Tarte Glow Your Way To Gorgeous 8-pc Maracuja & Clay Collection: swatches & review (long post, lots of photos)

Hello, Beautiful!

I finally received the Tarte Glow Your Way To Gorgeous 8-pc Maracuja & Clay Collection in the mail today! I had to wait a few hours for the products to cool to room temperature, but then I was finally able to take swatch photos of this great collection - which is an amazing value!

This is my second Tarte collection I purchased from QVC, and I knew I would purchase future collections because of how satisfied I was with the first Tarte QVC collection (the Tarte 8th World Wonder Best of The Amazon 7-pc Clay Collection, which I received back in March 2011). As soon as I received the QVC email alert to the pre-sale I raced to my computer to place my order without any hesitation!

This collection has a nice assortment of products at an amazing value. This collection has a retail value of $195.00, but I paid just $49.92! You can still purchase this collection for $54.96 on QVC's website. If you're interested in ordering I would suggest you do so now because the last collection sold out completely and they usually do not re-stock them. There won't be another Tarte collection until October, I believe, so get this kit while you still can. The last time I checked the QVC site shade Fair was completely sold out and shade Light is only available on waitlist. Shades Medium, Tan and Deep are still available but I'm sure with limited quantities. I purchased the Medium shade.

Check out the entire Tarte Glow Your Way To Gorgeous 8-pc Maracuja & Clay Collection shown below. Swatches, before & after pic (for the concealer) and mini reviews for each product. Enjoy!

Tarte Glow Your Way To Gorgeous 8-pc Maracuja & Clay Collection

Purchase this kit on QVC's website by clicking here.

Here's a list of everything the collection includes:

• Maracuja Creaseless Concealer - you pick your shade from Fair, Light, Medium, Tan, or Deep -- I picked the shade Medium (all shades exclusive to QVC until 12/31/11)
• Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush in the shade Peaceful (shade exclusive to QVC until 12/31/11)
• EmphasEYES Amazonian Clay Cream Eyeshadow in the shade Shimmering Taupe (shade exclusive to QVC until 12/31/11)
• SmolderEYES Amazonian Clay Waterproof Liner in the shade Fig (shade exclusive to QVC until 12/31/11)
• Lights, Camera, Lashes Mascara in the shade Black
• LipSurgence Natural Lip Luster in the shade Sweet (shade exclusive to QVC until 12/31/11)
• blush brush
• shadow brush
• sharpener
• carryall bag
• bonus deluxe sample of Pure Maracuja Oil
• bonus deluxe sample of Park Ave Princess Mineral Bronzer

now let's break it down, product by product...

Tarte Maracuja Creaseless Concealer

Shade: Medium
Shade Description: for light to medium complexions with yellow or golden undertones

• Review: I was really excited to try this concealer. The shade, Medium, works well with my skintone. This is a dense liquid concealer that goes on easily and blends nicely. It looks totally natural on your skin, almost undetectable! As you can see in my Before & After photo it doesn't look like I have makeup on my skin at all in the After photo. I didn't use a whole lot of concealer either; a little went a long way! I probably could have used a little more to get more coverage but I wanted to show you how it covers only using a small amount. This is highly pigmented; it can cover most all of my flaws. I could even use this as an all-over foundation if I wanted to because the texture and how it wears on your skin is so nice. This is the start product of this whole collection. Love this! I will take a better Before & After photo when I review this product on ValentineKisses.com. 
• Buy It: Currently you can only get this concealer in the Tarte Glow Your Way To Gorgeous 8-pc Maracuja & Clay Collection, which is $54.96 on QVC's website.

Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush
Shade: Peaceful

Shade Description: a soft rose with luminous sheen; no shimmer

• Review: I own this blush in the shade Glisten from Tarte's last QVC collection. I really do like the formula of this blush; they're silky, smooth and have nice pigmentation. This color is a non-shimmer color, which I prefer when it comes to blush. It goes on softly for a pretty pop of pink on your cheeks, perfect for summer. I'm not sure if I like Peaceful or Glisten better, but right now I'm liking Peaceful slightly more. On a positive note, my blush pan arrived just fine. In my last kit the blush pan swirled around in the compact, a flaw that I'm sure was just a random factory blem. This time around no issues at all.
• Buy It: You cannot buy this shade by itself just yet, but other shades are available on Sephora, on Ulta, and on Tarte's website for $25 each, or buy it on QVC with a "blush" brush for $29 (the brush looks more like a foundation brush than a blush brush!).

Tarte EmphasEYES Amazonian Clay Cream Eyeshadow
Shade: Shimmering Taupe
Shade Description: a shimmery medium-deep shade of taupe/brown

• Review: This is the first cream shadow from Tarte that I've tried. It goes on very smooth and very even; easy to blend. Richly pigmented (as you can see by the swatch on my hand in the photos above). This is waterproof, and I did test that claim and it stayed on after running my hand under water and then rubbing it. It does take longer than others to dry down and set. The shadow on my hand was there for maybe 5 minutes and I was still able to smudge it slightly. This is a nice cream shadow but the shade isn't my cup of tea.
• Buy It: You can't buy this shade by itself just yet, but other shades are available on QVC with an included brush for $25 each.

Tarte SmolderEYES Amazonian Clay Waterproof Liner

Shade: Fig
Shade Description: A plum brown

• Review: This is a nice product, but I hate the shade. It's so similar to the Golden Plum liner shade from the last Tarte QVC collection. It's just not a shade I would wear. Please Tarte, include a black liner in your next set or at least a different liner shade... navy, brown, just anything but this weird plum-brown shade. The actual formula of this is nice... it glides on like butter; very smooth and creamy, nicely pigmented.
• Buy It: This shade is available on Sephora for $25 each, along with other shades. Just the shade Black is available on Tarte's website for $24 and it includes a sharpener. You can also purchase a duo with sharpener for $25 on Ulta's website. You can also purchase a trio with sharpener on QVC for $42 (although slightly different name to the pencils).

Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes Mascara

Shade: Black

Shade Description: a rich black



• Review: This mascara was included in the last Tarte QVC collection, except the packing was different (this packaging is the normal packaging for the mascara). This is a nice mascara, but it's not for me. I didn't use the last one beyond swatching it and I don't plan to use this one either. I'm actually giving this one to my friend because she needs a new mascara and I know she will love this mascara! You can see my before & after photo by checking out my review of Tarte's last QVC collection, just click here (I will take better before & after photos using this mascara in the near future).
• Buy It: You can purchase this on its own for $19 on Sephora, on QVC, on Ulta, and on Tarte's website. You can also purchase a two-pack for $28 on QVC, saving you $10.

Tarte LipSurgence Natural Lip Luster

Shade: Sweet

Shade Description: a peachy pink shimmer

• Review: I've wanted to try this product for awhile now but I was hesitant to buy it on its own because I wasn't sure how much I would like it. But guess what? I really, really like this product! I'm not sure what I was really expecting, but this product impressed me from the moment it touched my lips. It goes on smoothly, evenly and feels good on your lips. My lips were a little chapped when I put this on and it seemed to smooth and soften them while making them feel hydrated. The shade, Sweet, is really pretty on the lips. It's a peachy pink with a hint of shimmer. It leaves your lips looking luminous and beautiful. I'm really impressed with this product and fully intend to try more shades in the future. I would highly recommend this!
• Buy It: You can't buy this shade by itself just yet, but other shades are available on QVC, on Sephora, on Ulta, and on Tarte's website for $24 each.

Tarte blush brush

• Review: Before receiving this brush it looked more like a foundation brush than it did a blush brush. Now that I have it in person I can see how it could be a blush brush. I usually use a bigger, fluffier brush when applying blush so I'm not sure if I will use this for blush application or not. Regardless, this is a nice quality brush and really cute earthy design. It's also a full-sized brush, which is rare in most kits.
• Buy It: currently only available in the Tarte Glow Your Way To Gorgeous 8-pc Maracuja & Clay Collection on QVC's website for $54.96

Tarte shadow brush

• Review: I didn't use this for the cream shadow that came with the collection; instead I used it with the Maracuja Creaseless Concealer (which is why the brush is dirty in the photos). I like this brush, good quality and cute earthy design.
• Buy It: currently only available in the Tarte Glow Your Way To Gorgeous 8-pc Maracuja & Clay Collection on QVC's website for $54.96

Tarte sharpener

• Review: It's nice that this collection includes a sharpener, which is needed for the SmolderEYES. That's a small detail a lot of companies leave out and just assume everyone has a sharpener. I do have sharpeners, but for some reason I can never find them. It's always nice to have an extra. I haven't used this yet so I can't comment on how well it works, but if it's something Tarte makes I'm sure it will work perfectly.
• Buy It: I couldn't find this exact sharpener, but Tarte does have a sharpener on their website for $2.00

Tarte carryall bag

• Review: Wow, this bag is really great! I have to say, Tarte makes some really high-quality and functional makeup bags that go along with their kits/collections. Usually the makeup bags that come along with kits are useless or not that great of quality. Tarte, however, goes all out and gives you a bag you'll want to use. This bag is great because it has little pockets for brushes or glosses or liners, and a zippered pocket too. This is a bag I will use very often; definitely for travel and possibly for everyday use. It's small enough to fit into a purse, but large enough to hold all the makeup and brushes you'd need for touch-up's while you're out living life. Let's put it this way, I like this bag so much that if it was for individual sale I would purchase it by itself.
• Buy It: You can't buy this bag by itself, but you can score this bag in the Tarte Glow Your Way To Gorgeous 8-pc Maracuja & Clay Collection, available on QVC's website for $54.96.

Tarte Park Ave Princess Mineral Bronzer

Shade Description: a pearly bronze-gold

• Review: This item wasn't listed or shown with the collection, but instead included as a surprise bonus! This is a deluxe sample size of the Park Ave Princess Mineral Bronzer, which is a $10 value. This bronzer is a pretty shade, but more of a highlight shade than a bronzing shade (at least for me anyway). The texture is nice and goes on sheer for a kiss of color. Tarte also has this same bronzer but in a matte, waterproof version.
• Buy It: You can purchase the full size version on Sephora, on Ulta, and on Tarte's website for $29.

Tarte Pure Maracuja Oil

Description: 100% pure cold pressed maracuja oil from the Amazon

• Review: This was also an unadvertised bonus with this collection. This is a deluxe sample size, which is a $6.22 value. This oil can be used on your face, body, cuticles, your hair and I'm sure there are other uses too. I personally use this on my face in place of my moisturizer at night, or mixed in with my moisturizer. I also use it on my elbows, neck and decolate. Your skin will drink this in and hold onto it, mositurizing deeply. It has so many 5-star reviews on QVC that I had to buy the full-sized version. I already had the lab sample from the last Tarte QVC collection, but now I have another mini-sized (which is a much cuter mini bottle compared to the lab sample) that I can take with me when I travel! My husband also loves this oil, as it's one of the few things that will keep his extremely dry skin hydrated (he peels around his nose and has dry patches on his cheeks unless he uses this oil or his prescription moisturizer). I have combo normal/oily skin, which is acne prone (although it's getting a lot better!) and this oil works really nicely with my skin type. Don't be afraid to use this if you have oily skin; trust me, it will help! But if you do have oily skin I would only recomend using this at night, especially in the summer.
• Buy It: Currently only available on QVC's website for $46 (full size).

A small rant about QVC's "lies", haha...

First, I want to say I'm not bashing QVC. I love QVC! But there is one thing I want to rant about: It's how QVC keeps saying certain products or shades are exclusive to QVC until a specified date. Most of the time that's pretty true, however this kit is full of lies, haha.

This kit advertises five products with shades exclusive to QVC until a specified date, but two of the shades can already be found at other retailers. It's not a huge deal to me really, I just don't like to think I'm getting an exclusive shade or exclusive product and then come to find out it's not exclusive at all. Especially because when I blog about this collection I'm telling you all what information I know and I don't want to pass on false info.

Here's what I'm talking about:

• The LipSurgence Natural Lip Luster in the shade Sweet can be found in a kit on Sephora's website.
• The SmolderEYES Amazonian Clay Waterproof Liner in the shade Fig is available for individual sale on Sephora's website.
• The Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush in the shade Peaceful is NOT available anywhere else just yet, but the shade "Glisten" from the last collection was supposed to be exclusive to QVC through 07/31/11, but I found it in a kit at Sephora back in late April/early May (which is no longer on their website) and it's currently in another kit on their website (the same kit the LipSurgence in Sweet is in).

Like I said, it's not a huge deal to me if a product is exclusive or not. My issue is being told false information and then reporting that false information to my readers. I want to give my readers the most accurate info possible, that's all. Rant over :)

Final Verdict: I highly recommend this collection to any and everyone! If your shade is still available you should go buy this kit right now! Even if they don't have your shade available you should still order the kit in a shade that works for a friend and pass on the concealer to them as a gift (or sell the concealer) , then keep all the other fabulous items for yourself!