Tarina Tarantino Jewel Box Palette Review, Swatches, Photos

Tarina Tarantino Jewel Box Palette, $78 dollars worth of gorgeous makeup housed in a pretty jewelry box. Is it worth the price? Do you need it?

Depends.

I’m seeing it as a completely self indulged purchased on my part but something, perhaps the little voices in my head, told me I had to have it. And have it I did.

Jump!

A jewelry box containing 12 Eyeshadows, primer, gloss, and mascara!

Yes, it was definitely the packaging.

If we were to argue palettes, Tarina Tarantino’s Jewel Box Palette would in no way come out on the top. It isn’t the best bang for your dollar nor is it the best selection of products it does however get props for cool packaging.

Part of its appeal is definitely the large silver jewelry box the makeup comes housed in but even that’s debatable, tell you why in a second.

First off, for Tarina fans this is an ideal gift. It’s beautifully presented in a pink box with Tarina’s name splashed all over it. So the outer is just as lovely as the inner.

The jewelry box is substantially sized, they didn’t skimp at all and you’re getting a nice, weighty jewelry box. The front has a small silver face plant featuring Tarina’s named with flourishes of embedded skeletons, ribbons, and flowers that surround it. The entire casing is done in silver with a plated faux silver heart lock.

Open it up to reveal a large mirror with a ribbon printed on it and the first tray is also revealed which are your makeup items. All the items are housed in the upper try and can be easily removed as to not make this bulky during application.

So basically you’re looking at a two tier jewelry box that features a removable tray to reveal a deeper compartment on the bottom. Now the tray of makeup which can be removed is simply a padded foam which has shadows on it and three compartments for the primer, mascara, and gloss.

Shadows are 0.04 oz each. Carefully doing the math here you’re actually getting alot of shadow for that price. Full sizes are 0.09 each so give or take a little it would actually set you back $152 or so to buy eight shadows, equivalent to the sizes in this palette not counting the full size gloss cost plus mascara and primer minis. So yes, there is a bit of a deal to be had here even though $79 does seem ALOT to shell out for a palette that doesn’t contain NEARLY the amount of product such as the Tarte Jewelry Box has. You might want to add a little on the price when taking into consideration that some of the shades, eight of them to be exact, are available exclusively in this set.

Now speaking of the shadows…

The formula is nice but it isn’t anything wow aspiring. Some shades are definitely better than others pigmentation wise and just overall texture. Some are a bit chalky but for the most part have decent color pay off however a tad uneventful to me formula wise. I’ve used alot of eyeshadow in my day and these just aren’t really something I’d talk about or get too excited about. They blend well enough, leave behind a nice pop of color, and have an ok formula but I’m no where near excited about them.

The gloss shade included is called Ruby Headphones, love that name for some reason. Great shade, good formula too. The shade is a shimmering ruby red. The applicator definitely gets a seal of approval as it has just the right slant to grab alot of gloss so you can really layer it on thick. Formula isn’t too tacky or sticky and wears quite comfortable with a touch up at around the fourth hour in.

Not a fan of the Pearl Glow Primer but that would be because I don’t really love pearl-y, shimmery things to prep with. This is an iridescent pink pearlish shade.

And lasting the Fleur de Lash Mascara which has a basic bushy brush applicator. Also decent quality but nothing I’d rave about. It does the job well at getting nice, long lashes.

I thought the overall palette was a tad uneventful and dare I say boring. I think Tarina, I think fun, vibrant….but the shadows in this set really play it safe with minimal shimmer and or sparkle. Some are semi-matte where as others are velvety. They have a bit of glitter to them but once in place and blended out you can barely see the sparkle. The shades range from basic browns, to blacks and grays, with a few nude pastels, and the loudest shade being two variations of purple but nothing louder and or bolder.

Formulation on the shadows varies and doesn’t really have a super quality feel. They don’t lack pigmentation (some of the more subtle colors do but that would be the shade itself not the formula) and they blend well enough but the formula just seems to lack something I can’t quite put my finger on.

The jewelry box could have been done up much better in my opinion. The bottom tray would have proved nicer with dividers and separate compartments in place. I, for one, don’t like tossing all my jewelry into a box. I like to separate things so they don’t tangle, get tarnished, etc….having a jewelry box which resembles a box inside sans compartments is just as good as cardboard box to me. After all that’s the point of a jewelry box isn’t it? To separate items so they don’t get ruined?

• Tarina fans (obviously fans of her work will love this)!
• Anyone looking for a really fancy gift to give a makeup lover (this is really different and unique).
• Anyone wanting more for less (although it lacks variety you’re definitely get alot more for alot less here).

• Those who want more variety (this lacks variety in a major way when presented a sea of palettes that contain so much more).
• Those who want shadows that pop (these lack sizzle in my opinion).
• Those who find jewelry boxes and extra storage and such useless (if you’re one for tossing boxes in the trash, you’ll probably not see the joy in the jewelry box presentation, particularly if you’re a minimalist).

Tarina Tarantino’s Jewel Box Palette definitely has a certain unique vibe to it. The packaging does wow at first, second, and third glance but after playing with it and realizing some of it’s major flaws you may end up feeling like better can be found elsewhere. Presentation wise they do a great job plus the lure of exclusive shadows holds a certain appeal however in the long run, after the initial allure and temptation eases and you can see the light once again, you’ll feel like you can definitely do better.

Nice but needs a bit of work to be great or even good.

Don’t quote me but I imagine it’ll be on the clearance rack after the Holidays which might be a great time to haul it because it’s a “nice to have” item however at full price I just wasn’t feeling the love.

I hope next year they’ll learn from their mistakes and perhaps include other items like blush and the likes.

Is it on your wish list?

Played with it yet?

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