Product Review: Tarte Tartelette Amazonian Clay Matte Eyeshadow Palette

The palette relative to the size of my hand. It's smaller than it looks online.

That title is a mouthful, I'm not even going to lie. When I first really started to get into makeup, I was (and still am) really into shimmer. Shimmer and glitter was the THANG. Urban Decay's Naked Palettes were like WHOA. But every now and again, a girl needs a matte eyeshadow. Whether it's a transition shade or you're just feeling not so sparkly that day, every girl should have a choice of matte shadows to choose from. If you wanted to, you could buy singles...or you could buy an all matte palette. I was very thrilled when I saw Tarte was releasing a palette just full of matte neutral colors. I think it is limited edition, but I can't be sure. 

Tarte was inspired by beauty bloggers/vloggers when it named the individual colors in the palette. If you are interested in who they are, you can read about it on Tarte's Website! It contains 12 beautiful matte neutral colors and is $44 available at Sephora and Tarte.com. I wasn't sure I really wanted to check out this palette until I touched the shadows in the store. They are unbelievably creamy, buttery and soft. As soon as I touched it, it was in my basket and I was checking out. Ridiculous.

Thank you Tarte, for printing the names of the colors on the palette. Look at that reflection of me taking this pic. Amateur.

So, I'm going to be completely honest with you here...I almost returned this. I really struggled with this palette. I had trouble making the colors show up on my skin and I had a really hard time blending them. It was a mess. I kept the box around for days...weeks. Then, one day...I just decided to start really trying to figure out what the issue was.

I've never really used matte eyeshadows. Not really.

There is a serious learning curve when it comes to all matte eyeshadow looks. It does not blend the same or apply the same as eyeshadows that are satin, shimmer or glittery finish. It just doesn't. Sure, maybe you use one here and there to work with your look, but if you've never tried to work with ONLY matte eyeshadows and make your look happen, you'll be in for a rude awakening. It's a different animal and it's a whole different set of skills. Once I got around the idea that I needed to work with these differently, I really enjoyed this palette.

Swatches over primer in order from left to right, top to bottom.

Swatches over primer...different light

So, I think this palette is worth the money. You get a little instruction book to use with it that tells you how to do two different looks. For the sake of this review, I did the "Daytime" look, which used Caregiver (light pink) on the lid to the brow bone, Natural Beauty (Mauve) on the inner crease, Best Friend (Mulberry) on the outer crease and Bombshell (Dark Plum) to line the lid with a wet liner brush. I actually don't have an angled liner brush (Which I think would have worked better, it's on my wishlist!) I have a Sonia Kashuk pencil brush, which worked okay. I'm not a makeup artist, but I figured Tarte thought any old Beauty Blogger could do this look. I think the effect was pretty and natural. Especially since I love pinks and mauves. I have a hooded, almond shaped eye, so there isn't much real estate to really work with here, but I think I did an okay job for an amateur. If I can do one thing, it's follow directions.

Tarte's "Daytime" look from the Instructions. Did I do it right?

Close up of the look. Kinda pretty, right?

All of the colors watched beautifully and I had no issues with pigmentation. The only one that was a bit weak was Power Player (Taupe), but it's not terrible. I was VERY impressed by the Black (Fashionista). It's quite black and intense. I am going to enjoy using it as a liner or to do a smokey eye. The rest of the colors are quite pretty and this is a great palette for using on its own or as a go-to when you need a matte color in a look with shimmery colors too.

I've never had serious issues with Tarte Eyeshadows not being long wearing and the lasting power on these is good. I didn't find that there was any fallout with these shadows at all and they are not terribly powdery which is great. This is a nearly perfect matte palette. What do you think? Are you used to working with matte eyeshadows? Is it different than shimmer/satin/glitter finish eyeshadows?