This is the 4th time I
am writing about Tarte products! That must say something about my love for Tarte
Cosmetics. They have wonderful products that are derived from
"good and natural" ingredients! That is a major reason behind my
interest in Tarte! I have tried quite a few products and have never been
disappointed with any of them. I love their butter lipsticks, Amazonian clay
waterproof skinny liners, lights-camera-lashes mascara and LipSurgence Lip Lusters ("Pouty" reviewed here). And... their Amazonian clay blushes ("Flush" reviewed here) are to die for!! ;-) I have not
tried any of their other eyeshadows, but this quad may be one of the Tarte
products that have been the least impressive of all the items I have tried.
But don't get me wrong, I still like it!!
They have a few
different shades in "beauty & the box" quad series. It comes with
6.8 g (0.2 oz.) of product at a regular price of $22. But I bought it at a
sale price of $10 from Tarte Cosmetics. That, for me is a definite bargain! And
I don't think I will be very comfortable in paying $22 for this!
If you are familiar with
the lightweight cardboard blush or bronzer boxes from Benefit Cosmetics, the
packaging of this quad is exactly the same; but of a little less height and no mirror! The
box has an artistic floral design printed on it. This design changes with each
of the quad in this line; and the colors in the design resemble the colors
inside. Clever way of correlating the inside & outside shades! It's a neat
eye catching packaging but I am not sure if it will travel well. It just does
not seem strong enough even though it has not suffered any damage yet to
prove me wrong :-) But again, I have not travelled much with it. The shadows
are placed adjacent to each other in the pan without any kind of individual
boundary; with further usage the edges will definitely get messed up! But they
are wide enough for you to put your brushes on there.
To me, the texture of
these shadows is somewhat unique. It is not glittery and it certainly is not
matte; when applied it gives a very pretty sheen which I like to describe as "pearly finish". I can definitely understand how some people can
see the texture as "frosted". I don't have any other similar type of
shadows, so I happen to enjoy it. These are decently pigmented, easy to apply as well as blend and
stay put for up to 6-7 hrs. I always use some kind of primer with my eyeshadows. There is little fallout when applying but
definitely manageable! But compared to some other Tarte cult favorite items
(think their blushes); I definitely think there is some scope for improvement
in the quality of the shadows.
So, there are four
shades (hence the name quad; silly me ;-)) I am not able to connect the names to
the shades, but I really enjoy these weird yet
adorable names!
Skydive: Champagne with
a hint of pink. It looks more pinky in the pan and shows more beige-y when swatched!
Perfect to brighten the inner-corner. It looks ashy on my lid, but if you have
fairer skin tone than me, you can definitely use it on the lid.
Love More: For me, this
is the most gorgeous shade in the palette. A very elegant golden olive-green shade.
Looks absolutely gorgeous!
Recycle: This is a very
muted greyish blue shade. I can also see a hint of olive in it (extra sharp
eyes ;-), ha ha). I love blue eyeshadows, and if you can wear gracefully, blue
looks amazing on brown eyes!
5k: Quirky name right?
Another gorgeous shade! It's a subtle lilac color. Another of my favorite
color, in the entire universe. :-)
You can surely create
different eye looks from this palette, but I do need to use other matte shades
for 'blending' or 'using in the crease' purpose. This is not a big negative for
me as I believe the quads are not designed to be "self-sufficient" as
their primary purpose. If you want to complete an entire look without messing
with a few different eyeshadow pans, singles or palettes, this might not be for
you. But it has definitely been a nice addition to my collection.
Pros:
- Easy
to apply and blendable.
- Very
beautiful shades
Cons: These are not exactly cons but definitely
there is some room for improvement.
- The
regular price is a bit steep.
- Not
an all-around travel friendly palette.
- Little frosty kind of texture;
may not be up to every body's liking.
If you keep an eye on, the quad is available in Sephora, Ulta and Tarte Cosmetics from time to time. But I don't think it's available at this moment. To be honest, I picked
this up only because it was on sale and I needed another item to get to the
"free shipping" limit (For some reason, I simply refuse to pay
shipping charges :-) !) and I have no regret that I bought it. I use it and like
it. However, keeping in mind the price and quality, I am not sure if I will be
curious enough to pick up the other shades!! :-)
Hope it was helpful.
Love,
~Arrru
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