 at 1:21 pmahh I love MAC’s Soba eyeshadow. I’m wearing it right now actually. It’s a great color.
Karen says
March 30th, 2009 at 9:52 amHi Heidi,
It’s a good one! I could wear it practically every day. 🙂
gio says
March 29th, 2009 at 1:24 pmI wish we had gardens like that here, they’e gorgeous!
I love blue and green shades and that Carfo palette is so beatiful. I’ll have to check it out.
gio´s last blog post..New Collection: Lancome Pink Irreverence Spring 2009
Karen says
March 30th, 2009 at 9:52 amHi Gio,
You totally should! It’s worth a trek to Sephora!
Bj says
March 29th, 2009 at 1:25 pmI love this palette, ive been playing lots with it. I totally agree about adding a brown, but i just dug through my stash and played with some different options. Today i used a wet eyeliner brush and used the royal blue for a thick liner on top, so pretty!
Karen says
March 30th, 2009 at 9:53 amHi BJ,
OH pretty! I will have to try that. I bet it would be pretty paired with a shimmery bronze or gold on the lid.
Ash B says
March 29th, 2009 at 3:20 pmTotally reminiscent of the Tropical Fusion Palette from CoverGirl, if you are looking for a cheaper alternative. There are beautiful gardens here in Austin too (although granted not quite that breath taking). Go visit the Zilker Botanical Gardens if you are in Austin.
Karen says
March 30th, 2009 at 9:53 amHi Ash B.,
Thanks for the travel rec! If I’m ever in Austin I’ll hit it up. 🙂
Vampy Varnish says
March 29th, 2009 at 3:32 pmI love these, they look fabulous. I might have to buy ’em!
I too need my Zyrtec, I just started having the spring allergies yesterday when it was a balmy 80 degrees here in the East Bay (YAHOO!)
Vampy Varnish´s last blog post..Vampy Varnish and Ideeli
Karen says
March 30th, 2009 at 9:54 amHi Vampy Varnish,
Wow, 80 degrees! Let’s just fast forward to summertime, already!
I grew up in the East Bay and one thing I don’t miss are my East Bay allergies!
Stef says
March 30th, 2009 at 8:23 amOh, how I am loving this palette! Last trip to Sephora I kept picking up brown palettes and putting then in my basket (I have about 20 brown palettes, how boring!) I rounded the corner, and there it was, in all it’s Spring glory. And it is SO wearable! Pretty on the outside too.
Stef´s last blog post..we heart (and will miss) ER
Karen says
March 30th, 2009 at 9:55 amHi Stef,
Hey, you can never have enough brown palettes! I heart neutrals, too. 🙂
Have you cooked up any looks with your Cargo palette lately?
Kate says
March 30th, 2009 at 10:50 amKaren,
I know! Snow in March is just plain wrong! I hate it!
It hasn’t all melted away as the world is still covered in big sheets of snow but it’s slowly melting. The sun is out melting it although it’s still freezing cold at 36 degrees.
In the true honor of spring, I’ve been doing sunset colored eye looks (gold to pink to purple by using 4 or 5 of my HiP duos) to make myself happy. It’s the exact opposite of outside, ha ha. What’s really strange is that the shades I use make my brown eyes look bright amber which only happens when I’m outside during sunset and the light hits them just right. It’s really freaky and cool at the same time!
Nicole15 says
March 30th, 2009 at 11:56 amThis palette has been an instant fave of mine. I just bought it 2 weeks ago & am in love. The pigmentation in the colors is soo rich. Sephora is carrying this one & others in the collection. Cargo came out with other “island named” palettes all w/ different color schemes. Check ’em out. The shadows are huge & your getting 4 colors for $28. A steal!!
Nicole15 says
March 30th, 2009 at 11:58 amLove, Love!!!
http://www.sephora.com/browse/product.jhtml?id=P218778&shouldPaginate=true&categoryId=4257
tanya says
March 30th, 2009 at 4:54 pmis it weird that this is making me thirsty? these colors are just so gorgeous…it really reminds me of a tropical cocktail…with a pretty umbrella in it, of course!
tanya´s last blog post..decadence
Apple Diva says
March 30th, 2009 at 10:20 pmI like Cargo products. Seems like they are moving towards palettes instead of the single…Def worth the money.
Apple Diva´s last blog post..Mozy On Down