Tarte Carried Away Collector's Set

Hello Girls,

One of my gifts to myself this holiday season was the Tarte Carried Away Collector's Set from Sephora ($54).  If you can find one in your local Sephora, I definitely recommend picking it up right away.  It is such a great value!

Photo from Amazon

The kit includes 24 full size eyeshadows, a face brush, a mini 24 Hour Amazonian Clay blush in Adventurous (shimmering rose), a mini finishing powder, a mini Lights, Camera, Lashes Mascara, and eight mini lip glosses.  It is all conveniently stored in a carrying case that is perfect for traveling.

The shadows are definitely the stars of the show.  I am a huge fan of Tarte shadows and am generally impressed with their pigmentation and staying power.  This kit features mostly shimmering shades, but it is a nice mix of neutrals and more colorful choices.  The shadows are packaged in quads, so you can experiment or use each quad for a well-planned eye look.  Finally, the shadows have cute, travel related names.

Rows 1 - 2 (L to R)
Snowfall in Paris, Golden Gate Bridge, Pearl River, Seychelles Sand,  Volcanic Ash,  Pyramid Gold, Touchdown in Londontown and Martha'sVineyard

Rows 3 - 4 (L to R)
Pebble Beach, Boston Brick, Georgia Peach, Tuscan Sun, Spanish Sangria, Napa Grapes, Acai Jungle, Coral Reef

Rows 5 - 6 (L to R)
Iceland Air, Mystic Seaport, Sunshine State, Hawaiian Palm, Concrete Jungle, Hampton Waves, Olive Grove, Sin City

While I am pleased with most of the shadows, there are a few that fall a little flat (ahem, Iceland Air).  However, there are others that I love. Olive Grove, Hampton Waves, Tuscan Sun and Touchdown in Londontown are all gorgeous, highly pigmented shadows.

The mini lipglosses are super cute, and they have a slight minty smell.  There is not a huge variety in colors, but overall, I was pleased with the pigmentation and lack of stickiness.

Jena, Mer, Ali, Muria

Heather, Casey, Anna, Mel

Finally, the other products in this kit are nice enough. I am a huge fan of Tarte blushes, and Adventurous is a very blendable, wearable rose shade.  It doesn't have chunky glitter (always a plus in my book!).  Smooth Operator is very similar to MUF HD Finishing Powder.  It is not groundbreaking, but it is nice to have in my collection.  I am not a huge fan of the Lights, Camera, Lashes mascara, but that could be because I am newly addicted to another mascara (post coming soon!).  Everything else pales in comparison. Sigh.

Overall, I love this kit.  If you have the opportunity to try it out, go for it!  If not, be on the lookout for other great products from Tarte.  Based on my experiences thus far, Tarte makes some good stuff!

Lesson Learned: This was my first holiday season as a makeup devotee and blogger, and I learned a very important lesson.  Holiday makeup kits are amazing!  They are such great values, but they also sell quickly.  So, in the words of the ladies from Eleventh Gorgeous, "If you love it, don't set it free.  Buy it!"

http://www.eleventhgorgeous.com/

Talk Soon,

T.