Tarte TEN

Tarte celebrates its 10th anniversary with a new limited edition Collector's Palette (US$44). Similar to the past few palettes released by Tarte, the Collector's Palette contains 10 full-size eyeshadows, a double-ended eye liner in matte deep black and deep plum, an eyeshadow brush, and a deluxe Lights, Camera, Lashes! mascara. The palette is refillable, so if you don't like any of the shades, you can swop out the pan and replace it with another shade.

Tarte has also introduced a new line of LipSurgence Natural Matte Lip Stain (US$24) in 6 shades.

Tarte used to be one of my favourite independent brands (i.e. one that is not owned by the Estee Lauder and L'Oreal conglomerates) but its recent releases have failed to excite me much. Some of their recent product claims sound a bit too good to be true, such as the Lip Stains which supposedly increase the moisture content of your lips by "an astonishing 6000% after 28 days". The recent spate of 10-eyeshadow palettes also look clunky with shades that are either blah or look muddy.

Hopefully, the annual holiday blockbuster set will be more interesting.