June 13, 2018

Tarte Love, Trust & Fairy Dust Eye & Cheek Palette Review & Swatches

I purchased this item and I receive a small commission if you shop using the links in this post.
3 stars out of 5

Tarte Love, Trust & Fairy Dust Eye & Cheek Palette ($39) is a new eyeshadow and highlighter palette inspired by fairies and flowers. The palette is in the vein of Tarte’s most recent Make Believe in Yourself and Be a Mermaid & Make Waves Eyeshadow Palette but the eyeshadow formula is Tarte’s more traditional formula and not the creamier metallics we seen in those past two palettes.

Don’t get me wrong, there are a few metallics here but the mattes actually dominate. None the less, I purchased it anyway because the shimmery pinks and cranberries were quite appealing not to mention it appeared like a unique and different shade selection from Tarte and not the same old nude, neutral palettes they tend to favor.

Props to Tarte for interesting but slightly childish packaging. The palette is a circular compact a little smaller than CD which contains 10 eyeshadows (0.035 oz each) and 1 highlighter (0.070 oz each). It’s bright metallic pink in color with a sparkly star studded compact. It’s something my 4th grade self would have adored and has a very Lisa Frank feel. Something I’d have picked up at some mall in the early 90’s when I was all about unicorns, fairies, stars, and sparkle.

As you know I was really disappointed with the Tarte Aspyn Ovard Eye & Cheek Palette because it was such a grossly misleading launch in promotional images. I think we can all agree that palette looked like a pink and dusky rose selection of shades so it was shocking to actually get it and realize, “Hey, wait, there’s a bunch of browns and golds in here! Where’s all the pink!?”

I think the same holds true for the Love, Trust & Fairy Dust Eye & Cheek Palette. I swear this palette is like some sort of weird illusion. Online it looks mostly pink and cranberry and in person, you get that same vibe. I think it might because of the pink metallic compact. it sort of makes the shades all look sparkly and pink but in reality, there aren’t that many pink shades here at all. In fact, there are only two shades that are truly unique in this palette and the rest can easily, very easily be duped across the board from other Tarte Eyeshadow Palettes. However, the two shades I’m talking about, Mystical and Flitter, actually create looks I can easily recreate using the Etude House Play Color Eyes Wine Party I already own or Urban Decay’s Backtalk Eye & Face Palette.

Tarte Love, Trust & Fairy Dust Eye & Cheek Palette Swatches (Giggle, Magic, Flower Crown)

Tarte Love, Trust & Fairy Dust Eye & Cheek Palette Swatches (Mystical, Wish, Gossamer, Frolic)

Tarte Love, Trust & Fairy Dust Eye & Cheek Palette Swatches (Flitter, Twinkle, Wonder, Whimsical)

A few years ago, Tarte was very fond of purples and mauve shades. It’s sort of their signature color and pops up in a lot of their palettes. This palette contains quite a few mauves that aren’t exact dupes of past shades but can be easily duplicated if you already own palettes like Rainforest After Dark Eye & Cheek Palette, Energy Noir Clay Palette, Amazonian Clay Matte Eyeshadow Palette just to name a few.

Of course, there’s also a standard round-up of nudes in this palette that Tarte includes in many of their palettes across the board as well such as Gossamer a creamy base or highbrow highlighter, Frolic which is a light tan brown, and Wonder a plum brown.

The two unique shades I mentioned are Mystical which has an interesting shimmering duochrome effect. They call it a magenta but to me it seems like a cranberry that has an orange-y shift. The second shade is Flitter which is a lighter metallic pink. Flitter is really pretty and it pairs up nicely with Mystical (I have the two shades on my eye below) but it does look like a shade I have in a Too Faced palette! Which palette and shade name I’m not sure but it does seem vaguely similar to something I already own from Too Faced.

As I mentioned above the palette has a good deal of mattes compared to metallics/shimmers. There are ten shades total not counting the highlighter and only four shades are metallic and six are mattes. Compared to the Make Believe in Yourself and Be a Mermaid & Make Waves Palette that’s considerably a lot more mattes. The palette also contains two very dark shades which are best used as eyeliners. I always feel like I never make use those darker shades sadly.

As for the mattes, well, I don’t mind mattes. I’d be caught dead saying that a few years ago but nowadays it’s true, I really don’t mind them. But in this palette, well, I expected more sparkle than matte. The mattes do offset the metallics however, I think people heading into this purchase do expect sparkle and this doesn’t have a lot of it. I was also pretty disappointed with the dryness of the mattes. They prove a little firmer than Tarte’s regular soft, silky matte and applied a bit patchier. The best of the shades was Gossamer and Frolic. The other shades I experienced a bit of patchy dryness.

The metallics are quite nice overall though. Pigmented, good blend, not too much of a powdery kick up, and very little fall out. The highlighter is also quite creamy and highly pigmented although a little too glowy for me to use on my face but that’s based on my own personal preference.

The palette is made in the USA and does have a chocolate scent that disappeared once I applied.

Tarte Love, Trust & Fairy Dust Eye & Cheek Palette isn’t as unique or as special as I originally thought it would be. The shade selection isn’t truly unique at all and the promotional images are a bit misleading. But most important the shades are easily duplicated and the formula on some of them is questionable.

Sadly, this one was a bit disappointing.

I’m looking forward to hearing your thoughts on it if you purchased it.

Where to buy

The Tarte Love, Trust & Fairy Dust Eye & Cheek Palette is available now at tartecosmetics.com and sephora.com and Ulta.com.

Tarte Love, Trust & Fairy Dust Eye & Cheek Palette is a $39 palette is a new, limited edition Summer 2018 palette that includes 10 eyeshadows (0.035 oz each) as well as 1 highlighter (0.035 oz) for $39. The palette appears quite pink and metallic in color with plenty of shimmer but in reality, it contains more mattes than metallics with very few unique shades and many rerun colors that you like already own from past eyeshadow palettes the brand has released. The metallics proved quite lovely in texture but the mattes lacked the typical silky formula and some applied a bit drier and patchier. All these things combined resulted in a disappointing experience. The palette is made in the USA.

Pros

  • Interesting and fun packaging.
  • Fairly inexpensive for 10 eyeshadows and a highlighter.
  • A few unique shades (but sadly not enough to warrant a purchase).

Cons

  • Packaging and promotional images give the illusion of pink, sparkle eyeshadow palette but in reality, there are a lot of darker mauves and nudes in this palette.
  • Dominated by mattes and not as many metallics as one might think.
  • Iffy formula with mattes being drier and patchier during application.
  • A lot of rerun shades so the looks you can create can easily be duplicated if you own a lot of Tarte palettes already.

Who

Tarte Love, Trust & Fairy Dust Eye & Cheek Palette is a very, very easy buy for Tarte fans and collectors of these palettes. It’s a fun palette that packaging junkies will adore however, you might need to question whether you need it or not when you realize the colors aren’t as unique as promotional images would have you believe.

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‘.

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Comments

  • Jujubes

    I was waiting for your review and holding off the purchase and I am glad I did! Though it looked promising at first, I did realize there were very few pink/plum shades in this, more than half were just the same brown/gold nudes I already have in all the palettes I own. I am so disappointed because I really wanted to buy and love this but at the same time I am glad you just save me a chunk of change again! Thank you!

    • Isabella Muse

      It’s a weird palette because if you look at it it seems all cranberry pink glory but I think it’s because of the metallic mirrored compact as once you start working with it you’re like, “Wait, this isn’t pink at all!” My pleasure! See it in store, double check, maybe it’ll catch your eye, but I have my doubts as the shades are quite the same same we’ve seen before aside from two that seemed unique to me!

      • Jujubes

        I trust you! Been reading you for years and you are always on the mark. You are right the pink compact adds to the illusion. I noticed the youtubers who reviewed this only swatched and used the Mystical shade. It’s like they were avoiding to really swatch the brown/nude shades. It is disappointing, I was hoping this would be the Backtalk done right!

        • Isabella Muse

          thank you so so much! Very flattered!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I really WISH it was backtalk done right!!!!!!!!!!!! sadly, not!

    • Susan

      Thank you so much for the review. I like lots of mattes, but there are only a couple of pinkish shades here that I like and the rest are, as others have said, the same ol’ browns and nudes that Tarte shoves out by the hundred. Why. Why is an all-cool palette so hard to do???

  • Carol G

    Had a feeling this was going to be meh. I didn’t buy it mainly because of all the mattes that most of us already own. The one shade that stood out to me, as well, was that cranberry shade. But that doesn’t warrant a purchase from me for one shade. I see this on sale soon too.

  • Kish

    Just as I suspected. It’s funny, when all the paid reviewers are talking about this palette, they are really only using the two pink shades lol. Like we aren’t going to notice all the boring brown nude repeats. Tarte used to be my favorite brand, but I’ve been pretty disappointed by everything except their base products over the last couple years. Oh well.

    • Isabella Muse

      I intentionally avoid reading or watching reviews because I don’t want to cloud my own judgement but I can imagine most people are going to reach for those pinks and avoid the mauves and nudes since the shades are just a rerun and aren’t really a good representation of the palette’s vibe if that makes sense!

      • Kish

        That makes total sense. I think the Pro To Go palette has a cranberry shade that would more than suffice for me, and it was a lot cheaper.

        • Isabella Muse

          you can totally find at least one cranberry that looks like this I’m sure! 😀

  • kjh

    Tbh, not surprised. Nowadays, the images are distorted on purpose by the cos and by filter/poor software on S and U. Ya wait for reviews, and ya trust no one. The two you featured look fine, but no one gets a palette with 2 decent shades and the rest same old/same old. Thanks for a save.

    • Isabella Muse

      my pleasure! And agreed! Can’t just get a palette for two shades!

  • Amber

    I think I have the pro to go, the buried treasure palette and the big pro palette along with the energy noir palette so I think I will pass. It’s a pity. It looks so pretty. Think I’ll look at the buxom palettes for your eye colors. I have multiple eye colors so I would have to get more than one lol. My eyes tend to gray but they can go hazel, blue and green depending. Have you taken a look at them?

    • Isabella Muse

      I have! I actually have two of the palettes and a few singles that are quite lovely and bright!

  • Maritza

    I think is cause also the market is over saturated ..makeup is now like fashion..disposable. long gone are the days were you waited a season and everything was curated and awesome and exciting. Now is more of the same even in the color area. How many rainbow palettes are there?

  • Christina

    Can’t say I’m surprised. It’s Tarte after all.

    LOL! I love how you said your 4th grade self would have loved this packaging. The funny thing is, no 4th grader will be buying this (or at least I hope they won’t be buying this at such a young age…)

    • Isabella Muse

      ha I hope not either! But hey that seems the age demographic for tarte lately with the unicorns and mermaids and fairies!

  • Crystal

    I’m SOOOOO glad you reviewed this! I too was super excited when this released, as I primarily use pinks and purples for my eyeshadows, and this looked like it would be a great addition to my collection. Super disappointed that it appears to be another mainly neutral palette (as if there aren’t any of those around!). Would you reccomend the Urban Decay Backtalk palette over this Tarte one? I’ve been wanting to get Backtalk, but it had such mixed reviews I’ve been holding back.

    • Isabella Muse

      Yay! ;-D glad I could help. I wouldn’t 🙁 I’d wait for Backtalk to go on sale (which it likely will). Backtalk was disappointing for me 🙁

  • Becky Rubens

    Those colors look great on you. What color do you have in your lower lash line it really brings a twinkle to your eyes! Sadly i would be totally drawn to this pallette for your mentioned rains of the super pretty pallette /packaging as well lol.

    • Isabella Muse

      thank you! That shade is literally twinkle haha ;-D Packaging is my downfall too! I can’t blame ya!

  • Dee

    I was so looking forward to this but waiting for your review ( like so many of us do) Glad I waited!

  • Celine D

    Sadly , that palette looks disappointing : (
    BUT. You’re lipgloss does not ! What is it ? Such a pretty sheer MLBB on you !
    Celine D ; )

  • Wendy

    I was very disappointed when I received it yesterday. I was like WHERE IS THE PINK? seriously, I had the very same thoughts as you — it’s all brown. However, I do love the palette and I will use it. But it is definitely not what I thought it was. Nor was the blush — not pink — nude. *sigh*

    • Isabella Muse

      sigh! sorry girl! I was a bit disappointed with the formula too! Did you feel the mattes were a bit dry!? I had a good deal of patchy application 🙁

      • Wendy

        I haven’t tried it yet. I’m in vacation mode so no makeup today. Lol

          • Wendy

            I used it this morning, actually, I didn’t find it to be dry. I like it. and the blush, which looked pink in the picture, but when I got it, it looked more nude, it did actually apply as a very subtle pink/rose. I love it!

    • Isabella Muse

      Tarte Lip Sculptor in Pixie and It Cosmetics Bye Bye Pores Blush 🙂

  • Wendy

    Isabella, I was referring to the blush that was part of this collection, seperate from this pallete

    • Isabella Muse

      Oh duh I’m sorry I was asking about the matte shadows being dry I got confused ;-D

  • Tammy

    Maybe Colour Pop will come up with something close to those pink shades. I wanted this palette, but I’m going to skip it now. Thanks for your review.

  • Candace Hollins

    Omg I’m so glad I found your review when I did!!! I don’t have much money so I have to pick and choose carefully on what to buy for myself. This one I love because of the packaging. I’m star obsessed lol. But i am so glad you expressed your honest concern for this palette. You just saved me $39!!! Thank you so much!!! I love reading your reviews, don’t ever leave!! Lol, thank you again!!!

    • Isabella Muse

      aw my pleasure Candace! Glad I saved you $$$ I’m sure at some point it’ll go on sale and you might want to grab it at that point 🙂 xoxo!

  • cat

    I feel like I’m getting obsessed with pink because the beauty gurus/makeup companies are getting obsessed with pink. But honestly, I think I’d rather find a brand that makes a good pink single shadow because a lot of these palettes are disappointing where you think you’re going to create a look and then the one or two bold shades in the palette aren’t even the exact shade you want (either too warm or too cool or too frosty or whatever). I don’t want to sink too much money into these palettes because I know we’re going to all move on from pink soon enough.