Tarte's Holiday 2012 Collection is now available, ranging in prices $16 - $54. This includes the Big Thrill Color Collection, Carried Away Collector’s Set with Adventurer Bag, Fantastic Foursome Amazonian Clay 12-hour Blush Set, For the Love of Lipgloss 15-Piece Maracuja Lipgloss Collector's Set, Eye Catchers 6 Piece smolderEYES with Skinny smolderEYES Collector's Set, Girl Meets Gloss 5 Piece Maracuja Gloss Collector's Set, Statement Lips 5 Piece LipSurgence Collector's Set, Picture Perfect Curler and Deluxe Lights, Camera, Lashes! 4-in-1 Mascara, and the Stand Outs Limited Edition Best-Seller Kit.
Exclusively sold at Ulta, the Big Thrill Limited-Edition Color Collection ($48 at Ulta) comes in jewelry box-esque packaging with beauty overload. It boasts 16 of Tarte's signature square eye shadows infused with Amazonian clay in an array of fresh colors, three of Tarte's award winning and best selling Amazonian clay 12-hour blushes in new shades, three vitamin lip glosses, and a "look" card that will help you achieve the most desirable look.
I don't believe I've come across any other eyeshadow brand that is highly pigmented and rich as theirs. I love that the shades are shimmery and have a silky texture. The colors are not eccentric in the least, making them extremely wearable for everyday. My only gripe is that I wish that the lighter colors (those are the colors that I wear more) had stronger staying power, so a lid primer is definitely essential.
The colors that are included in this palette are: Exquisite Emerald, Rush of Gold, Go for the Green, Clay Crush, Jump for Juniper, Shooting Star, Next Level Lilac, Pumped About Purple, Intergalactic Metallic, Pop of Pink, Silver Burst, Amazed by Amethyst, Cloud 9, Brilliant Bronze, Giant Peach, and Totally Taupe.
As for favorites, I adore the Go for the Green, a springy olive green and the Intergalactic Metallic, a shimmery gunmetal grey.
The second compartment includes a bronzer (Park Avenue Princess), highlighter (Angelic), and 2 blushes (Thrilled and Curious). I haven't really been wearing much blush lately, but I love that their blush is sheer, blendable, natural looking, and comes in colors that will complement any skin tone. I really like the Thrilled, the third blush (featured in the picture above), which is a shimmery light pink that looks good on my fair skin tone.
Lastly, the third compartment contains three different shades of lip gloss - Apple-a-Day, Strawberry Sensation, and Abra-Cad-Apricot. Created to nourish, moisturize, and rejuvenate the lips; these shades are sheer, yet provide enough color to indicate that they are there. This set is slightly sticky, though.
The Girl Meets Gloss 5 Piece Maracuja Gloss Collector's Set includes an eclectic mix of colors that are milky, opaque, or translucent. One lip gloss normally sells for $21, but you'll receive all five (Bubbly, Chic, Curious, Sparks, Preppy) for just $34.50! That's an unbelievably crazy deal for a set that's valued at $105.
I hate the way lip gloss initially dispenses, because it takes two dozen times to get anything out! However, I love all of the colors, but the Sparks and Bubbly are my top favorites. They're also a little sticky, but I love the colors enough to overlook this!
This set will be making its exclusive launch on QVC in time for the holidays.
Tarte Cosmetics is sold at their web-site, Ulta, QVC, and Sephora. You can connect with them via Pinterest, Google+, Facebook, and Twitter.
Disclosure: The product(s) in this review was provided to the reviewer for keeps and the purpose of writing a review. This in no way effects the quality of the review provided. No monetary exchange occurred in exchange for the writing of the review. The views expressed in this review are strictly that of the reviewer. All reviews provided here are the work of the reviewer and remain completely unbiased.