Review: Tarte the Vanity
Sorry for the lack of product reviews recently as most days, I'm just exhausted at the end of the day and do not really have the energy to do detailed reviews with photos that take a long time to get right and edit. Anyway, I thought I would review Tarte the Vanity which I've been using pretty much every day for the past couple of weeks.
The Vanity is touted as having a US$494 value versus its retail price of US$52. It is a great value for money as you get 16 full size eyeshadows, 16 lipglosses, a mini mascara, bronzer, luminiser, four blushes and two eyeshadow brushes. I had enjoyed using last year's We Wish You Wealth palette very much so I had been looking very much forward to trying out The Vanity.
Top right corner of the eyeshadow layer. I love the metallic copper peach shade in the top right corner, which I usually use in the crease area for a nice pop of colour. The brilliant jade shade next to it is another favourite that I find myself using very often.
Top right corner: the intense shimmery rich brown shade in the top right corner is one of my favourites in the palette as it is very pigmented and smooth. The pink shade is kind of blah, not very interesting at all, while the metallic olive shade is quite pretty and easy to wear.
Bottom left corner: the shimmery deep black shade with gold flecks is unique and perfect for creating a smokey eye look while the dark eggplant is another gorgeous rich metallic shade.
Bottom right corner: Another two excellent shimmery dark liner shades, a gunmetal grey with silver flecks and a shimmery cobalt. The emerald with gold sheen looks pretty in the pan but can be a bit difficult to pull off. I haven't figured out what to do with the silvery white shade!
Top left corner of the lipgloss layer.
Top right corner
Bottom left corner
Bottom right corner
Here are some side-by-side comparisons of each layer of The Vanity versus the We Wish You Wealth palette. As you can see, there are several similar eyeshadow shades between the two palettes such as the light shimmery beige, shimmery peach, gunmetal grey, bronzey brown, and light silver shades. We Wish You Wealth has too many pale highlighter/base shades but the Vanity has no nice base/highlighter shades as I find its light beige to be somewhat frosty and the white shade too whitish to be a neutral or natural base. Nevertheless, I prefer the more colorful combination in The Vanity, in particular the very impressive dark smokey shades which are quite complex and unusual instead of the standard charcoal black and chocolate brown.
As for the lip colors, I felt that both palettes were equally impressive in terms of the diversity of shades offered, the emollient texture which was moisturising and lasted well (unless you eat/drink) with impressive color payoff for the more intense shades. I especially liked some of the bright red and dark red shades. As you might be able to see from the pic, I used the top row of intense red lipglosses in the We Wish You Wealth palette the most frequently as I like a bright/dramatic lip. Pinks just don't really do it for me. The Vanity has fewer bright red/dark red shades but the range is still fun to play around with.
As for the bottom layer, I was glad that Tarte had done away with the gel eyeliners which were terrible in quality and lasting power. Except for the gel blushes, I had not touched any of the other items in the bottom layer of We Wish You Wealth, not even the lipsticks. As for The Vanity, the bottom layer is again the most disappointing layer. The blushes have barely decent color payoff and are matte whereas I tend to prefer shimmery blushes for a more glowy look. I would have preferred it if they had put in gel blushes instead even though those are more messy to use.
I don't use bronzer at all so that was useless to me. The luminizer seems alright, but not really outstanding. The mascara gives good length and definition but the formula is a bit dry, which made application tricky at times with a slight tendency to clump but this was usually easily rectified. I didn't use the brushes in We Wish You Wealth and same for the Vanity, as I prefer smaller sized brushes.
To summarise, here's what I liked and disliked about the Vanity.
Pros:
1. The eyeshadow quality is excellent with a good range of flattering, interesting and easy-to-wear shades.
2. The amount of product in the palette is generous and will last a long time. It has almost everything needed for a complete makeup look (lacks brow powder, face powder and concealer though).
3. I love the lipglosses and like having so many shades to choose from and mix to my heart's content.
4. The products are free of parabens (except for the mascara), phthalate, sulfate, propylene glycol, butylene glycol, fragrance and mineral oil.
Cons:
1. The awkward flip-out design with the flimsy plastic sheets on each layer. Ugh, can't Tarte think of something that's more consumer friendly?
2. Everything in the palette, except the mascara is made in China. With all the product safety scandals from China these days, it would give me much greater peace of mind if Tarte made its products in the US instead.
3. The blushes and brushes could have been much better. For Asians with small eyes like me, I need a smaller eyeshadow brush for shading, blending and lining.
Overall, I would give The Vanity 7 stars out of 10. What would have made it a perfect 10? One, if the palette had been made in the US instead of China. Two, if the blushes were more shimmery with better color payoff. Three, if the mascara had a wetter, glossier consistency. If you already own the We Wish You Wealth palette from last Christmas, I would say The Vanity is not a must-have but it's still nice to have, especially if you're a Tarte devotee.
Here are some close-up pics of the eyeshadows in the We Wish You Wealth palette. As you can see, it features a more muted palette compared to The Vanity with a couple of matte shades in muddy brown and beige.
Too bad we have to wait another year to see if Tarte will put out another blockbuster palette... I sure hope they do!
The Vanity is touted as having a US$494 value versus its retail price of US$52. It is a great value for money as you get 16 full size eyeshadows, 16 lipglosses, a mini mascara, bronzer, luminiser, four blushes and two eyeshadow brushes. I had enjoyed using last year's We Wish You Wealth palette very much so I had been looking very much forward to trying out The Vanity.
Top right corner of the eyeshadow layer. I love the metallic copper peach shade in the top right corner, which I usually use in the crease area for a nice pop of colour. The brilliant jade shade next to it is another favourite that I find myself using very often.
Top right corner: the intense shimmery rich brown shade in the top right corner is one of my favourites in the palette as it is very pigmented and smooth. The pink shade is kind of blah, not very interesting at all, while the metallic olive shade is quite pretty and easy to wear.
Bottom left corner: the shimmery deep black shade with gold flecks is unique and perfect for creating a smokey eye look while the dark eggplant is another gorgeous rich metallic shade.
Bottom right corner: Another two excellent shimmery dark liner shades, a gunmetal grey with silver flecks and a shimmery cobalt. The emerald with gold sheen looks pretty in the pan but can be a bit difficult to pull off. I haven't figured out what to do with the silvery white shade!
Top left corner of the lipgloss layer.
Top right corner
Bottom left corner
Bottom right corner
Here are some side-by-side comparisons of each layer of The Vanity versus the We Wish You Wealth palette. As you can see, there are several similar eyeshadow shades between the two palettes such as the light shimmery beige, shimmery peach, gunmetal grey, bronzey brown, and light silver shades. We Wish You Wealth has too many pale highlighter/base shades but the Vanity has no nice base/highlighter shades as I find its light beige to be somewhat frosty and the white shade too whitish to be a neutral or natural base. Nevertheless, I prefer the more colorful combination in The Vanity, in particular the very impressive dark smokey shades which are quite complex and unusual instead of the standard charcoal black and chocolate brown.
As for the lip colors, I felt that both palettes were equally impressive in terms of the diversity of shades offered, the emollient texture which was moisturising and lasted well (unless you eat/drink) with impressive color payoff for the more intense shades. I especially liked some of the bright red and dark red shades. As you might be able to see from the pic, I used the top row of intense red lipglosses in the We Wish You Wealth palette the most frequently as I like a bright/dramatic lip. Pinks just don't really do it for me. The Vanity has fewer bright red/dark red shades but the range is still fun to play around with.
As for the bottom layer, I was glad that Tarte had done away with the gel eyeliners which were terrible in quality and lasting power. Except for the gel blushes, I had not touched any of the other items in the bottom layer of We Wish You Wealth, not even the lipsticks. As for The Vanity, the bottom layer is again the most disappointing layer. The blushes have barely decent color payoff and are matte whereas I tend to prefer shimmery blushes for a more glowy look. I would have preferred it if they had put in gel blushes instead even though those are more messy to use.
I don't use bronzer at all so that was useless to me. The luminizer seems alright, but not really outstanding. The mascara gives good length and definition but the formula is a bit dry, which made application tricky at times with a slight tendency to clump but this was usually easily rectified. I didn't use the brushes in We Wish You Wealth and same for the Vanity, as I prefer smaller sized brushes.
To summarise, here's what I liked and disliked about the Vanity.
Pros:
1. The eyeshadow quality is excellent with a good range of flattering, interesting and easy-to-wear shades.
2. The amount of product in the palette is generous and will last a long time. It has almost everything needed for a complete makeup look (lacks brow powder, face powder and concealer though).
3. I love the lipglosses and like having so many shades to choose from and mix to my heart's content.
4. The products are free of parabens (except for the mascara), phthalate, sulfate, propylene glycol, butylene glycol, fragrance and mineral oil.
Cons:
1. The awkward flip-out design with the flimsy plastic sheets on each layer. Ugh, can't Tarte think of something that's more consumer friendly?
2. Everything in the palette, except the mascara is made in China. With all the product safety scandals from China these days, it would give me much greater peace of mind if Tarte made its products in the US instead.
3. The blushes and brushes could have been much better. For Asians with small eyes like me, I need a smaller eyeshadow brush for shading, blending and lining.
Overall, I would give The Vanity 7 stars out of 10. What would have made it a perfect 10? One, if the palette had been made in the US instead of China. Two, if the blushes were more shimmery with better color payoff. Three, if the mascara had a wetter, glossier consistency. If you already own the We Wish You Wealth palette from last Christmas, I would say The Vanity is not a must-have but it's still nice to have, especially if you're a Tarte devotee.
Here are some close-up pics of the eyeshadows in the We Wish You Wealth palette. As you can see, it features a more muted palette compared to The Vanity with a couple of matte shades in muddy brown and beige.
Too bad we have to wait another year to see if Tarte will put out another blockbuster palette... I sure hope they do!
Libellés : Holiday '08, Tarte
publié par Unknown @ 06:24
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