It’s been a while since I’ve shared a full face brand review, and after giving these products a fair go over the last couple of months, I finally wanted to talk through my thoughts. The brand in question is Tarte, a brand which heroes naturally-derived ingredients in their products, and avoids those chemical nasties like paragons, sodium lauryl sulphate and triclosan.
My love for Tarte started a few years ago, when I placed my first order for one of their cult eyeshadow palettes, and it’s been on my radar ever since. So today I’m sharing a full review of a selection of Tarte makeup, starting with base products, through to face, eye and lip products.
Wearing Everlane sweater and Thomas Sabo earrings (10% off with JAMIE-LEE10)
BASE PRODUCTS
Tarte Deep Sea Collagen Super Serum | To prep my skin ahead of applying my makeup, I started with the Deep Sea Collagen Super Serum. This is a bi-phase oil which you shake to combine, that contains vegan collagen, and is loaded with a number of natural ingredients including eggplant fruit extract, jojoba seed oil and tumeric root extract. My skin sits on the oily/combination (but dehydrated) end of the spectrum, so I decided to use this in place of my usual moisturiser. I’ve used this a couple of times so can only speak to my first impressions, but I like the texture – it doesn’t feel to greasy and sinks into my skin quickly, and it left a smooth base for my makeup. If you’re after an extra boost of hydration, then you could layer this under your moisturiser too.
Tarte Face Tape Foundation (shade 35G medium golden) | I should probably preface this by saying that I like a lightweight base. Something that covers up redness, looks flawless but skin-like, but that still lets all my freckles peek through. That’s definitely not what you’re doing to get with the Face Tape Foundation. This is full coverage. I used one pump and worked this into my skin using the Tarte Double Duty Beauty brush. Despite being full coverage, I actually quite liked how seamless this looked once blended in, and the shade was a good match for me. If memory serves, the range for this foundation is phenomenal, with pink, yellow and neutral-based shades. I’d describe the finish as a satin-matte; it isn’t dewy but it doesn’t look flat on the skin. As the day wore on, I found that the foundation settled into my fine lines (including laugh lines I didn’t know I had), emphasised my pores, and looked a bit cakey near my chin where it had started to wear off. I’ve tried this a couple times now and both times have felt underwhelmed. I’d like to try this mixed in with a moisturiser to see if I can sheer it out and also resolve the issues with wear time. However overall, while I think this could be a good option for an evening event lasting a few hours, it’s one I’ll largely be giving a miss.
Tarte ‘Rainforest of the Sea’ Water Foundation (shade light-medium sand) | By contrast to the Shape Tape Foundation, the Water Foundation is a light to medium coverage base with a dewy skin-like finish. If you’ve been watching any of my recent YouTube videos, then you’ve probably seen this pop up in the description box as it has fast become a favourite. I like to apply this with a damp beauty blender, squeezing a few generous drops from the pipette and I press it into the skin starting around my under-eye area and cheeks and working outwards. While this is more of a dewy finish, it doesn’t look wet on the skin; it’s natural and it wears nicely over the course of the day too. This is one product I see myself repurchasing as soon as my current bottle is empty.
Tarte Shape Tape Contour Concealer (shade light neutral) | Like its sister foundation, the Shape Tape Concealer is seriously full coverage – much more so than any other concealer I’ve tried, so this took a bit of getting used to for me. I went for the shade ‘light neutral’, as I wanted to use this more to highlight rather than conceal blemishes. The formula is very thick, and a little goes a long way. I like to use the applicator to pop one small dot just below the inner corner of my eye, and I then use a damp beauty blender to disperse the product along the contour of my eye. The finish is quite matte, so if you have dry skin you’ll want to start with a very moisturised base so that you can make the most of this product. Since getting a handle on how best to use it, I’ve been reaching for this concealer quite frequently. As I mentioned earlier, less is more with this.
Tarte Shape Tape Setting Powder | The final in the Shape Tape trio is the setting powder, and I have to say I’ve got mixed feelings about this one. This is a yellow-toned powder which I have found it best for setting the under-eye area only. It has a nice brightening effect, is mattifying, but doesn’t look powdery on the skin. From what I can tell, only comes in the one shade, so not ideal for those with very fair or deeper skin tones. In terms of application, it’s best applied sparingly using a small fluffy brush.
FACE PRODUCTS
Tarte Amazonian Clay Waterproof Bronzer in ‘park ave princess’ | I’ve spoken about this bronzer in my monthly beauty edit before, but I wanted to touch on it again as it’s turned out to be one of the unsung heroes of the bunch. In the pan, it looks warm – maybe too warm – and speckled with glitter. But on the cheeks is where it really shines. It adds a nice natural sun-kissed bronze, which almost has a luminescent glow on the skin. This has been my go-to for day-to-day since I got it a couple of months back, and I don’t really see that changing any time soon. Definitely worth trying if you’re on the hunt for a new bronzer.
Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush in ‘natural beauty’ | High up on my list of products to try from Tarte has always been their Amazonian Clay blushes. ‘Exposed’ is a bit of a cult favourite which I do like, but I find that it can be a little lacking in pigmentation. The shade ‘natural beauty’ looks a little vibrant in the pan, but with a light hand you can softly build up the colour to add a natural flush to the cheeks which I think looks very pretty.
Tarte Amazonian Clay Highlighter in ‘exposed highlight’ | The final face product I applied was the Amazonian Clay Highlighter in ‘exposed highlight’. This is a beautiful champagne hue that is speckled with flecks of silver glitter. Of the three Amazonian Clay face products, this was my least favourite. It is an ultra-pigmented highlight which I personally found looked a little too severe on the cheeks, as the glitter flecks pick up and highlight patches of uneven skin.
EYE PRODUCTS
Tarte Tarteist Pro Remix Amazonian Clay Eyeshadow Palette | The first thing I ever bought from Tarte was their original ‘Tartelette’ eye palette, and I’ve been hooked since. This Pro Remix palette is no exception. It contains 20 high pigment shades, with a focus on bold in-your-face shimmers. The shimmers are buttery to the touch, and apply best using a finger or a dense flat shader brush. And the mattes are pigmented and blend out smoothly. I’m wearing Inspiration, Sway, Graffiti and Wall Art on my lids, and I love how seamlessly those shades work together. Wear time on these is excellent, and I don’t have any issues with creasing (I start with an eyeshadow base first). For someone who tends to wear neutrals day in and day out, it’s probably obvious that this palette is a little out there for me, but I love the bold colour story. My only complaint? There aren’t enough mattes. I’d love to see at least one more darker neutral brown hue as I think that would be perfect for adding in a little more depth.
Tarte Treasure Pot Glitter Gel in ‘moonwalk’ | I don’t have plans to attend a festival like Coachella any time soon, but I found myself immediately feeling drawn to this product. I decided to layer this over my eyeshadow look to add a bit of extra dimension, which made it feel surprisingly wearable. This translucent gel is scattered with iridescent flecks and glitter particles. I applied this directly onto my lids using my fingers (though you could probably use a brush too), smoothing the product out to get the desired level of glitter and particle placement. This dries down after a few minutes and feels comfortable on the lids. A wild card for me, but this has been a total win and something I see myself adding into my beauty routine on a night out.
Tarte Tarteist Double Take Eyeliner | If you’ve been following me for a while, then you’ll know there’s really only one eyeliner I use day-to-day, but I really wanted to give this a god. This is a felt style eyeliner with a sharp pointed nib that is very stiff, so it doesn’t flex as you apply it along your lash line. I personally find that makes it a little more complicated to apply as the nib drags slightly along my lash line. The formula however is top notch; it’s ultra black and doesn’t smudge or budge, plus it wears well over the course of the day. I love that this comes with a gel eyeliner at the other end (either black or metallic); the gel is ultra creamy and is a great option to have if you want to run a little bit of colour along your lower lash line.
Tarte Tarteist Lash Paint | I can be a tough woman to please where mascara is concerned. I’m plagued by oily eyelids no matter the season, so in order for a mascara to be effective for me, it not only has to deliver some seriously bold lashes, but it needs to be smudge-resistant too. I’ve had mixed experiences with the ‘lash paint’; some days it will bless me with no raccoon eyes, or smudging along the brow bone, and on others, it’ll smudge and budge. I have a feeling it might be down to the humidity. That being said, I do like how it plumped up my lashes and gave them a combination of volume and length.
Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes Mascara | The second mascara I have recently tried out from Tarte is their cult favourite: Lights, Camera, Lashes. I hate to say it, but this didn’t wow me. While I loved how this looked on my lashes (super full and long), it smudged along my brow bone within an hour of application, which made this feel very high maintenance to wear. A great option if you don’t have oily eyelids like myself.
LIP PRODUCTS
Tarte Tarteist Lip Paint in ‘remix’ | This is what I’m wearing on my lips above, and it’s another product that’s completely taken me by surprise. I’m not much of a gloss girl, but this high shine gloss is such a unique product, that I’m willing to make an exception. Swatched on the back of the hand it’s a clear gloss with red and bronze glitter reflects throughout. On the lips, it adds a lot of dimension both when worn on its own or layered over a lipstick. The formula is quite tacky, so best worn when your hair is up (or when it isn’t windy) and there’s a hint of vanilla fragrance that dissipates rather quickly following application.
Tarte Colour Splash Lipstick | Finally, let’s wrap things up by quickly talking about the Colour Splash Lipstick. This is another product from the ‘Rainforest of the Sea’ collection, which has clearly inspired the blue marbled packaging. I have a couple shades in this formula, and overall I really like it. The shades are highly-pigmented giving a full wash of colour across the lips with just one swipe, and I like that there is a slight iridescence to the finish once applied. The formula is smooth, creamy and moisturising, so these feel very comfortable to wear. My favourite is ‘escape’, a super bold raspberry hue – perfect for the autumn or spring season.
FINAL RECOMMENDATIONS
A lot of this will be centred around what you look for in makeup, but I’ve got a handful of favourites that I think are 100% worth the splurge, starting with the Tarte ‘Rainforest of the Sea’ Water Foundation. Of everything I’ve tried, this has been a serious MVP in my daily beauty routine and is shaping up to be one of my favourite beauty products of the year. It looks fresh on the skin and I love how it wears over the course of the day.
Second up is the Tarte Amazonian Clay Waterproof Bronzer in ‘park ave princess’. This is pigmented, gives a beautiful glow, and doesn’t have an ounce of shimmer (something I loathe in my bronzers). A great option if you want to warm up your skin, and I really love the formula. It’s long lasting and blends out easily.
And my final recommendation would be the Tarte Tarteist Pro Remix Amazonian Clay Eyeshadow Palette, or any Tarte Eyeshadow Palette, really. The colour combo in here isn’t the best if your go-to look is a neutral-toned eye, but I think this is perfect if you like to play around with makeup or want a palette that you can use on a night out. These are richly pigmented creamy shadows, and they blend out really well.
