Hello, my loves. I’m back once again with a palette review for you guys. I know what you may be thinking right now and I agree with you.
I don’t need another contouring product but alas – Tarte got to me. I recently got the Tarteist Contour Palette because I easily cave like that. To be honest, I was actually thinking long and hard whether to go for the Urban Decay x Gwen Stefani Blush Palette or this one. The decision wasn’t easy and there was no way I was getting two palettes in one month. I am quite disciplined with my expenses.
I know this product has been out for a couple of months in the States and in Canada but living in Asia means we are kinda delayed with some releases. Thus, this delayed reaction.
Packaging
The medium-sized, round packaging is something that I love about it. The gold colour paired with the black lettering (thank goodness they didn’t go for their usual purple) also made it look classy. It’s also a bit heavy thanks to the metal base of the palette, giving it a luxurious feel to it.
The top has a gold tin foil feel with on the top but a certain bounce to it kinda makes me think of faux leather. I could be wrong though. I do find it pretty although I doubt the shine will last. Also, it’s very prone to scratches so if you’re particular about that, you’ll really have to be careful with this palette. Especially if you plant to bring it with you when you travel.
One thing I can say that I don’t like about the packaging is how the pans were positioned. Yes, I love the round palette and its size but I just find the pans too close to each other. If you’re using a full-sized brush, there is always the danger of getting some of the bristles into the other pans.
This won’t be a problem if you’re using travel-sized brushes though and if you’re careful.
Product
When I first saw the palette, the first thing I took note of was this was definitely a white girl’s contour palette. The shade is perfect for fair skin tones but may also work for those who are in the medium category due to the contour shades.
Swatches
The Highlight (1) shade is a warm highlight and is perfect for summer. It’s a beige with a very subtle yellow tint. It’s a satin finish so don’t expect a lot of shine from this. It will be effective in bringing out the high points of your face even further while still maintaining a natural look. It may look chalky on medium to darker skin tones but when buffed properly on people with fair skin, it looks gorgeous. This lasted a good 8 hours on me before it faded.
The ‘Correct‘ (2) shade is a pale yellow, matte powder that is meant to set powder under your eyes and counter bluish or dark areas on your face. It has a powdery feel and it did prevent my under eye concealer from settling on the fine lines of my under eyes for about 7 hours.
Highlight, Correct, Contour, Contour.
As for the lighter Contour (3) shade, I find it to be a warm, milk chocolate brown with a tinge of terracotta to it. I love that people are opening up to warmer contour shades. Some purists would often say that contours should always be a cool-toned brown but I disagree. As a pale girl who can’t seem to hold a tan for as long as she wants, I really love using bronzers and warmer contour shades because they look natural and give me a sun-kissed look – especially for day time. This colour is so easy to blend and quite buildable.
The darker Contour (4) shade, meanwhile, reminds me of warm, dark chocolate with a hint of hmm… is that taupe? It’s not too warm so it can still work for people who are not fans of the warm contour.
Both shades lasted 8 hours on me.
Accentuate, Glow.
Accentuate is a beautiful, dusty pink blush which can go with almost any makeup look. It’s matte, blends easily, and can look like a natural flush on fair skin. I’m in love with it. This lasted for 6 hours on me although I did apply quite little of it.
Glow is a pearly ivory that is a great shade for your cupid’s bow or the inner corners of your eyes. I have fair skin and I for one think it’s too white to use on my cheekbones and on the bridge of my nose. It may look unnatural. It stayed on for 7 hours.
I give this palette a 7.9 over 10. A really good one from Tarte if I may say so myself.
Price
This retails for RM193 here in Malaysia. Not bad for a decent contour palette although if Kat Von D’s Shade and Light Contour Palette was available in Malaysia, I may just have second thoughts about purchasing this.
That’s all for now. Will be back with more later as I really wanted to keep this review as brief as possible. Also, I’m supposed to catch some zzz ‘cos we’re going out of town for Holy Week.
Love,
Carol
