Tarte Gorgeous Getaways Palette

Tarte Gorgeous Getaways Palette

Tarte Gorgeous Getaways Palette is the Tarte Holiday palette that is exclusive to Ulta this year.  Last year I was more impressed with the Sephora exclusive, but for 2013 this Ulta exclusive won me over.  The Tarte Gorgeous Getaways Palette is jam-packed with product and has a cool portable option.  The very best part of the palette, though, is that there are four different shades of the Amazonian 12-Hour Clay Blushes.  Tarte blushes are some of the best on the market, in my opinion, so I am so excited that they are included.  All in all, this palette is a great value (more on that later) and a really good option for a Holiday gift to a loved one or even yourself.  Take a closer look.  (All of my photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.)

Tarte Gorgeous Getaways Palette

The palette comes in a purple and gold “jewelry box” style package with a flip up top and one drawer.  Here is what Ulta has to say: “Give the gift of color and convenience this season with Tarte’s limited-edition Gorgeous Getaways portable palettes & collector’s compact set. Overflowing with 16 expertly-coordinated eye shadows, 4 brand new blushes and 3 maracuja lipglosses, this one-of-kind modular box set also includes a chic portable palette compact for endless looks on the go!

The limited-edition set features:

• 16 full size Amazonian Clay Eye Shadows inspired by magical destinations around the world
• 4 full size Amazonian 12-Hour Clay Blushes in new limited-edition shades
• 3 full size Maracuja Lipglosses in new limited-edition shades
• Portable collector’s compact to take the interchangeable palettes on-the-go

To take your palettes with you in the collector’s compact, simply lift the ribbon, remove the palette, and place it inside the compact.”

Tarte Gorgeous Getaways Palette

I think that the pop-out quads set this palette apart and that bow compact is adorable.  The magnet is really strong, both in the compact and the palette itself, so there is no worry about the quads falling out.  I got the palette right before I left for my vacation, so I took a quad with me in the travel compact and had no issues with it at all.  It was perfectly safe in my luggage.  This is great for people who need to touch up their makeup throughout the day and this is perfect for a day to night look.  Just deepen your crease shade, refresh your blush, and pull out a bold lip color and you can easily go from office to cocktails with the travel compact.  The only downside is that the shadows and blushes are pre-set in these quads, so you can’t mix and match.  It would have been cool to be able to sub out the blushes.  Oh well, we can’t have everything, can we?

Tarte Gorgeous Getaways Palette

What’s also neat is that the shade names are printed on the back of each quad, and not just on the plastic protective sleeve.  That way, if you want to toss the insert, you can do so without losing the shade names.  I don’t think all of the shadows are limited edition, so if you really like a shade, I think you can see if it’s available from Tarte.

Tarte is one of my favorite brands.  I really like the formula of their shadows and especially the blushes.  Tarte usually offers shades that are more neutral and very wearable for a wide customer base.  I feel like it is a brand that I can grow with because, unlike brands like Urban Decay that cater to a younger crowd,  I can find appropriate products for any age within the line.  That is certainly the case with this palette.  I think any woman would love it, whether she’s in her 20’s or her 60’s.  All of the eyeshadow shades are easily worn, there are a good mix of mattes and shimmers, and none of the blushes are too dark or crazy.  The formula is great, smooth and easily blended.  There isn’t a bad shade in the lot.

Tarte Gorgeous Getaways Palette Quad 1

The first quad in the palette is my favorite.  Please ignore that chunk missing from the second pan.  I dropped it while I was taking pictures and in my attempt to catch the quad, my thumbnail went right into the shadow.  *sigh*  Anyway, onto the shades.  Taj Mahal is a shimmery champagne shade.  Grand Canyon is a warm tan shade.  Big Ben is a matte khaki with a lot of gray tones.  Central Park is a beautiful matte forest green.  The swatch below (all of them, actually) is one swipe of all the shadows with no primer or base.

Tarte Gorgeous Getaways Palette Quad 1

Savvy, the blush in quad 1, is the most neutral of the palette.  It’s a matte brown-toned mauve that warms up the face in a natural way.  I love it.  This is a great blush to use on days when you want to skip bronzer.

Tarte Gorgeous Getaways Palette Quad 2

Quad 2 brings on the shimmer for a warm look that will look amazing in the spring and summer.  Santorini Bikini is a light shimmery peach.  Great Sphynx is a mid-tone shimmery brown.  Pacific Sunset is a blazing metallic copper bronze.  Belgian Chocolate is a milk chocolate shade with purple undertones.  It’s the least shimmery of the quad and has more of a satin finish.

Tarte Gorgeous Getaways Palette Quad 2

Spontaneous is the only shimmery blush in the palette.  It’s a light shimmering pink with the slightest touch of peach.  There is no need to wear a highlight shade with this blush, and it would look gorgeous on younger skin.

Tarte Gorgeous Getaways Palette Quad 3

Quad 3 is my least favorite of the four, though I love that first shade.  You can’t really see Serengeti Sand in the swatch below, because it blends in so well with my skin.  The matte cream shade is a perfect highlight.  Buckingham Palace is a shimmery taupe with some brown tones.  Rocky Mountains is a matte taupe with a decidedly gray tone.  The two shades are very similar, and I think Tarte made a mistake including them both, especially in the same quad.  Bordeaux is a blackened plum, and much darker than it looks in the pan.  I wish that Tarte had traded out one of the taupe shades in this quad for a lighter plum shade to play up some purple tones.  This quad is great for a smoky eye, but there isn’t enough variety in these shades.

Tarte Gorgeous Getaways Palette Quad 3

Ambitious is a pink-toned mauve blush that would look good an just about anyone.  The medium shade is dark enough to show up on deeper skin tones, but not so dark that fair tones can’t wear it.  It’s a universal shade, and a great addition to the palette.

Tarte Gorgeous Getaways Palette Quad 4

Quad 4 has some of the more unique shades in the palette.  Gold Coast is a light gold shimmer.  Eiffel Tower is a stormy matte slate gray.  Space Needle is a gorgeous sheer taupe shimmer.  I love this shade, and it’s definitely one of my favorites.  Midnight in Paris is a dark matte teal.  The four shades look really beautiful together.

Tarte Gorgeous Getaways Palette Quad 4

Lighthearted is a very bright, medium pink.  It has some raspberry tones in it.  The shade is still wearable for fair skin tones, you just need to use a light hand.  It’s a great shade for winter to get that “just came in from the cold” look.

Tarte Gorgeous Getaways Maracuja Lip Glosses

The final three products in the Tarte Gorgeous Getaways Palette are the three Maracuja Lip Glosses.  Pictured above from left to right are: When in Rome, New York Minute, Czech Me Out.  The Maracuja Lip Glosses have a strong minty scent and they tingle on the lips.  I’m not the biggest fan of minty lip products because mint is an irritant.  That’s why so many lip plumpers are minty; mint makes your lips swell.  On the other hand, the tingle isn’t too bad and it does go away after a while, so it all depends on your personal taste.  The formula isn’t exactly sticky, but there is some tack to keep the gloss from fading too fast.  I don’t mind a little tack if it means the gloss will stick around for a while.  They get more comfortable as you wear them, once they dry down a little and the tingle goes away.  My basic opinion of these glosses is that if you can get past the first ten minutes of wear, then they are great.  When in Rome is a bright peachy pink with a lot of shimmer.  It doesn’t feel glittery or gritty at all.  New York Minute is a light creamy pink with lavender tones.  Czech Me Out is a dark pink-toned nude with some shimmer.  There isn’t as much shimmer as there is in When in Rome.  The swatch below was taken in the sunlight so that you could see the shimmer.  I ended up swatching them in reverse order (sorry).

(L-R) Czech Me Out, New York Minute, When in Rome

Let’s talk value for a minute.  The Tarte Gorgeous Getaways Palette is $48, full price.  Though at first that doesn’t seem to fit the theme of a budget beauty blog, it actually does if you do the math.  A Wet n Wild single shadow is $1.99, so let’s price the 16 Tarte shadows out at $2 each.  That’s $32 of the original $48 right there.  Now since an e.l.f Studio blush is $3, let’s price the 4 blushes at the same price.  32+12=44, so that leaves $1 each for the three full size lip glosses and the travel compact.  You can see that compared to even the cheapest drugstore brands that you can find, this palette is a good value and the quality is so much better.

I highly recommend the Tarte Gorgeous Getaways Palette.  It’s beautiful, the products are great, and it’s a killer value.  Like I said, the Tarte Gorgeous Getaways Palette is exclusive to Ulta.  You can buy it in store, or at ulta.com.  This is a limited edition palette, so there is a chance that it could sell out.  Be sure to call your local store to see if they still have it in stock before you make the trip.  Or, just order online.  Ulta.com is offering free shipping on orders of $25 or more during the holidays.  Either way, I think that the Tarte Gorgeous Getaways Palette would make a great addition to anyone’s collection.