tarteist™ PRO Amazonian clay palette

Leslie here with another review!

During their Black Friday sale, I was able to snag up the new tarteist Pro Palette from Tarte (usually new items are excluded from discounts!) Out of all the recent palette releases, this was one I was most excited about. So I was super excited when it came in!!

Was it everything I dreamed of?? Keep reading for my thoughts and swatches!

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The Product:

tarteist™ PRO Amazonian clay palette, available for $53. Currently sold out on tarte.com, but in stock at Sephora and Ulta! This palette contains 20 shadows, 16 of which are matte, and 4 that are “iridescent luster shades with a microshimmer, duochrome formula.” I LOVE my Swamp Queen palette from Tarte, and I was really wanting a matte palette from them. The 4 duochrome shades are a great addition to this palette, in case you need a pop of something exciting!

It comes in a beautiful black and gold plastic case – I am super into gold right now. But the matte black top will almost immediately leave smudges and fingerprints, as well as the shiny gold back. But c’est la vie, right?!

The Claims:

Take a makeup artist home with this high-performance PRO palette for Instagram-worthy looks powered by healthy ingredients. It includes 16 longwearing matte eyeshadows infused with Amazonian clay for smooth blending and flake-resistant wear, plus four brand-new iridescent luster shades with a microshimmer, duochrome formula. Deeply concentrated mineral pigments and a new smart-blend technology give you the best in even, intense payoff in a range of natural artistry, neutral-to-bold shades for all skin tones and skill levels.

The Swatches & Application:

If we were judging this palette solely on the pigmentation when swatched alone- we could say this is the best palette I’ve ever owned. These shadows are SO buttery and velvety, and there is an intense amount of pigment in the swatches.

It takes only a few swipes in the pan to get a swatch like those in the photo. Although some are a little dusty, and would definitely require a good tap to limit fall out on the eye.

All of the shades are decently opaque as well. I feel like all of these shades swatch darker than the pan. Which works out really well for the middle row!

edgy, mod, no filter, whimsy

Swatches of the darker shades show high pigmentation as well- although i have some issues. They swatch WAY darker than the pans and kind of get muddy. The boldness of the colors just doesn’t translate for me.

punk, drama, vamp, smoked

And then there are the beautiful duochromes on the right side. I was most excited about this palette because of the inclusion of a few eye catching shades in an otherwise neutral palette. But… I just expected more out of these. They are shimmering and pigmented, sure. But not enough for me.

trendy, minx, glam, ethereal

The only real duochrome shade is trendy, but the times I tried to pack this on the lid with a neutral crease, it all kind of fell flat with no insane sheen.

I’m going to insert tarte.com swatches, because I am not a professional with a consistent set up for swatch photography. And theirs just look better. (which is probably misleading because they actually swatch muddier and darker than this or the pan depicts.)

The Wear:

Aside from the fact that all of these shadows, when applied to the lid, blend out to a muddy mess, with no color really standing on it’s own- it creased and faded like a MOTHER. Now, I do have oilier lids, but I always prime my eyes with the intention of keeping my making on for 12+ hours. And all of my other beloved eyeshadows do not crease and melt off of my lids.

So not only were the colors lost in translation from pan to swatch to eye- I was super disappointed in the longevity. Especially considering they claim these are long wearing. The times I tried packing trendy on the lid, on top of not being bold enough, it moved around all over the lid by the end of the day. I looked like a g-d amateur.

The Verdict:

I am so saddened to review this for you guys because….I don’t like it. I had SUCH high hopes, and maybe I went in expecting too much.

MOST of the shades are muddy, and bland when applied. And the few that are OK, I have dupes in much better formulas. This palette is not worth it for me – SAD FACE.

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Have any of you tried this?? Am I doing something wrong? There are so many mixed reviews- let me know if you love it, or hate it! Which Tarte palette is your favorite??

-LH