Tarte for True Blood - Review!

I think I deserve a reward for this one. Seriously. At least 100 photos sorted through, cropped, watermarked, and labeled, and one new piece of background material later I finally have everything done. I feel like my brain has liquefied and is about to ooze out of my skull- at least the zombie Apocalypse is scheduled, tentatively, for December 22, 2012, otherwise that might be worrisome.


I feel like I need to put a bit of a disclaimer on this one. While I love the Sookie Stackhouse novels, I'm not that enthralled with the 'True Blood' television series. As far as adaptations, while I have seen worse, this one is not that great, and I do have issue with some of the casting. Yes I'm being nit-picky, I know. But, I do love the casting for Eric, Pam, and Lafayette- they're great characters to begin with (especially Eric). But, from what I've read of season four thus far, I don't think I could stomach it. Thay just changed way too much for my liking. Aaaaaand end rant.


 Anywhos... Everything is finally ready to go, so let's just go on and get to the good stuff!


**Disclaimer: All products were purchased by me. All opinions are my own. 

Hello awesome sauce packaging! This just absolutely screams Fangtasia, and I love it.

This is such a well put together palette, and the attention to detail is just fabulous. A lot of thought obviously went into this design, and I think that Pam would even approve.

I tried to get a shot of the front of the little drawer at the front on the palette, but it was apparently not to be- just to let you know, it says "Open After Dark" on it. But it's what's inside that's important...

Nestled inside the drawer you'll find: 'Lifted' Eye Primer, 'Light's, Camera, Lashes!' Mascara, and 'EmphasEYES' Aqua Gel Eyeliner.

First up, the primer: I hate it. Yep. Hate. The first time I used it I put it through probably the most brutal test I could- I went out to a concert. 3-4 hours hanging out in a crowded theater in the middle of a hot and humid Alabama summer, with changing lights, and the heat coming off of the sound equipment. Yeah, heck of a test. Needless to say my eye makeup was shot to hades by the time I got home. But I wanted to give the primer the benefit of the doubt, so I used it again the following Friday before church. No later than 30 minutes and my eyeshadow was not only creasing like nothing else, but fading as well. Can we say fail?

^o^

Next up, the mascara: I actually really like this mascara. It's great for lengthening, but not so much volume. It tends to weigh my upper lashes down, which is a bit of a bummer, but I absolutely love it for my lower lashes. The wand is like the traditional mascara wand, not the plasticy ones, and I haven't had any issues with clumping at all.

Win.

^o^

Third, the eyeliner: I have a love/hate relationship with the eyeliner. We'll start with the loves: The formula is lovely. Though it's a retractable eyeliner, it feels like a liquid when applied. Weird, but true. It's very, very highly pigmented, and when it dries it does not move. Serious business, it is on there.

Now the hate: Well, it's not really hate.. Because of the initial texture of the product before it dries, I don't like it for the waterline. I'm not sure what it is about it, but it just didn't work for me in the waterline department.

Overall, win.

^o^

The palette also comes with these handy dandy face charts, and all of the looks were designed by Brigette Myre-Ellis, who is the head of True Blood's makeup department. 

Fancy pants.

Let's just take a moment here, shall we? Let's just soak it all in before we go through them individually. 17 eyeshadows people. 17! *sighs*

I know you're probably thinking the same thing I did when I first saw this palette: Wow. For a palette based on a vampire series, there sure are a lot of neutrals. 

Yep. There's are lots of neutrals. But in all honesty, it fits the series. True Blood vampires are not Dracula knockoffs who only favor red and black- unless they're on duty at Fangtasia, then it's just for show. Pam, for instance, is a pastel favoring vampire- she's also a vampire who favors Nars' Lip Pencils.

All of the shadows have just an absolutely amazing texture. They just glide on, and it's wonderful. It's like buttah.

Let's get on with the individual shades. 

You might want to grab some popcorn and a bottle of True Blood for this, we do have 17 shadows to get through.

*All eyeshadows were swatched over NYX eyeshadow base in 'Skin Tone'.

This is one of my faves. I know it's a bit hard to see, but it's a gorgeous golden champagne color. It is very sheer, but it makes a fabulous highlight.

Like, 'The Light', this one is also a bit hard to see. Where 'The Light' was a golden champagne, this one is a pink champagne. And, like 'The Light', it makes a great highlight color.

'Dusk' is a matte tan color. I am a fan of matte browns (lucky for me this palette has two). Why matte browns? Because they are great for doing vintage and pin up style makeup- which is my go to quick look. While shimmery shadows are fun and modern, there's just something about mattes that just scream classic beauty and sophistication.

I love this color. Love it. It's just gorgeous, and I do believe that it has become one of my favorites. I will be posting a look featuring this eyeshadow very soon. 

Remember the other matte brown that I mention? Well this is it. I love this color, not just because it's a matte, but because it's called 'Werewolf'. Yeah. I'm a nerd. Shut up. But it was correctly named, in my opinion- it does seem like a very Alcide color. One of my new found favorite uses for this color is as a brow powder. It's actually the right shade, unlike the E.L.F. one I had been previously using- which was just way too red and too light. 'Werewolf' is also an great color for the deep crease, it gives excellent dimension to any look.

'Waitress' is an interesting color. It's a gorgeous mauve/gold color with tons of glitter. And when I say tons of glitter, I'm not exaggerating. This is definitely a color that you would want to pack on the lid. But because of the size of the glitter you are going to get some fallout- it's inevitable. Just keep that in mind if you're going to wear this shadow on a night out.

When I first saw this color it immediately reminded me of 'Solid Snake' by Geek Chic Cosmetics. But, while this is indeed a gorgeous navy, it doesn't have the wow factor that 'Solid Snake' does. If I want drama and shine, I'm going to reach for 'Solid Snake'. If I want just a navy blue with subtle sparkle, I'm gonna reach for 'Nocturnal'.

'Charmer' is another that is becoming one of my favorites. It's also one of those interesting colors. A salmon pink goldish color thing-a-ma-jig? Who'd have thunk it?

'Glamour Me' is a cool color. Not cool as in cool toned, but cool as in cool. I know that in the photo it looks like a blue undertoned purple, but it's really more of a neutral purple. It's one of those neat shades that could really go either way, warm or cool. I like versatility in an eyeshadow.

Another matte! Woot! A matte gray is a staple eyeshadow, in my opinion. It's a versatile and useful color, and 'Stake' is no exception. 

Guess what? This is another favorite! Bet you didn't see that one coming, did ya? And let me just say that it looks fabulous when paired with 'Dawn'. Serious business.

'Telepath' is an eyeshadow much in the same vein as 'Waitress'. Huh. Is it a coincidence that they are inspired by a certain telepathinc waitress? I think not. But I digress. This is the more pink counterpart to 'Waitress', but like 'Waitress' this shade does produce massive glitter fallout. Just be warned.

This was the first eyeshadow that I used from this palette. Needless to say, I love it. This has to be the most rich and pigmented silvers I have ever seen. It's just simply gorgeous.

'Immortal' is a lovely matte black with silver glitter. Luckily, unlike 'Waitress' and 'Telepath', the glitter is not chunky and fallout happy. 

I love this green. It's just. Ugh. Fabulous. And it goes fabulously with 'Inevitable Betrayal' by Geek Chic Cosmetics. Just saying.

'Legend' is a great matte black- it even has the same intensity in pigmentation as 'Black Dog' from Urban Decay, which surprised me. I love using this color smudged along the lash line on those days when I don't want the harsh, precise lines from regular liner.

Last one. 

This color is delicious. And I will venture to say that is my absolute favorite from the palette. I just absolutely friggin' love it.

So, let's get down to the nitty gritty.

Pros:

• 17 eyeshadows, primer, mascara, and eyeliner for $52.00- fabulous price for the amount of product you get.
• The quality of the eyeshadow is great, smooth and highly pigmented
• Packaging is adorable
• It's inspired by True Blood, works for me

Cons:

• The primer is sucky.

I also have several comparison photos for the eyeshadows, but I will do a separate post for those since this one is getting rather long winded. Also, I will be posting several EOTD/FOTD's featuring the eyeshadows and such- so keep a look out!

Let me know your thoughts!

Spread the Peachy love, my freaky darlings.

<3