So many makeup goodies for $63!

I could not believe it when my Tarte custom makeup bag arrived on Saturday. I placed my order on Thursday, and it felt like they shot my order out of a cannon directly at my building! Wouldn’t it be amazing if someone made a beauty product gun, like one of those t-shirt guns at sporting events? That’s the kind of gun I could get behind.

No mermaids were harmed in the production of this makeup bag.

To recap: last Thursday, Tarte offered this insane sale on their website where you could customize a makeup bag filled with six full sized products for just $63, shipping included! The kit has about a $200 value: one of the best beauty deals I’ve ever seen.

Tarte offered many options in each makeup category so it took me awhile to decide which products to get! I finally settled on these:

The Face

So let’s go through these products one by one! Note: scroll to the bottom to see swatch pics plus a pic of me wearing everything.

I picked the Clay Stick Foundation (value: $39) in the shade Fair-Light Neutral. I have a deluxe sample of this shade that I haven’t used much, but I like it enough that I selected it over several other foundation options. The shade is slightly light for me, but it’s easy enough to warm my complexion up with bronzer.

Brace yourself for more chipped nail polish ahead…

This foundation is full coverage, which is more than I usually prefer. However, the stick format makes it easy to swipe on as much or as little product as I want. The product is SUPER creamy and basically melts right into the skin. I like to apply the stick directly to my face and blend with either a foundation brush or a Beauty Blender. This stick is good stuff and it will last me forever because I’m not a frequent foundation wearer.

For my next product I chose a concealer that I’ve had my eye on: Maracuja Creaseless Concealer (value $26). I always have so much trouble selecting face makeup colors online, so I took a gamble with the shade Light Sand. I mostly use concealer under my eyes and occasionally attempt to cover dark spots with it, usually to no avail. The full coverage formula is thicker than I’m accustomed to using and it has a very tacky consistency; however, it’s easily blendable. The finish is naturally dewy, but you can always powder it down for a matte look.

The shade is surprisingly a touch light for me, but it’s not horribly off. I’m giving a bit of side eye to this concealer’s creaseless claim—the first time I tried it under my eyes, it definitely settled into my fine lines. I set it with powder the second time but honestly, that didn’t stop the creasing. So this isn’t my favorite concealer but I’ll get some use out of it.

Instead of a blush, bronzer, or contour I chose the Limited Edition Spellbound Glow Rainbow Highlighter (original value $30, currently on sale for $13). I always thought this was such a cute compact so I finally decided to get one for myself! The highlighter is one of those unicorn-inspired products that are such a Thing these days, but I’m not mad at that. As you can see below, the compact comes with four shimmery pastel shades that you can use individually or all swirled together.

My highlighter is slightly defective; the pan isn’t secured inside the compact so it rotates when I dip my fingers or a brush into it. I might just depot it and throw it into my Z-Palette. Otherwise, this is a really fun product with multiple uses—the colors can serve as eye shadows in a pinch!

The Eyes

I went fairly basic for my eyeliner choice: Clay Pot Waterproof Shadow Liner (value $21) in Black. I haven’t used a pot liner in years, so I thought I might as well try one again. This liner is incredibly soft and pretty easy to work with. I managed to do a decent job lining my eyes with it on my first try. And Tarte is not fucking around when they say it’s waterproof! This stuff does not budge. After I swatched it on my arm it took a couple micellar water-soaked cotton balls and some scrubbing with soap and water to fully remove it. I generally prefer eyeliner that’s easier to remove, but this will be great for the sweaty DC summer!

For my lashes I decided to try the Gifted Amazonian Clay Smart Mascara (value $23). I’ve repurchased Tarte’s Lights, Camera, Lashes 4-in-1 Mascara several times so I wanted to try something different. The Gifted mascara is infused with Amazonian clay (as are the foundation and liner that I bought), which is meant to nourish lashes while boosting volume and length.

So far I’d say this mascara is okay. I love the packaging—honestly, Tarte KILLS it with packaging—but I don’t think there’s anything particularly outstanding about this mascara. It’s slightly clumpy and not quite as lengthening as the Lights, Camera, Lashes. I’ll continue to use this one but I most likely wouldn’t repurchase.

The Lips

Finally, I chose LipSurgence Lip Gloss (original value $24, currently on sale for $9) in Flush as my lip product. The only lip glosses I have are nudes, so I thought this shiny berry rose would be an awesome shade for summer. The color looks brighter in the below photo than it does IRL. This is a very lovely gloss that feels moisturizing but not too sticky on the lips. The doe-foot applicator has a divot in the tip that hugs the lips as you glide it on. My one very minor quibble is that the wand feels a bit weak when applying, like if I pressed harder it would bend or even break. But aside from that, I’m very happy with my lip choice!

Swatch Time!

Below I’ve swatched the foundation, the concealer, and the four highlighter shades on my arm:

Picking the right shades is literally rocket science.

Here are swatches of the four highlighter shades mixed together, a couple swatches of the liner, and the lip gloss:

I always have such a hard time creating nice-looking swatches of eye liner!

And below I’m wearing all of these products on my face! I used the golden highlighter shade on my eyelid and applied the lightest highlighter shade to my brow bone. I actually really like this highlighter as eye shadow—it somehow imparts a glossy lid look, though you can’t tell in the photo.

Overall I’m thrilled with my Tarte bag purchase and I’m looking forward to playing around with my new goodies some more! The mermaid bag is SO cute, too. I am considering using it as a clutch for a wedding I’m attending in June. That wouldn’t be my usual style at all, but I think it would be fun.  😛

Did you order a Tarte custom makeup bag? If so, which products did you choose?