Review and Swatches: Tarte Poppy Picnic Palette + New Mascara

 *Image courtesy MusingsofaMuse.com*

If there's anything I love about summer, it's the new makeup collections released by my favorite brands. Tarte has really caught my attention this summer with the release of their Summer 2015 collection entitled "Poppy Picnic." The bright and bold pink and purple colors seen in this line are inspired by the Poppy flower and are just swoon worthy. Although the collection is now well known since it was released a few months ago, I thought I'd review the new Poppy Picnic Amazonian Clay Eye & Cheek Palette that I picked up earlier this month. I also have included a new mascara I received for my birthday courtesy of my mom called the Lights, Camera, Lashes Double-Ended Mascara and Lash Primer.

 

 

The palette comes with six neutral matte eyeshadow colors, as well as a large blush that is placed in the center of the palette. On top, a fairly generous mirror is attatched on the lid to assist you in application. There is also a little slip of paper with directions on how to get two different looks from the professionals at Tarte. This palette is limited edition, so you can only get these eyeshadow and blush colors in this palette for a limited time. 

 So let's face it. I was originally drawn to this palette because of the packaging. The bright colors on the gold mirror is just really beautiful. Of course, if you've been reading my blog for a while (or maybe you're new) I've been talking about the two vacations I'll be going on, one being a cruise in July. I thought it would be a great palette to travel with because it eliminates carrying multiple products. 

 Now for a brief review. The neutral shades are very subtle and easy to work with. They're great for daytime or nighttime for various reasons. For daytime, the matte finish is natural looking and very pretty, and the colors are wearable. This palette can also be used for nighttime because it does contain some nice dark and chocolatey browns, which are great for smoking out or darkening up your eye makeup look. With a dense, thin tipped brush, you could easily use the dark shadows as eyeliner on both the top and bottom of the eye because of their great pigmentation. This palette really is all in one and of great quality. 

On the left side of the palette, you have the cooler toned shades. From top to bottom, here are the eyeshadows:

• Summer Breeze - the brightest white in the palette; great for highlighting the brow bone and inner corners
• Sweet Tea - the tan brown in the palette; I use this everyday in my crease
• Ice Cream Cone - the darkest chocolate brown in the palette; I haven't use this shade yet, but like I said, great for liner or smoking out the look

On the right side of the palette, you have the warmer toned shades. From top to bottom here are these shadows:

• Barefoot in the Grass - a creamy nude; I use this on the inner half of my lid
• Peach Poppy - a bright peachy pink; this is my favorite color in the palette - it reminds me of a sunset with its pink and orange tones. I use this on the outer half off my lid
• Picnic Basket - a darker medium brown; I've used this to line my lower lashline and smoke it out, as well as the outer corner of my lid to darken up my crease & look.

Each shadow is 0.035 oz, and you really don't need a lot on your brush to get a decent look. I always tap off the excess because I've found their can be fallout with Tarte eyeshadows. 

The blush in this palette is called "Glisten," and is a peachy pink that complements the Peach Poppy color very well. It has some sparkle and shimmer in it, which adds a nice glow to the cheeks. The blush is 0.2 oz, which is the same amount of product in a full sized Amazonian Clay Powder Blush by Tarte. I'd say it is fairly comparable to Benefit's Bella Bamba blush, and I've swatched it side by side for you:

From L to R: Benefit's Bella Bamba & Tarte's Glisten

The Lights, Camera, Lashes Mascara is the same they've always had, but now it comes double ended with a primer. Upon first use, I found it wasn't very potent, but it did end up doing wonders for my lashes. It really uplifts them so that you don't have to use very much of the mascara once you've primed.

After doing my makeup with the following products, I posted some pictures of the overall look! I also used additional products, including: 

• eyeshadow primer
• a champagne colored eyeshadow pencil as a base for the shadow
• a brown pencil eyeliner to line the top of my eyes
• a purple pencil liner to line the bottom of my eyes for a nice pop of color
• an eyelash curler to curl my lashes
• two different concealers
• a face powder as foundation
• a bronzer to contour my face a bit
• and finally, a highlighting powder to give my cheeks some more glow! 
• on my lips is Benefit's Lollibalm, a subtle purple glow really complements the pigmentation in my lips! 

What do you think about Tarte's Poppy Picnic Palette? Would you pick it up? And, have you tried the Lights, Camera, Lashes mascara? Do you think the primer is a good idea? Let me know in the comments!

Until next time,

~Alexa~