Saturday 5 January 2008

Tarte Cosmetics "We Wish You Health" limited edition travel set



RRP: $30

--What does the promo say?--
During the holidays we want to look our best! And that means beginning our healthy beauty routine with a clean slate™. This skinvigorating™ 4-piece discovery set includes all the tools for looking better, naturally. Whether you keep it for yourself or give it as a gift, it’s the perfect start to a new year!

--Packaging--
The kit contains one face primer, one mascara, one eyeshadow duo, and one lipgloss. I'm currently in the process of reviewing all the products in this pack individually, so I won't go into detail on that, but suffice it to say it's all very cute and dinky, with tops that won't fall off and send eyeshadow (or whatever) everywhere (the eyeshadow packaging in particular is ingeniously designed; go to my Lock and Roll review and you'll see me extolling its virtues). The sizes of the products are perfect for travel and so won't have the customs officials staring at you with their death-rays-for-eyes; and it all comes in an adorable purple faux-snake-skin casing with a little see-through window. Nice.

--Application--
For the facial primer, you don't really need an applicator - just smear it on your face with your fingers. For all other products, applicators are pretty much included (apart from the rollerball eyeshadow, which is somewhat self-explanatory, non?).

--Appearance--
Facial primer: none, as it's a translucent, colourless gel.
Mascara: visible thickening of lashes, with minimal clogs and clumps. Hoorah.
Eyeshadow: powder shadow needs a bit of coaxing along, as it's the subtlest of all subtle shadows I've owned (apart from possibly one that I own by Guerlain, but that's another story), but it gets there. The cream is rather stronger, but can be blended to suit, and can also be used as a liquid liner.
Lip gloss: Shiny. Ooooh so shiny (and with a hint of glitter too).

--Scent and taste--
Only the lipgloss has a scent and a taste, and I'm sorry to say it's bad. It's strawberry. Kind of reminds me of some really dodgy 'strawberry' candy floss I had at Thorpe Park once. Still, could be worse. Earwax-flavoured lip gloss, anyone?

--Texture--
Fine by all accounts. Mascara not claggy (and they actually use a REAL picture of someone's eye on their website before/after pics, not a Photoshopped picture of an actress wearing falsies). Primer smooth. Lipgloss not sticky. Eyeshadow appropriately creamy/powdery without going everywhere. Once again, hoorah.

--Longevity--
All good. The mascara in fact probably works a little too well, in fact - I can barely remove it at night and invariably wake up with panda eyes in the morning (and this is their non-waterproof version!).

--Value for money--
For a mere fifteen of our English pounds, you get to try all of these wonderful products (which all seem to retail at $30-ish each for their full-size versions), as well as the carry-case, which can be kept for future travels. As I said on my review of Too Faced's portable makeup kit, many kits are crap value for money in comparison.

--Other comments--
While Tarte don't deliver internationally from their own website, www.beauty.com and www.amazon.com seem happy to ship worldwide.
Go on, let's get another thoroughly British "hoorah" in there for good measure :)

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