Tarte Clay Play Face Shaping Palette Review & Swatches
Tarte Clay Play Face Shaping Palette ($46) is a new eyeshadow slash contour palette all in one that I picked up against my better judgement and because I’m so damn weak. I honestly didn’t need this one because I have so many nude, natural shades. I’m also saying that about the new Tartelette Toasted Eyeshadow Palette but you know that I’m going to probably grab that too. Makeup junkie problems right?
This one packs in 12 Amazonian Clay Matte Eyeshadow that you can use as eyeshadow or you can contour your nose and shape your brows with. I actually thought they were marketing it as a contouring palette as well as an eyeshadow one but turns out that isn’t the case. They recommend using the shades as eyeshadows obviously or you can use them as brow powders or to shape and contour your nose. Shrug…ok? If I’m honest, I’ll likely use them all as eyeshadow and not much else. I don’t use brow powders because hey, if you read my my experience at the Benefit Brow Bar you totally get it. And I don’t really sculpt and contour my nose…! Again, I’m shrugging my shoulders here mentally because it seems odd to market an eyeshadow palette for those things. Or maybe I’m just not that savvy a makeup user!
Anyway, I did in fact purchase this the day it launched. After I purchased it, no joke, the next day Tarte had 15% Off (use promo code DREAM15). Sigh, Sod’s Law right?
It arrived and I was disappointed because I thought it got damaged or something in shipment. The design has this weird scratched off faded look. I was all, “Wait, did this get damaged or did someone use it?” On certain parts of palette the design is rubbed away showing white. I realized after a little googling that was normal But I’m a little bit of a perfectionist and it bugged me. Aside from this the palette itself is well made with a very generously sized mirror inside and a weighty feel. Inside you’ll find 12 shades that range in size. 6 are 0.035 oz each, 3 are 0.070 oz, and 3 are 0.21 oz in size. The palette has a chocolate-y vanilla fragrance that disappears once the shadows are applied.
Shades include:
- Journey (rosy buff)
- Stone (rosy brown)
- Solstice (ivory)
- Terracotta (warm taupe)
- Dunes (slate brown)
- Smoke (coffee)
- Sand (cream)
- Desert (cool taupe)
- Ember (amber brown)
- Onyx (black)
- Instinct (buff)
- Timber (chestnut)
There are all mattes here not a single shimmer in the mix which can make it a very appealing if you love mattes or you’re looking for a work friendly palette. I was somewhat shocked to see the amount of smoky blackish eyes they had going on in the how to get the look guide that came with the palette. I had a moment of, “Wait, how did they create that with these brown shades!?” It was a little strange to see that…!
One thing is for sure I didn’t need this palette but I can’t deny the formula is good. There wasn’t a single shade here to rant about. All of them had very good pigmentation and a smooth, silky formula that blended well and adhered to my lid nicely without primer. They didn’t crease nor did they fade during the wear. It’s debatable whether you can dupe these shades across other Tarte palettes. Sure, there are shades that look similiar to past palettes but I’m going to go a little wild here and say they aren’t complete dupes of past shades. Shades like Timber, Terracotta, Dunes, Smoke, Stone, Instinct, all felt very unique to me.
I actually like the warm chocolate-y tan theme going on in this palette and can see myself using these shades in a lot of my daily look. For some reason, the palette surprised me. I expected uneventful, boring, and a rehash of old shades. But what I got was some a round up of interesting shades that I’ll happily use as single color washes daily in some of my more natural looks. This isn’t to say the palette isn’t a LITTLE boring. I think we’re all conditioned to get excited about either a vibrant, bold selection of shades or a palette that contains a ton of sparkle, shimmer, and flash. Tarte Clay Play Face Shaping Palette takes things back to the basics and I’m ok with that.
Tarte Clay Play Face Shaping Palette is a little diamond in the rough. I expected to not be wowed by this palette and I wasn’t. But I can’t deny that I really liked it and I feel like I’ll be getting a lot of use out of it. The colors just work for me and the texture of the shadows was beautiful.
So, yeah, this one gets a nod for purchase. If you like mattes, I’d dive in and grab it.
Tarte Clay Play Face Shaping Palette is available now at tartecosmetics.com and at sephora.com.
Did you indulge?
Do share your thoughts!