May 8, 2015

Tarte Beauty in the Basics Set Review & Swatches

This was provided to me by a brand for review and I receive a small commission if you shop using the links in this post but all opinions are my own.

Tarte Beauty in the Basics Set

Tarte Beauty in the Basics Set ($47) is a May QVC’s Today’s Special that debuts May 11th and includes six full size Tarte products including the new Tarte Smoothing Balm Foundation. As always with these QVC sets you’re really getting an excellent value and a nice bang for your buck especially since you’ll be trying out brand new products in the set.

There’s been a lot of chatter though that the Beauty in the Basics Set is a bit repetitive due to the shades of eyeshadow in the palette. I understand, Tarte does in fact do a lot of nude, neutral eyeshadow palettes but honestly, I tried and review the Tarte Amazon Clay of Life Colored Clay Eyeshadow Palette and you might just want to take a chance on it as it appears Tarte has reformulated their eyeshadows for this palette and did a damn good job of it too.

Let’s take a peek!

The Tarte Beauty in the Basics Set includes:

  • Tarte Bamboo Smoothing Balm Brush (New)
  • Tarte Amazonian Smoothing Balm (New) (Review & Swatches)
  • Tarte Amazonian Clay Tightlining Eyeliner (New) (Review & Swatches)
  • Tarte Colored Clay Eyeshadow Palette (New) (Review & Swatches)
  • Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes Mascara
  • Tarte Lipsurgence Lip Creme in Vintage

Many of the items in this set I’ve reviewed extensively already in prior posts. Above you’ll find clickable links for a ton more details than I’ll be providing in this post.

The start of this collection is the new Amazonian Smoothing Balm. This is a sheer to almost medium coverage foundation balm that quite reminds me of a more pigmented version of Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer Creme Compact or MAC Prep + Prime BB Beauty Balm Compact. This is a thin balm but not a super creamy foundation. I typically dislike cream compact foundations because I find them too heavy but this formula is thin and easy to blend and sets to a very smooth, soft finish with natural coverage. Tarte also included a new Bamboo Smoothing Balm Brush to apply the foundation with however, I disliked the brush. It’s a bit too big for blending in my opinion. It’s a well made brush with very soft bristles that do not shed however, using it along with the balm didn’t really work for me as I was unable to get the balm properly blended due to the brush’s larger size.

Tarte Amazonian Clay Smoothing Balm7

Tarte Amazonian Clay Smoothing Balm5

Tarte Amazonian Clay Smoothing Balm

Tarte Amazonian Clay Smoothing Balm swatches

Tarte Amazonian Clay Smoothing Balm Swatches (Light)

Bamboo Smoothing Balm Makeup Brush

Bamboo Smoothing Balm Brush

Now I know a lot of chatter about this set stemmed from the fact that the Tarte Colored Clay Eyeshadow Palette was a very repetitive color selection. The palette features shades of creamy beige, taupe, and brown which most people feel are easily duped. I agree however, you might reconsider a purchase because apparently Tarte reformulated their eyesahdows or at least these shadows are a new formula. The palette was created to be used with your fingers as they have a soft creamy consistency that’s a bit of a hybrid texture that has features of being powder yet having a certain gorgeous buttery creaminess. They apply beautifully and blend out very easily. I really like this formula and it came unexpectedly as I just assumed it would Tarte’s normal shadow formula which is equally nice.

Tarte Amazon Clay of Life Colored Clay Eyeshadow Palette4

Tarte Amazon Clay of Life Colored Clay Eyeshadow Palette

Tarte Amazon Clay of Life Colored Clay Eyeshadow Palette swatches

You also get full size Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes Mascara which is a personal favorite of mine as it isn’t a one trick pony mascara and does provide both volume and length. You also get a Lipsurgence Lip Cream which has provides full color in a creamy formula.

Lights, Camera, Lashes 4-In-1 Mascara

Lights-Camera-Lashes-Mascara

Tarte Vintage Lipsurgence Lip Creme

Tarte Vintage Lipsurgence Lip Creme Swatches

The one thing I didn’t like in the set was the Tightlining Mascara which has a very dry, dense formula that tugged on my lash line during application and was difficult to apply. It might be good for those with oily lids but my own drier eyes didn’t love this formula.

Tarte Tightlining Eyeliner

Tarte Amazonian Clay Tightlining Eyeliner

Tarte Amazonian Clay Tightlining Eyeliner swatches

At $47, this set is an excellent value to say least. You also have the option of signing up for auto delivery which means you’ll get one more shipment of this set with new seasonal shades in August. The August Shipment does not have the brush but does include a mascara primer in its place!

Tarte Beauty in the Basics fotd

Tarte Beauty in the Basics Set fotd

Tarte QVC Sets are always a great deal and something I look forward to and although this Beauty in the Basics Set started out as being a bit repetitive to me, in the end, I was very happy to have tried it out and do recommend picking it up as you not only get to try the Smoothing Balm Foundation (which, as of now, is only available in this set) but you also get an excellent eyeshadow palette with a new, exciting formula to try!

The Tarte Beauty in the Basics Set debuts on May 11th on QVC or you can grab it now with Free Shipping at QVC.com.

This was provided to me by a brand for review and I receive a small commission if you shop using the links in this post but all opinions are my own.

About the Muse

Isabella MuseIsabella is just an average everyday geeky girl who doesn’t blend her eyeshadow correctly, wears too much blush, and hopes she never finds her holy grail products because she likes the thrill of the chase so much. Her mission is to bring you super honest reviews on makeup, skincare, fragrance and all things beauty. She’s in no way an expert on the topic and she sure as hell isn’t a super model. But she’s passionate about makeup and is seeking like-minded individuals that like pina coladas, getting caught in the rain, and ones that enjoy spending hundreds of dollars at Sephora without feeling buyer’s remorse. If you’re that person feel free to reach out and leave a comment or follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Bloglovin‘.

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Comments

  • kimkats

    For those of you (me!) who want to order this kit, I found a youtube video of the kit, AND it has swatches of all the foundation shades at about 11 seconds into the video. I stopped it there and decided what shade I wanted to get – I had looked like crazy for swatches of the shades other than the light one Muse had and finally found this:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjyBPk22Emc&feature=youtu.be&j=390921&[email protected]&l=8574_HTML&u=9123208&mid=6248911&jb=0

    Hope this helps some of the rest of you! The Auto Delivery Number on the kit is A268889. 🙂 Not that I’m enabling or anything….

      • Dee

        They are sold out in Light and Light Medium! Waitlist only.

    • Caroline

      lol! Thanks for the AD #

      I’m a dork. I set my DVR to record the TSV tonight so I can see how they apply everything. Sigh. ( yes, quite helpless ! )

      Looking forward to trying everything!

    • devon

      it’s not enabling, it’s assisting ;] thanks kimkats!!!!

    • Dee

      This helped a lot! I’ve never tried any Tarte foundation so am looking forward to this.

      Several shades were available only on waitlist yesterday but they are available today so decided to give it a try.

    • Liz

      Thank you! Tarte’s video helped A LOT. Okay, credit card out. I’m going for it! :-/

  • majick

    That brush looks like the one that came with the foundcealer in the last kit from the Q. I love that brush. This kit is luckily not on my list but it is a great deal.

  • Jennifer

    Could you recommend a shade that would match someone that uses NC25?

  • Kiss & Make-up

    Definitely looks like a nice little set! And since I don’t have ANYTHING Tarte yet it wouldn’t be repetitive for me 🙂