Tarte Rainforest of the Sea Volume II Palette Review
If there’s one thing that really separates drugstore and high-end makeup brands, it’s definitely their packaging. There are a ton of amazing dupes in the drugstore, but none of them are going to have the high-quality packaging feel of the more expensive brands. Unfortunately, though, that’s typically part of why they cost so much more. I haven’t tried many products from Tarte before, so I was really excited to see this Rainforest of the Sea palette II in my August Boxycharm. I’ve been putting it to the test ever since and I am so surprised!
Not only am I surprised with the quality and texture of the shadows, which I’ll get to shortly, but I’m also surprised with the price point of this palette. I was expecting a much higher price point on this product than just $36. You do only get eight shadows in the palette and there is no applicator included. However, there is a huge mirror and the gold packaging looks and feels extremely well made. All of the shadows are named, as with most high-end products, and there are a mixture of shimmer, satin, and matte finishes.
Starting with the brightest shade in the circle and working clockwise, the shadows included are: Pearl, Conch, Sunset, Marina, Seaside, Siren, Breezy, and Ripple. I love when companies make the shade names match the theme of the product, it’s the little things that just make it seem so much more fun that way. Conch is the only true matte shade in the palette, which is pretty disappointing. But the satin shades (Marina, Seaside, and Siren) provide just the slightest amount of sheen to look mostly matte when blended out on the eye. Pearl, Sunset, Breezy, and Ripple all are noticeably more shimmery than the others.
As you can see in the swatch picture below, they all swatch with a finger on bare skin very well and provide a lot of pigmentation. Conch is the least pigmented, but I tend to use that as a base or blending shade anyway so I don’t mind it being more subtle. I really enjoy the shade selection that they chose to include in this palette. The only change I would make is with either Marina or Seaside. They look very similar in the swatch and when blended on the eye. I think if they would’ve included a cool-tone brown instead of two warms, there’d be much more variety in the looks you can achieve.
The quality on these is very nice and is something I’ve never quite experienced with other shadows before. If you swatch this in a store, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about. They’re pigmented and creamy, but are almost more like a clay or gel-type of formula providing absolutely zero fallout. That makes the darker shades perfect to use as eyeliner!
When using a brush, I do have to work with it more than I would with any other eyeshadow to pick up the product. But once you get the color on your eye, it’s very easy to blend out and lasts all day long. I’ve gone almost eight hours with no creasing and just a slight amount of fading. If you’ve been looking for a high-quality, high-end brand palette that won’t completely break the bank, I think this is a really good option. Stay tuned for my next post on Friday for a tutorial using just this palette to create a complete eye look!
If you found this review helpful, please feel free to share it using one of the buttons below. If you have any other questions, leave those for me in the comments section! Have you tried this palette before? What is your experience with Tarte eyeshadows?
~Christina~
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