September 15, 2017

Tarte Treasure Box Collector’s Set Review & Swatches

I purchased this item and I receive a small commission if you shop using the links in this post.

Tarte Treasure Box Collector’s Set is one of several Holiday 2017 Gift Sets that includes eyeshadows, blush, highlighter, mascara, and more. The Treasure Box Collector’s Set is available exclusively at Sephora but there are also exclusive sets available on Tarte’s website, at Macys, and one that will be available at Ulta as well. This year, the brand really went all out with their Holiday launch with many, many different gift set options.

Let’s take a look at my review and swatches below.

Tarte Treasure Box Collector’s Set is a pretty standard, traditional release for the brand and sometimes a dreaded ones for fans because they quality isn’t quite what you get from their permanent launches and a lot of their Holiday Collection, over the last few years, has been made in China. I am happy, relieved, and quite pleased to say that this palette is for the most part Made in the USA and that reflects on the quality of the items inside. If you’re been holding off buying this due to being burned in the past by some of Tarte’s Holiday Palettes you can rest assured that the quality is quite good. The palette contains 24 Amazonian Clay Eyeshadows (0.024 oz each), 2 Amazonian Clay Blushes (0.1 oz each), 2 Amazonian Clay Bronzers (0.1 oz each), and Amazonian Clay Highlighter, and Tarteist Quick Dry Matte Lip Paint which are all made in the USA. There’s also a deluxe Lights, Camera, Lashes Mascara (0.13 oz) which is made in Italy and a Full-Size Sex Kitten Eyeliner that is Made in China.

Note: I’m missing some swatches. I’ll update shortly.

The chunky book style palette flips open on either side to reveal the 24 eyeshadows centered in the middle with the blushes, highlighter, and bronzer located on the left hand flap and another small compartment on the right side that has a lid which flips open to reveal the mascara, lipstick, and eyeliner. This compartment can be used to hold a good deal of other products should you wish to travel with a few items by removing the plastic tray which holds the mascara, lipstick, and eyeliner. You can put quite a few eyeliners in here or lipglosses, anything really! Plus it snaps securely closed. There’s a thin plastic film over they eyeshadows but nothing over the blush, bronzers, etc…It can get a little messy since there is nothing to protect the powders aside from a very thin, plastic sheet. There is no mirror in this palette and the eyeshadow and blush tray can not be removed later on should you wish to use the palette as a storage box once you run through the items inside out. The shadow names are printed on the palette but the blush, highlighter, and bronze shades are not. I noticed a chocolate fragrance when opening the palette but once applied that disappeared and didn’t linger. The eyeshadows are also arranged into quads. Counting four across will give you one complete look and will take the guest work out of matching up shades that go well together.

Over the years, Tarte has decreased the size of many items in their Holiday sets particularly eyeshadows which at one point used to be all full-size. You get more variety nowadays in terms of color but less in terms of size per item. But all in all, there are a lot of options here as well as many different products in one spot for the price of $59.

Tarte’s Holiday palettes have been disappointing the last few years but they redeem themselves a good deal with this launch. I had trouble with a few shades here but 99% of them were soft, silky, velvety, easy to blend, and looked incredible on my eyes without fading or creasing on my drier eyes. A few of the mattes were a little dry and patchy such as Palace and Wayfarer but if you’re using them in conjunction with another shade they blend easily enough! If you decide to apply them all over your lid, well, they run a bit drier and patchier. But honestly, I can’t say there were many shades here I hated. All the shades had a soft, buttery texture. They are powdery and kick up a good deal of dust but that didn’t translate as dry or chalky. This is the formula we know and love from Tarte! I didn’t compare all these shades to past releases but I think it is safe to say you might run into a dupe or two or three….! There’s a good selection of variety here to get you smokier, warmer, and even cooler looks but for the most part this palette is dominated by warmer shades with matte and shimmer finishes. The shimmers did not have chunky glitter and a majority of the mattes were soft and silky.

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Tarte Treasure Box Collector’s Set Swatches (Culture, Craft, Artisan, Palace)

Tarte Treasure Box Collector’s Set Swatches (Globe, Emporium, Tempt, Legend)

Tarte Treasure Box Collector’s Set Utopia, Cloud 9, Bazaar, Awe)

Tarte Treasure Box Collector’s Set Swatches (Joyride, Odyssey, Souvenir, Adventure)

Tarte Treasure Box Collector’s Set Swatches (Excursion, Perk, Wish, Wanderlust, Navigate)

I wasn’t thrilled with the blushes or the highlighter. The blushes were actually very soft and silky but they ran a bit sheerer and I like a little bit more pop. But there was no fault with the formula. These blended easily but had a shorter wear time compared to the permanent Amazonian Blush shades. I got about seven hours of wear before they faded. The highlighter wasn’t quite as popping either. This was sheerer with very subtle luminosity. The formula was soft, velvety, and clung to drier areas on my face but this is pretty standard and typical when it comes to velvety highlighters like this and my skin type. The bronzers were quite pigmented and buildable. They give you two different finishes here of matte and shimmer so you can easily contour with them should you like.

I’ve reviewed Lights, Camera, Lashes Mascara (a very fond favorite of mine) and Tarteist Quick Dry Matte Lip Paint in the past so, I won’t go into details about either here. I will address the Sex Kitten Eyeliner though since it isn’t one I’ve reviewed before. I didn’t really like the eyeliner as it was drier and didn’t quite glide easily on my already drier eyes. Oily lids might benefit from the matte texture a little more. It tugged badly on me and I could badly get color to show up on my waterline due to the dryness of the formula.

Tarte Treasure Box Collector’s Set has some great offerings in the eyeshadow department with a few minor quirks along the way but overall, this set wasn’t as bad as I was bracing myself for it to be. Don’t write it off, test in store, play with a little, and you might come away feeling pleasantly surprised how much the brand has improved upon this release compared to prior Holiday gift sets.

Wearing Perk Blush, Caravan, Culture, Lantern, and Wayfarer Eyeshadow

Wearing Perk Blush, Caravan, Culture, Lantern, and Wayfarer Eyeshadow, and Tarteist Quick Dry Matte Lip Paint in Grand

Well done Tarte. This is what we like to see in our Holiday releases!

Tarte Treasure Box Collector’s Set is available exclusively at Sephora and Sephora.com.

Did you grab it?

What did you think?

I purchased this item and I receive a small commission if you shop using the links in this post.

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

  • Katie

    This is an easy pass for me. I count about 10 shades that are white or cream in nature, all of which I can get in one of my other palettes. The remaining shades are durable IMO. There are many other holiday palettes out there that I think are much prettier and less dupable – hello Huda Beauty Desert Dusk!

  • Christina D.

    You look great! Nice to see a positive review for one of these gi-normous holiday releases. I won’t be indulging since I’ve over-indulged in a whole bunch of other things recently…with a few more to come next week! Besides, I get the feeling that if I take one of my other Tarte palettes and turn it on the side so that the square pans become diamond-shaped, it would be a dupe.

    • Isabella Muse

      Aw thanks 😀 They finally got things right. This is an excellent formula unlike the prior years before 😀 Haha! Yeah, lots of similiar shades to others everyone prob already has!

  • Jen

    Ha! You want brighter blushes but I was just thinking how gorgeous these blushes are on you. You look radiant 🙂

  • Jeanine McAuliffe

    I wasn’t going to even bother with this but now i just may. Great review!
    I really want to see your mu collection and how you store it. I can only imagine!!!

  • Danadoo

    At first this little treasure box looked so cute, but the way the blushes and bronzers are unprotected from the eyeshadows is a deal breaker for me. I can imagine how messy this would get over time.

  • Ria

    I swear half these eyeshadow shades look just like the ones from the Bon Voyage holiday set a few years back. Especially that hunter green and navy blue. Oh Tarte, what will we do with you.

  • Jeanine McAuliffe

    Ok Muse awhile back i mentioned a new tarte palette to follow up in bloom . I finally saw it again its called toasted. Now, I’m not sure if it’s a sequel but it has the same type of packaging but needless to say there is a new palette dropping soon. Get ready for complaints because it looks awfully similar to in bloom or well every palette. I’m ok with that because i love me some browns and they are just a tiny bit different.

  • Carys

    Hi, I was hoping to get your opinion quality wise on which holiday bundle to get. The Too Faced Boss Lady Beauty Agenda, or the Tarte Treasure Box Collector’s Set. Which is better quality?

  • SOPHIE MALEK

    very detailed, thank you. i bought it on sale for AUD$32. Looking forward to receiving it in the mail 🙂

  • SOPHIE MALEK

    very detailed, thank you. i bought it on sale for AUD$32. Looking forward to receiving it in the mail 🙂 i will let you know how i go