I absolutely love Tarte Cosmetics! When I first started wearing makeup I remember buying their gel liner and smolderEYES liner.
Over the years my collection of Tarte makeup has grown to include the Tartlette in Bloom Palette (which is one of my favourite palettes ever), their blushes, creaseless concealers as well as their liquid lipsticks. Despite some of the negative reviews they received (and thus re-doing of their formula), I really loved the original liquid lipsticks!
During the Sephora VIB sale I was prompted by the ad Gods about Tarte’s Friends and Family sale which promoted 30% off your purchase (including sale items) and a slew of pretty great products on sale. Naturally I clicked the ad. And naturally I spent $100.00 one hour later. #MakeupAddict #IDoNotHaveAProblem
The sad part was that the Shape Tape Concealers were not included in the 30% off discount due to the fact that these babies are high in demand. At first I wasn’t going to buy them but then I realized a) Sephora doesn’t carry the product and b) I already added the items to my cart so I might as well purchase them 😉
I ended up purchase the Shape Tape Concealers, a face spray and a travel size bronzer and highlight duo. Check out my review below!
Shape Tape Contour Concealer – Medium – $31 CAD
In comparing this item to the Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer ($37) I prefer the NARS over shape tape for two reasons. First I think that it does a better job of highlighting the under eye area (though to be fair I think I should have gone down a colour in Shape Tape) and second I think the consistency and blendability of NARS is smoother and creamier (just like its name sake).
I do not think that the Shape Tape really revolutionized the concealer game but I will say that it still is smooth and creamy and it does not crease as badly as other concealers and I actually wear the Shape Tape on days I am not doing full face, I use it in the areas that just need some covering up as well as underneath my eyes. However my sister absolutely loves the Shape Tape more than the NARS concealer. She also points out the Shape tape has more of a pink undertone while NARS has a yellow undertone (hence why we both prefer the different ones on our skin!)
When I compare the Shape Tape to the Maracuja Creaseless Concealer, I definitely prefer Shape Tape! I am not sure what happened but I feel they changed the formula for their creaseless concealer and it is not as smooth or creamy as it used to be.
Overall I rate the product 3.5/5. It is smooth and creamy and blends well but I prefer the NARS radiant creamy concealer because it does a better job of highlighting and covering the dark circles.
Shape Tape Contour Concealer – Deep – $31 CAD
I have never contoured with a concealer but I wanted to give it a try with the Shape Tape. In terms of blendability it is great. It blends really easily with a beauty blender compared to the Anastasia Cream Contour Kit. I always use my foundation brush to blend it out.
The colour pay off is quite nice and light, nothing too heavy and it has more of a natural finish. When layered with a bronzer it looks super nice.
Overall I rate the product 4/5. I think I would need to play around with it a bit more to get a feel of the product but I think I like it more than my current Anastasia Contour Kit!
Ready, Set, Radiant Mist – $16 CAD
This product is described as a 2-in-1, hypoallergenic skin mist that works as a hydrating skin & makeup refresher in one lightweight mist.
When I first purchased the item I thought it was a spray you misted on your face prior to makeup application. However my sister was adamant that it was a setting spray. I tried it both ways and in my opinion you can use it either way but in terms of being an actual setting spray, it isn’t as durable as other sprays like the Urban Decay All Nighter Spray or the Girard Cosmetics spray that I am currently using and LOVE!
What I do love about this spray is a) its amazing smell, which is nice and light and citrusy and b) when you spray it on your face it is like a spritz of refreshing air rather than that wet mist you get with other sprays.
For the most part I do not have a big problem with makeup staying on my face normally, unless I am going to be out all night (in which case I would need a setting spray) but the Ready, Set, Radian Mist isn’t as long lasting as other setting sprays.
Overall I rate this product 3/5 for actually setting spray duties but a 4/5 for the fact that it actually feels so incredible when you spray the mist on your face and for $16 it is actually a really nice refreshing mist or pre-makeup application spray!
Glow Girls Bronze & Highlight Duo – Bronzer in Hotel Heiress – $21 CAD (on Sephora)
First off let me say that the bronzer is super duper tiny (as you can see in the image above). It is the perfect travel size bronzer. The highlighter is a nice compact size as well.
In my opinion the bronzer is more of a contour colour than an actual sun kissed colour. In terms of colour pay off, I am not a fan of the bronzer at all. When swatched on my hand I needed to do it a few times before I got the colour I liked, and I had to repeat the same process when applying it on my face. I had high hopes for this bronzer but I do not think it does justice to girls who have medium to deep skin tones. I have seen this swatched on girls with a lighter complexion and it looks amazing (I envy you lol) but the product just isn’t for me. I am still looking for a bronzer that matches up to the Korres one I have. I cannot find it anywhere – even online. Which means I guess I have to go back to Greece LOL!
The highlighter in this duo is super pretty and really pigmented (as you can see in the swatch). The highlight is also quite powdery which means it had the tendency to look a bit cakey on the face. My current favourite is the Anastasia Glow Kit in that glow because of how bronzy and golden it is. (however in the swatch it looks quite light and I chose a shade that matches the Tarte one). I think the Tarte highlighter makes for a beautiful inner corner highlight 🙂
Overall I rate this product a 2.5/5. I expected more colour pay off and depth with the bronzer but it feel short, especially on my skin tone. It would look great on someone with a lighter complexion! The highlight was beautiful but a bit powdery.
I hope you enjoyed this review! I honestly love Tarte Cosmetics (and I love that they are cruelty free as well)! Although a lot of the products were misses for me – I am obviously going to use them all, and I encourage you to check them out as well, they may work better for you than they did for me.
I will be posting another makeup review soon on the Anastasia Modern Renaissance Palette!
Until next time.
XO
