Tarte The Jewelry Box Review, Swatches, Photos
This year’s variation of Tarte’s mega palette, The Jewelry Box, features a whopping 32 Full Size Eyeshadows plus other wonderful goodies. I kinda dub Tarte the founding sister of HUGE Holiday Palettes. While every other brand was doing gift sets or festive themed makeup, Tarte was busy releasing super sized palettes to sink our teeth in. Needless to say the rest of the makeup world soon caught the bug and started releasing their own versions of these monsters palettes but we should all bow our heads in respect that Tarte was the first brand to start this great Holiday tradition.
I believe their Holiday Palette is now in its fourth or fifth generation, I know I own at least three of these bad boys and I can recall a year or two I didn’t indulge. Go right ahead and correct me if I’m wrong. I haven’t really gotten tired of collecting them since they are 1. such a great value and 2. Tarte goes for the shock value every year and just when you think you’ve seen it all, they go and do something extra special which is what The Jewerly Box Palette felt like to me.
It was the same idea and design but it was a new as well with alot more packaged into one very tiny box! Who doesn’t like a palette that features everything and the kitchen sink and allows it to fit into a chunky little box about the size of a music CD? That’s awesomeness people.
Did you haul the Tarte Jewelry Box?
Jump ahead to hear my thoughts!
Alot of gorgeous Tarte makeup for a little price tag!
You’re looking at 16 full size shimmering Tarte Eye Shadows, 16 full size matte finish Tarte Eyeshadows, 8 Lip Glosses, Mineral Powder Bronzer, Highlighting Powder, and 5 long wearing eyeliners all housed in a lame gold box with a rather cool hanging necklace as a design. Sweet eh? Lots of makeup, little price tag! $52 will bring it all home to you which works out to as little as almost $1 per item! Deal right?
This comes in a flip top, swing open design. Flip open the top to reveal a full size mirror and a several rows of sixteen shimmering eyeshadows. Swing these open to reveal a full tray of the matte shades of shadow and pull out the stealthy little drawer below to reveal lipglosses, bronzers, and a highlighter, pull out the last drawer to reveal five eyeliners. The tier design makes the palette a rather ideal pick for traveling particularly if you’re heading on a cruise and want to have a ton of makeup available for various eye looks or if you want something you can easily pack in your bag for a trip abroad. I would be slightly wary of the palette breaking so a bit of bubble wrap around it prior to packing in your luggage might be a good idea but the sheer amount of product in this will insure you can have a ton of makeup in one very small place.
I’ve always been delighted with the Tarte Eyeshadow formula but this year for some reason the formula feels different. These new shades have a really lovely texture that’s silky and blends easily with little effort particularly the mattes which I’ve already raved about when I did the Royal Collection Palette review. I’m not a matte girl and you’ve heard me rant about them many a fine time but I will say these mattes are amazing and quite usable and workable. One thing I find about Tarte eyeshadow is some shades don’t play well together when blending so be careful which you chose to contrast with as some will appear a little muddy if you have a heavier hand during application. Aside from that I think the formula is fabulous for newbie makeup users since it has such a buttery soft texture that applies with ease on lids.
The glosses in the palette are incredible. Normally these larger palettes have a hard texture gloss but these are extremely pigmented with a very soft, glossy feel. I’d call them more along the lines of a lip cream rather than a simple gloss! Quite lovely.
The liners are all equally fabulous with a soft formula that glides on effortlessly sans tugging. You get a wide range of colors including traditional black and brown plus green, plum, and blue! Pretty much all the shades you’ll need for pairing up with the shadows in the set.
And finally the bronzer and highlighter are bother generous sizes.
The necklace that attached on the front of the palette can be unhooked and worn around your neck. At first glance I thought it wasn’t really my style but it’s actually quite a nice tier style necklace that looks lovely with a simple blouse or shirt! It’s a nice little extra that keeps with this year’s “jewelry” theme.
Sadly, I don’t think I’ll make much use of the bronzer or the highlighter powder. I wish they included the cheek stains like years past as this contains no blushes which I thought was sad. I also dislike the larger powders being so close to the gloss, major mess waiting to happen if I’m not careful!
- Those starting out in the makeup world who want a good selection of high quality makeup for creating a ton of looks!
- Anyone who loves Tarte!
- Anyone who wants a green friendly makeup formula sans parabens and other synthetic and harmful ingredients!
- Those who want a gorgeous pressie for friends or family!
- Anyone who wants more for less (this ranges out to a buck or so per product and all are either full size or generous size products!).
- Anyone who doesn’t who isn’t keen on powder and gloss formulas being housed in the same palette.
- Anyone who wants alot of pop a la MAC eyeshadow (you’re getting a range of gorgeous shades but they are not incredibly BOLD or vibrant shades).
- Anyone wanting a cheek, lip, and eye palette (this lacks a little in the cheek department).
I thought it was a fabulous deal and felt like the palette offered alot housed in a very small amount of space that was still very workable and user friendly. The entire palette just screams at beauty junkies to buy it and it creates some very nice looks and easy ones as well since I felt it was ideal for both advanced and new users alike. If you’re still seeking a last minute gift definitely head to Sephora for a pick at this, your friends or family will adore this if they love makeup!
Here are a few looks created with the palette! I just added my own blush and mascara but the eyeshadow, liner, and lipgloss is all from the palette!
The Tarte Jewelry Box is a Muse Approved item for purchase for a variety of reasons but most important the sheer value!
Did you buy it?
What did you love about it?
What didn’t you love about it?
Plans to buy it?
Do share!
Available from Sephora and online at tartecosmetics.com.
Note: I’ll update shortly with the matte swatches, they were left out of the review, apologies!