Spring Greening Reusable Straw Palette

I'm so excited to talk about Tarte's Spring Greening (cute play on 'cleaning', huh) Palette :)

This is my first time trying Tarte - I actually got the shadows confused with a Lorac palette that I got for my birthday (back in February - review to come) & ordered SEVERAL Tarte products when I saw Sephora had them ridiculously clearanced --- AND CURRENTLY ARE STILL AVAILABLE FOR ONLY $20

Six Shadows, 3 Glosses, & One (pretty good) brush all in a reusuable straw (yet, sturdy) case - that's a mouthful!

I'm gonna talk about the shadows, gloss, and brush bc to be quite honest, I didn't purchase due to the case being 'reusable' lol.

The shadows are GORGEOUS! They are a bit more sheer than I had expected but I'm liking that - definitely NOT Urban Decay nor Kat Von D ... BUT, I'm thinking with a heavy hand you could pop these colors up a bit.

The colors in the picture ^ taken from Sephora.com are VERY TRUE to real life. They are very, oh what am I looking for here ... girly, carefree - gives me that summer feel where anything goes and everything is laidback ;) The colors all compliment each other so well, this is all you are gonna need for eye makeup - I've even used the shadows as liner.

I use primer before applying ANY SHADOW --- but lemme tell you, this stuff lasted throughout a day of work AND a 9hr truckin' drive (to drop off cattle - I've gone country for a man AND I LOVE IT *wink wink) & still looked amazing!

Do have to mention, I was a bit surprised with the size of each shadow - they were slightly smaller than I expected and although I haven't dug hard on Sephora, I'm GUESSING these are NOT FULLSIZE --- but seriously, I have NEVER HIT PAN w a SHADOW ... but trying, lol. I would say they are about penny size.

I will definitely be purchasing Tarte shadows in the future.

The glosses are once again, small but I only needed to dip the wand once (when I pulled the wand outta the gloss) for a full application on my lips! The colors are also true to the picture and are girly and natural - just a tint of color.

It says the glosses have a vanilla scent - MAYBE. I'm not sure if I noticed a scent at all - @ least no chemical scent :)

The brush has a bamboo handle and is really cute. It's NOT the BEST QUALITY but for a brush coming in a kit - I GIVE IT PROPS! I apply a wash of color with it on my lids and brows and then move onto my Sigma brushes for creasing and lining.

Would DEFINITELY SUGGEST to others --- with the price you can't go wrong!

I feel like I'm gonna jinx it by giving it 5 stars so I'm gonna say, for that reason alone ...

****4 stars outta 5

What Color, What Texture ... It's gotta be Kat Von D!

Ahh, I'm sooo excited to talk about Kat Von D's Eyeshadow Palettes. I only wish I would have swatched these babies for you :( I will add swatches later!

I fell in love with Kat way back before she teamed up with Sephora to start her own makeup line. My mom and I watch her on TLC's LA Ink and Miami Ink (before she had her own tattoo parlor). Her taste and style is admirable and eye-catching. Something if I only had the balls to attempt I would. Her tattoos are so detailed ... and her eyeshadows???

Just as amazing!!! Like her sense of style, her shadows appear to be just as in your face and out there. I thought the picture I took of the shadows captured the pigmentation and texture rather well but when I look at the picture below I feel they are represented true to person but perhaps a lil' washed out.

I was hesitant to try out her shadows because even Urban Decay can be a bit overwhelming for me at times but I "earned" enough points @ Sephora through the Beauty Insider Perks to cash in for Kat Von D's Rock N Roll Eyeshadow Palette and thought, "why not?" Let me say, that if you have the Rock N Roll palette or have heard reviews on it - the palettes from Kat's line are completely different in a good way!

The Rock N Roll palette consists of only 4 yet generous pans of color. 2 pearly ones & 2 with shimmer. The texture is a bit silky but nothing to go crazy about. I have worn it for a day and wasn't super impressed but wasn't really bummed either. Was it worth my hard spent cash, er "points"??? Well, I was excited to try it and wasn't interested in Sephora's lil' palette that was also offered so I'm satisfied.

As far as the other palettes of Kat's that are pictured. Three were on a whim with Sephora's Friends & Family Discount and Metal Orchestra (the one I was uber hesitant about) was purchased with the winning bid of $29 on Ebay :)

The True Romance palettes from Kat's beauty line @ Sephora (click here to see) are AMAZING! The texture is super silky which makes them fun to apply! There are mattes and shimmers and most include one cream shadow. All include Lucifer - a matte black that is GREAT for LINING & CREASE/CORNER. Which brings me to the thought that goes into these palettes! Each palette has it's own unique name and each color has it's own name as listed on the back of the palette. Quite interesting lil' names too, I would name them off for you but I don't have a palette near me. The palettes also have 2 lil' double-ended brushes. I find that they WORK GREAT for LINING but that's it.

I always use Too Faced Shadow Insurance but these have great staying power. I tend to not take my makeup off til after midnight (I'm a night owl), which means my makeup has been on for 12plus hours - this is even hard to get off when swiping it with a makeup removing cloth!

I have tried the purples in True Love (last four on the right), Gypsy (first four on the left), and the browns in Ludwig (last four on right) and have been beyond pleased.

Ludwig - kinda your neutral/natural basics ... definitely could be worn to work depending how light of a hand you have

Gypsy - the color between black (first color on the left) and the shimmering pink is very iridescent and beautiful on it's own or blended with other colors

True Love - the purples are VERY PIGMENTED! The purple next to the white leaves kinda a sheen. Oh, and the whites in the palettes are more of a sheen of color, sorta iridescent - plays off of whatever color is blended near it.

Metal Orchestra - this is your "rockin' the blues" palette. I haven't had a chance to try it yet but am excited to say the least!

These shadows are very forgiving too! I was sweeping on a color and it had way more payoff then I thought it would but with my blending brush it just worked its way in with the other colors.

The outside packaging is beautifully decorated with sketches of tattoos. You can see a picture of them in my previous post below.

I say a definite must try even if it means only going to Sephora to swatch the colors for yourself. The palettes are $34 but you can find them cheaper on Ebay. Even for $34 you are getting 8 eyeshadows = $4.25 each ... WOW!

Anyone else tried these?