REVIEW// Tarte Tartlette in Bloom Palette

Hey guys!

Remember the Tarte Tartelette Palette? The eyeshadow palette EVERYONE had, and if they didn't, was number one on their wishlist? With a gorgeous assortment of mattes, the Tartelette Palette was absolutely stunning, and put a new spin on neutral palettes compared to their competitors.

I'm not going to lie, I don't own the original palette and now I probably never will. It was always on my wishlist, but I just never got around to actually making the purchase. But as soon as I saw photos of this palette, I needed it like I have never needed a palette before. I stalked trendmood, Tarte's website, waited for a release date, swatches, a price, review, anything that would keep me informed. As soon as it was released on Tarte's website, I went through Comgateway's Buy For Me service (seeing as Tarte doesn't accept international payment) for the first time ever so that I could have it in my hot little hands as soon as possible.

And boy, do I not regret it in the slightest at all.

This is what dreams are made of. In a palette. Oh Tarte you did so very well.

First of all, let's talk about the packaging. Gold detailing on a purply/pink/red background, its very swanky and veeeerrrry visually appealing. You then open up the palette to see a huuuuuge mirror, and the most gorgeous neutral shades laid out in front of you. If that doesn't grab you immediately, the chocolate cupcake smell will.

I've used this palette pretty much everyday since it arrived on my doorstep. Can you tell by my use of Smarty Pants in the photo? The shadows are incredibly pigmented and buttery, and it takes nothing to build them up. I'll be honest and say that the shade that sold me on this palette was Firecracker - a beautiful bronze, shimmer shade. It just does not disappoint in the slightest for me personally, and if you are someone who uses and abuses warm neutral shadows like yours truly, you are definitely going to need this palette.

And if that rave review hasn't sold you, let me swatch this bad boy for you:

 Charmer, Jetsetter, Rocker, Smokeshow

Flower Child, Smarty Pants, Firecracker, Activist

Funny Girl, Sweetheart, Rebel, Leader

My favourite shades thus far are Jetsetter, Rocker, Smarty Pants, Firecracker, Funny Girl and Sweetheart. But really, all of the shades in this palette are amazing, and I can guarantee I'll be using all the shades in this palette in one way or another.

Now, if you look at the original palette and back at this one, don't you think the original is almost a little boring in a way? The Tartelette In Bloom palette, for me, makes up for everything the original lacked. I can't imagine myself purchasing the original palette anymore now that I own this one. I don't think I could ever go back honestly.

Now that I'm sure I've sold you, you can purchase it here from Sephora or the Tarte website for $45. It hasn't been released to the Australian market yet, but when it does I'll be sure to update you all. In the meantime, you can use a shipping service to get it here for you. I personally use Comgateway - here is a post detailing my thoughts on them and their service :)

Have you tried this palette? Which would you prefer - the original Tartelette or Tartelette 2?

Until next time...

xxxx

in between blogging, you can find me here!

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high end haul: mac, anastasia beverly hills & sephora

Hey guys!

First of all, I'm going to straight up apologise for the quality of these photos. It is absolutely disgusting weather in Sydney at the moment, and I just couldn't catch a break with the lighting. BUT I've been way too excited for this post, as well as being asked to do it, that I decided to forgo shitty lighting and photos and just get on with it.

Now not only is today's post a high end haul, it is also a review of the shipping service I used. I'd been going back and forth about ordering with another shipping service (I wasn't exactly thrilled with my last - see here), especially because makeup is just so incredibly expensive in Australia and because I attend university full time, I only work two days a week. I finally bit the bullet after speaking to Melissa from Loads of Lifestyle, and reading her post on the service she used. She gave such a glowing review I thought that I may as well try it - so I did! I'll first go through what I grabbed from MAC, Anastasia Beverly Hills and Sephora, and then give a quick overview of the service and my experience with them. Spoiler alert: I'm so damn impressed with the service, and everything that came with it!

If you've been like me, a bit indescisive about ordering through a shipping service, this is the post for you! 

First up, here's my MAC haul! I ended up mistakenly ordering two empty MAC palettes, and the wrong insert for it as well - oh well, I'm sure it'll come in handy soon! I also ordered two Pro Sculpting powders in Sculpt and Emphasise, a lip liner in Nightmoth, travel sized Fix+ and two lipsticks In Viva Glam II and Heroine. I've been using alot of these daily, and I love everything I picked up! It was so inexpensive as well, compared to the Australian site!

Next, I made a stop off at the Anastasia Beverly Hills website! I have wanted the contour kit forever, and Sephora was sold out at the time, so I just quickly grabbed it there. Instead of getting the original I ordered the one for light skin tones - although honestly, I think its exactly the same as the original contour kit.. But anywho, I've also been using this, and so far I love it! I'm also working on a comparison between this and the Australis Contour & Highlight Kit that I reviewed last week - it will be up in the near future!

And lastly, my Sephora haul! This was so nervewracking to order - all websites I ordered off either accepted international credit cards or Paypal so I ordered it myself, but Sephora is known for cancelling or rejecting orders with mail forwarding addresses. Luckily, it went through, which I was ecstatic about because I really wanted to get my hands on some things!

First up I ordered two limited edition Christmas sets - the Top Faced Melted Kisses Set and the Hourglass Ambient Blush Palette! These are due to hit Aussie shores on November 9, but let's be real, I'm super impatient and really the price was right. I've wanted to try the Too Faced Melted Lipsticks forever, and these are four travel sized ones which seems perfect for me - reality is, I'll probably never finish them, so this is a great solution to that problem. I've wanted to try Hourglass Ambient Blushes forever, and this was the chance to try three of them! Why wouldn't I jump on that? This is so gorgeous as well, I really don't wear blush that often, but these are a dream to use. Definitely want to get my hands on the original Lighting palette now. I'll be doing a quick review of it next week, so if you want to see swatches before purchasing it, don't worry I got 'chu!

After that ramble, I also picked up the Josie Maran Argan Lip Treatment, which has been on my list for over a year, the Tarte Power Pigment in Exposed and the Make Up Forever HD Foundation! They also included three samples - the CoverFX Cream Concealer, Elizabeth & James Nirvana White Mini Rollerball and the Soap & Glory Super Serum. The rollerball was taken off me by the US warehouse as it would delay the arrival of my items to Australia - no biggie though, but I still want to try it! I was so impressed with how quickly this order got to my US address - only two days!

Swatches of all lip products (bottom to top): MAC Viva Glam II, MAC Heroine, MAC Nightmoth, Too Faced Melted Lipsticks in Nude, Peony, Fuschia & Berry

Now onto my experience with my shipping service: holy cow, I am sososo unbelieveably happy! I used a service called Comgateway - you sign up with them for free, and are assigned a US address to which you can send all packges to and hold onto them for free for 30 days. Once all your packages have arrived, you can them combine then and ship them altogether. Shipping is a little expensive, but it does come with compulsory insurance, so I honestly didn't mind paying it especially considering that I didn't have to pay for signing up. I ended up paying $60 for shipping for all of this (which equaled 4kg with packing), and $1 was consolidation (combining packages). Consolidation is free for three packages and I ordered four, but $1? Pssh, take it!

I sent this all on a Wednesday, with an estimated date to be the following Friday, and it had arrived at customs two days after being sent! I then had it in my hands by the following Monday! That was a exactly two business days after it was sent that it arrived in my hands - and I only paid for standard shipping! Colour me impressed and absolutely so happy! I have made another order, which will hopefully be shipped tomorrow, and I'll test that arrival time again but either way a week is still a great amount of time for the package to arrive! Considerinf most packages from the US take 2-3 weeks, and sometimes longer, to arrive in Australia I practically cried with delight as I watched its tracking be updated and saw how close it was to me.

I did purchase everything myself with either my credit card or my Paypal, but incase you wanted to order from a place that doesn't allow international payment, Comgateway do have a 'Buy For Me' service in which they order everything for you and have it sent to your address for you. There is a fee associated with the service, but I'm not sure of how much that would be. I will try it out at some stage, but I'm considering I just ordered this lot as well as another 4.5kg currently on its way to me, it won't be any time soon. But I 100% recommend Comgateway! Cannot wait to shop with them more!

Let me know if you've been impressed (or unimpressed) with a shipping service you've used and why?

Until next time...

xxxx

in between blogging, you can find me here!

instagram: http://instagram.com/beautybybek

twitter: https://twitter.com/bekaaturner