tarte

The Tarteist Glossy Lip Paints by Tarte: Nine Shades From Sweet to Sexy

May 12th, 2016 by Anna Oh 17 Comments

There’s a lot to love about these Tarte Tarteist Glossy Lip Paints ($20), and the best way I can describe them is “trend-in-a-good-way.” The nine shades are hydrating, vegan-friendly, and so pigmented that they’re really just upgraded lipglosses. Every shade rocks. The color palette inspired me to create one of my most colorful illustrations yet!

beauty illustration tarte anna oh tarteist glossy lip paint — A beauty illustration inspired by the Tarteist Glossy Lip Paints

As a range, they’re neutral…with an edge. Among the shades are plenty of rosy nudes, plus a few really, really fun shades. I love how Tarte totally went there with the one called Poison. It’s a black plum that stains my lips a deep purple.

The deep shades look incredible on the lips and also work when patted down to a stain, which helps them last much longer (and there’s also less to worry about when they’re applied that way, for anyone wondering).

Here are pics and thoughts on the colors.

Tarte Tarteist Glossy Lip Paint: swatches

tarteist glossy lip paint hella — Tarteist Glossy Lip Paint in Hella

Hella, a “white nude,” is the only color that’s a little too pale for me. It will settle into my fine lines if I don’t layer it, so I recommend using this one with a nude lip liner.

tarteist glossy lip paint obvi — Tarteist Glossy Lip Paint in Obvi

Obvi, a “warm nude,” is the only Lip Paint with shimmer. It’s a nice flattering color that isn’t too bright or pink.

tarteist glossy lip paint goals — Tarteist Glossy Lip Paint in Goals

Goals! Love that name. This one is a “rosy nude,” and I think it brightens up the face more than the others.

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Escape to a Land of Cute Clutches and Magic Clay With the Tarte Amazon Escape Palette

August 3rd, 2012 by Karen 18 Comments

tarte amazon escape

Time for a game of What If!

What if…you found a palette that satisfied both your appetite for stylish accessories and your appetite for makeup?

And what if said palette were available now, at this very moment (depending on your time zone), and the powder eyeshadows and blushes within it not only helped you get your pretty on, but they also improved your skin?

Blarney! you say? Nope, ’tis not science fiction. Tarte believes that such a thing exists, and it was last seen escaping from the Amazon!

Wait — that’s not right. It’s just called Amazon Escape, as in the Tarte Amazon Escape Amazonian Clay Eye & Cheek Palette, and for $44 it pledges to beautify your eyes and cheeks while improving your skin.

The secret sauce in this palette parolee? A skin-loving trifecta of Amazonian clay (to nourish skin, reduce oil and improve texture), vitamin E (which acts as an anti-inflammatory emollient and protects against damage by free radicals), and soothing mineral pigments shown to soften skin.

tarte amazon eyescape

Just as important as all that…it’s cute! 🙂

And it’s on shelves now.

I have to admit, the packaging is what first caught my attention, but the colors and claimed skin benefits also make a compelling case, not that I can detect any results after testing it for a week.

Based on the colors, at least, I think it definitely deserves more time. The six powder shadows and two blushes in the kit are downright gorgeous!

tarte amazon eyescape 2

tarte amazon eyescape swatches
Swatches from the left: Blushes in Free and Exposed; Eyeshadows in Tame, Rare, Rope, Camo, Canopy and Tribal
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My Cheeks Are Loving Tarte’s Latest Natural-Looking Cheek Stain

August 2nd, 2012 by Karen 44 Comments

tarte loving cheekstain

Things I encountered this afternoon…

1. A piece of chocolate cake.

Portion control is lame

2. A pinkish coral blush that smells like a mixed berry smoothie (more on this in a minute!).

tarte loving cheekstain

3. Jeremy Renner doing push-ups in my living room… He texted this morning to ask if he could come over on my lunch break (“Hey, girl, I’m in Novato!”).

Alright, so maybe that third thing didn’t happen. Truth is, Jeremy and I went makeup shopping at Sephora this afternoon…

Okay, okay, I’ll stop! 🙂

But seriously, I can’t wait to see Jeremy in the new Bourne movie. Maybe I’ll wear Tarte’s new Cheek Stain in Loving ($30) to the show.

If I do, one thing’s for sure — I know my cheeks will smell good, LOL!
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Tarte Is Wild About Jungles and Palettes With the New Tarte Fall 2012 Collection

July 26th, 2012 by Karen 37 Comments

tarte fall 2012

Rrrrow! Tarte hopes we’ll heed the call of the wild, jungle cats and kittens, and prance over to Sephora and Ulta stores to peruse the new fall 2012 collection (available now in stores and online).

Here’s a quick look at the eye palettes and some of the other pieces from the collection…

Amazon Escape: Amazonian Clay Eye and Cheek Palette ($44)

tarte amazon eyescape
Available exclusively at Sephora

tarte amazon eyescape 2

Call of the Wild Amazonian Clay 8-Shadow Collector’s Palette ($36)

tarte call of the wild
Available exclusively at Ulta

tarte call of the wild
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Today I Tried to Answer the Question Tarte Poses With Their New Makeup Kit, “What Has Your Makeup Done For You Lately?”

June 28th, 2012 by Karen 18 Comments

tarte what has your makeup done for you lately

This morning, while Janet rocked, “What have you done for me lately?” I sang something similar while applying the products in Tarte’s latest makeup kit.

What Has Your Makeup Done For You Lately? — that’s a good question, and it’s also the name of the $49 six-piece kit (a QVC exclusive).

Listening to Janet, I came this close to teasing my hair and slipping into something with shoulder pads, but then I came to my senses, thankfully, because real life ’80’s fashion wasn’t always as cool as a John Hughes film… 🙂

For this look, I’m wearing all of the products in the kit except for the Maracuja Oil, and I’m also wearing Tarte’s Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush in Peaceful on my cheeks, because the kit doesn’t come with a blush.

tarte what has your makeup done for you lately

tarte what has your makeup done for you lately
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Tired of Being Disappointed With Your Makeup? With Their New QVC Exclusive Kit, Tarte Asks, “What Has Your Makeup Done For You Lately?”

June 27th, 2012 by Karen 21 Comments

tarte what has your makeup done for you lately

Every time I say the name of Tarte’s new $49 QVC exclusive kit, “What Has Your Makeup Done For You Lately?” (a $160 value) I think of this old-school Janet Jackson jam…

I find it really funny that I can’t remember the last name of that boy I dated for three months in my freshman year in college (Mike something-or-other? I want to say Mendoza?), but I can recite the lyrics from Janet’s video word for word!

“What’s up, girl?”

“He stood me up again.”

“Again?!”

“Um-hmm.”

“Well, what’s up with this guy? Do you really like him that much?”

“Yes, honey, I love him. He is fine. He does a lot of nice things for me.”

“I know he used to do nice stuff for you, but what has he done for you lately?”

Don’t even get me started on the choreography. 🙂

But I digress…

Tarte’s latest makeup kit, a QVC exclusive (QVC and QVC.com) on July 13, features six pieces, most of them new.

For $49, or about 70 percent off the regular price of all of the products purchased separately, you get one LipSurgence Lip Shine in Smitten (a glossy pink), the new Pure Maracuja Oil Rollerball, the new Retoucher Flawless Finish Bamboo Foundation Brush, the new Maracuja Miracle 12-HR Foundation with Broad Spectrum SPF 15 (choose from one of five shades in Fair, Light, Medium, Tan and Deep), the new modernEYES Waterproof Creaseless Shadow/Liner in Plumberry/Plum Brown, and a re-promoted Amazonian Clay Smart Mascara.

Oh — and as a bonus, you also get a sample jar of Tarte’s new Maracuja C-Brighter Eye Treatment, a cream designed to conceal dark circles immediately and diminish the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles over time.

tarte what has your makeup done for you lately box

tarte what has your makeup done for you lately in hand

tarte what has your makeup done for you lately foundation
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Tarte Clean Slate 360 Creaseless 12-Hour Smoothing Eye Primer Makes Eye Makeup Stick Around

May 28th, 2012 by Karen 12 Comments

tarte clean slate 360 creaseless 2 hr smoothing eye primer 1

Skipping eye primer always seems like a good idea when I’m in a hurry, but yeah, sometimes it’s not.

Like when I’m taking some much-needed “meow time” to unwind at Sephora, decide to do some swatches, and what starts out as a 15-minute trip turns into two hours.

Or when a coffee break with Channing Tatum starts out as a brief 15-minute chat about the bulging biceps and hair/accessories/shirtless-ness in his upcoming tour de force, Magic Mike, but inevitably turns into a detailed six-hour discussion on the pros and cons of soft and crunchy hair gels (I like soft; crunchy gel seems so early ’90s to me) and the stylishness, or lack thereof, of camo capris (careful) and button-down shirts (yea!).

Okay, so maybe that second example happened, to quote ’80s teen chanteuse Debbie Gibson, “only in my dreams.” 🙂

As real as it may seem!

One thing’s for sure — my days usually last longer than I expect them to, hence my love for long-wearing eye primers that help keep my shadow, liner and concealer in place.

Tarte’s new Clean Slate 360 Creaseless 12-Hour Smoothing Eye Primer ($19) promises to do just that. A smudge-proof base designed to make eye makeup stay on task, it’s supposed to prevent fallout and postpone eye makeup migration for a full 12 hours, so you can say, “g’bye!” to disappearing eyeshadow and creasing color.

A recent study involving my butt in a pool chair and an issue of US Weekly concluded that the waterproof eyeshadow and liner I layered on top of Clean Slate, which is also water-resistant, did sparkle and shimmer for a very long time. The subjects also exhibited no adverse effects after taking a quick dip.

No fussing over finding a base color that matches your skin tone, either, as Clean Slate’s colorless universal shade should work for most everyone.

Tarte Clean Slate 360 Creaseless 12-Hour Smoothing Eye Primer ($19)

Came out with the summer 2012 collection and was added to Tarte’s permanent line
Made with beeswax (used as a natural waterproofing agent), mineral pigments (as opposed to artificial colors and dyes) and vitamin E (a natural preservative with anti-inflammatory properties)
Made without parabens, sulfates, synthetic fragrances, petrochemicals, phthalates, GMO’s or triclosan
Has a thin consistency, like a light lotion, and it absorbs quickly into my skin
It layers well beneath eyeshadows (powders and creams) and liners (pencils, liquids, gels and cakes)
Being from Tarte, it’s also eco-friendly, cruelty-free and ~~vegan~~ vegetarian (it does contain beeswax, which many do not consider vegan)
Sure does last a very long time for me; I get between 12-13 hours, with very minor fading starting around hour eight

tarte clean slate 360 creaseless 2 hr smoothing eye primer 2

tarte clean slate 360 creaseless 2 hr smoothing eye primer 3
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This Summer, Tarte Comes Bearing Gifts From the Lipstick Tree

May 2nd, 2012 by Karen 36 Comments

tarte gifts from the lipstick tree
Wearing Tarte Maracuja Divine Shine Lip Gloss in Achiote on my lips

Even though I spent much of the past few days disheveled in some pretty remote places, makeup was never far from my mind.

Like on Monday, while trudging through tall grasses and traversing streams along the banks of the Wailua River, El Hub pointed out some of the fruit trees he recognized from his childhood (he grew up on the neighboring island of Oahu). “There’s a breadfruit tree, mango, papaya, guava…”

I kept hoping I’d also hear him say, “And there’s a lipstick tree,” as in Tarte’s new limited edition Gifts from the Lipstick Tree Color Collection ($42).

Leave it to Tarte to distract me in the middle of the jungle, LOL!

The limited edition set, part of Tarte’s 2012 summer collection, comes with three full-size lip and cheek products in a warm, shimmery golden pink called Achiote, after the name of the small tropical tree from which Tarte obtained the pigment.

The bright red seeds of the achiote tree’s spiny fruit are used to color all kinds of things, from food to body paint and even lipstick. Hence its nickname, “the lipstick tree.”

I’m pretty sure we didn’t pass any achiote trees on our hike, but I did snap this picture of a rare related plant that had Tarte’s Lip Luster, Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush and a Maracuja Divine Shine Lip Gloss hanging from its branches…

Yeah, right! Now that would have been an awesome jungle find. 🙂

On my dry cheeks and lips, the blush lasts about six hours, while both of the lip products (which have a faint peppermint flavor and scent) last about three.

tarte gifts from the lipstick tree
Gifts from the Lipstick Tree Achiote Color Collection from bottom to top: LipSurgence Lip Luster in Achiote, Maracuja Divine Shine Lip Gloss in Achiote and Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush in Achiote

tarte summer 2012 swatches
From the left: Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush, LipSurgence Lip Luster in Achiote and Maracuja Divine Shine Lip Gloss in Achiote
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