Booyah Beauty: Tarte Glow Your Way to Gorgeous Set #1

I know it's been a while since I've posted. I certainly apologize for the delay. Work is very busy and it's taken me away from one of my favorites stress releases . . . blogging for you! Since I recently received Set #2 of the Tarte Glow Your Way to Gorgeous, I figured I would turn back the clock and post about Set #1, which I received about 3 months ago.

Set #1 came in a vinyl zip around case that folds out like a book - left side contains 4 elasticized brush sections which also hold other items like the concealer tube, mascara tube and lip surgence pencils rather nicely, thank you very much. Also to maximize storage capability, there is a pocket right in front of the brush section. The right side holds a large zippered pocket which is great for storing other items. The contents are:

1. Maracuja Creaseless Concealer

2. Amazonian Clay 12-hour blush in Peaceful

3. Amazonian Clay Cream Shadow in Shimmering Taupe

4. smolderEYES Amazonian Clay Waterproof Liner in Fig

5. lights, camera, lashes! mascara in Black

6. LipSurgence Lip Luster in Sweet

7. Blush Brush

8. Eye Shadow Brush

Bonus items: Maracuja oil vial, sharpener, and Park Avenue Princess Bronzer so all in all you get 12 items if you count the case. Not bad for the price of $49.92, considering the blush and lip luster retail for $25 and $24, respectively.

As for product review, the creaseless concealer, which I got in medium, was very smooth and application was effortless. I used my ring finger to dab and blend the product as I tried to limit application to the brushes I was provided.

The eyeshadow is a very neutral shimmer taupe which I find to be a rather universal, flattering shade. The shadow lasted all day and didn't budge at all in spite of a rather warm and long day and I did not use any primer.

The smolderEYES pencil shade is a lovely deep purple color and it includes a smudger tip with which to blend the liner. You need to work somewhat quickly with that smudger as the shade sets nicely and is absolutely budge-proof until you choose to remove it. I did not set the liner with powdered shadow as I normally would and I was pleased with the results.

The mascara is one of new faves! It was great to work with and gave me a lovely effect. Considering this is not a waterproof mascara, by the 12th hour, I was pleased that very little transferred to my lower eye area. I generally have this problem with a lot of mascaras so I normally apply clear mascara to my lower lashes. I will try the waterproof version (lights, camera, splashes!) in the future and chime back with a verdict.

Peaceful is a lovely shade. I immediately noticed some glitter/shimmer in the pan which made me a bit skeptical about using it as I normally lean towards matte/satin blushes. I am pleased to report that once applied, the result was a lovely flush radiant glow, not the "arts and crafts glitter effect" I have gotten in the past with shimmery products.

I used the Bronzer to give an all-over glow and tie the look together. The shade was not deep enough for me to contour with (I'm NW25 in MAC) so I used my regular contour which was the only product, other than my foundation, which was not part of the kit.

I used the LipSurgence lip luster in Sweet, which is a lovely pink shade and it has a bit of a minty feel to it. The product glides smoothly onto my lips and didn't run over the edges as some glosses do. This product is great in that you don't need to sharpen it but rather it is a twist-up for easy maintenance and application.

Last but not least, I love the maracuja oil and have been using on my face at night. I love how soft my face is in the morning. I haven't used the sharpener yet but will be sure to let you know if it's a great one to keep. The brushes are wooden (I think they are bamboo) so they're a nice bonus and can't wait to see what comes in future kits.

Here are some pictures and swatches:

Booklet accompanies kit

Inside of booklet contains "Get The Look" details

Whole kit: Case with mascara, concealer, brushes, lip pencil, eye pencil, oil (top), eyeshadow (bottom), bronzer (top), blush (bottom); sharpener was camera shy :)