Project Pan Finale: Empty Products

A few months ago, I decided to embark on a project pan to use up or hit the pan of several makeup items. My goal was to finish 12 products before Christmas/the end of 2018. And as you will see below, I not only hit that goal, but I surpassed it! I used up/hit the pan of 19 makeup products!

In this post, I'll walk through all of the products I used up and discuss if I plan on repurchasing or not.

Soap and Glory One Heck of a Blot
Goal: Finish
Status: Will not repurchase

As you can see with this dirty pan, I accomplished my goal of finishing the setting powder. The powder developed hard pan, which made it difficult to use, so I needed to repress it to get rid of the hard pan and give myself an even pan again. This is what it looked like before repressing:

And after:

Once I repressed the powder, it was much less densely packed, which meant that I picked up more product with my brush. While I liked this product and I think it does a good job of keeping the face matte, with the loosened product, I found that it left a white cast on my face and make me look really powdery. This didn't happen until I repressed the product, which, again, was generally difficult to use before repressing. 

I don't like to keep more than one powder in my collection at a time, so I have replaced this product with the Hourglass Veil translucent powder. So far, I really like that one. 

Chanel Soleil Tan de Chanel

Goal: Hit the pan

Status: Will continue to use, but will likely not repurchase

Back when I was living in New York and using makeup as a coping mechanism, I purchased the very expensive and not at all inclusive Chanel Soleil Tan de Chanel cream bronzer, which is also known as the "universal bronze." This is not a universal bronze. This is the first and only cream bronzer I have ever used, and while I think it's a good product, I have to really blend it out or else it leaves my face with an orange/brown stripe. Obviously part of this could be my application or user error, but the shade just isn't right for me or what I would want. With that said, the product works, and I would like to use it up since there is nothing wrong with it and I spent quite a bit of money on it. 

Generally, I find that I prefer my powder bronzer (Hourglass Luminous Bronze Light), so while I intend to use up this product, I doubt I will repurchase. 

Tarte Exposed blush

Goal: Hit the pan

Status: Will continue to use, but will not repurchase 

This may be the only powder blush I have ever hit the pan of, and the only reason I have is likely because I have to use so much product just to get any color payoff. I do like the color of this blush, but Tarte is not a brand that I want to support. I'm tired of how non-inclusive the brand is, and until that changes, I don't want to purchase anything for them. I don't know if Exposed will stick around in my collection long enough for me to use up the entire thing, but if it does, I will not repurchase. 

Physician's Formula Butter Highlighter in Pearl

Goal: Hit the pan

Status: Will continue to use

I have a lot of highlighters in my collection, but this is one of my favorites. I'm not a huge fan of the twist packaging or the swirl design, but I really love the product. It has a duochrome finish, and I find that it lasts longer on my skin than many mid-range or high-end products. I don't hear a lot of people talk about this, but it's certainly a product that I love. This is only the second highlighter that I have ever hit the pan of, and the other is Becca Moonstone, which is my all-time favorite. 

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Dim Light

Goal: Hit the pan

Status: All-time favorite

After I finished my Dim Light powder last year, I immediately replaced it with this one. I love this product. I use it as an all over finishing powder, and I find that I just don't like my makeup without it. I will continue to repurchase and love this product. 

Physician's Formula The Healthy Foundation and Milani Conceal + Perfect

Goal: Finish

Status: Will not repurchase 

I am usually a huge proponent of "do not use a product that you hate just to finish it," but I made an exception for these two foundations. In an attempt to find a more inclusive foundation to support (we will get into this more in the next product), I purchased both of these foundations. On their own, I hated both of them. Mixed together, I hated them less. The worst offender of the two was The Healthy Foundation. This looked so dry on my skin, and I have combination skin. The coverage was very thin, and while I don't like full-coverage foundations, this one didn't even seen to be able to provide an even layer of coverage at all. The shade I purchased was also too light for my skin tone. Conceal + Perfect, on the other hand, was way too full coverage for me, and the shade I purchased was too dark. I was able to mix the two of them together for shade and coverage/texture, and while that was better than either on their own, it still wasn't great. 

It's worth noting that the cap on The Healthy Foundation continually broke and splintered off as I worked through the bottle, which made this miserable to use. I can see both of these products working for people with skin types that are different from mine, but I will not repurchase. 

It Cosmetics CC+ Cream

Goal: Finish

Status: Will not repurchase until the shade range improves 

If you've been a longtime reader of my blog, you'll know that this is my all-time favorite foundation. Truthfully, I would be very happy to just use this foundation and not even try another one. But, this foundation shade range is unacceptable, and I cannot support it. Until recently, there were only four shades in this range, and none of them were dark enough for deep skin tones. The range has expanded to 12 shades, but seven of those are meant for light skin, three for medium skin, one for dark, and one for deep. So, even though the range is slightly better, it still skews too heavily toward light skin, and it is not something that I am comfortable supporting. 

To replace this, I have recently purchased the Fenty Beauty Pro Filt'r foundation, and I absolutely love it. 

Elf Mineral Face Primer

Goal: Finish

Status: May repurchase one day, but not now 

I used up a few primers during this project, and I think this one is good value for the money. I liked it just as much as the Make Up For Ever mattifying one, and think it gives generally similar results to the Hourglass Mineral Veil. I didn't love it, however, and I have found other primers that I like more.

Samples: Fenty Beauty Pro Filt'r Instant Retouch Primer, Becca Backlight Primer, Becca Blurring Primer

Goal: Finish

Status: May repurchase Becca Backlight Primer

I had three primer samples, so I used them all up in this project. 

Fenty Beauty Pro Filt'r Instant Retouch Primer: I hated this primer. It was impossible to pump (but that may just be the sample), the smell was off-putting, and the texture was very waxy and thick. It clung to the foundation and my Beauty Blender—making it impossible to wash—and I did not like the results on my face. 

Becca Blurring Primer: I also hated this primer. I left behind a powdery residue on my fingers and face after application, and I found that it didn't work well with my foundation. 

Becca Backlight Primer: I've purchased this before and didn't care for it or notice any difference with it, but it looked absolutely gorgeous with the Fenty foundation. I am currently using the Australian Gold mineral tinted sunscreen as a primer, and I love that, but I can see myself buying the Becca Backlight again soon. 

NARS Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base

Goal: Finish

Status: Have already repurchased 

This is my all-time favorite eye primer, and one that I will continue to repurchase. I have finished several bottles of this primer, and I will continue to repurchase it. 

L'Oreal Lash Paradise Base

Goal: Finish

Status: Have already repurchased

I haven't tried too many mascara primers, but I loved this one. I use it with Benefit Bad Gal Bang mascara, and I love the effects of it. I finished up this entire bottle (even before the two month expiration date) and immediately repurchased another. I love how it makes my lashes look. 

Sample: Benefit Bad Gal Bang 

Goal: Finish

Status: Have already repurchased 

I received a sample of this mascara, and, in an unusual act for me, I used up the entire thing. I have long loved many Benefit mascaras (They're Real and Roller Lash have been favorites of mine), but I always find that I get tired of paying the high price, and then I'll buy a drugstore one for a while. That tradition may continue, but I really love the combination of this mascara and the L'Oreal Lash Paradise primer. 

Physician's Formula Eye Booster

Goal: Finish

Status: Have already repurchased 

This is another boring one to write about as this has been my all-time favorite eyeliner for years, and it continues to be. I have used up many of these eyeliners, and I always immediately repurchase another. 

Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Definer 

Goal: Finish

Status: Undecided 

I find that I'm always torn on brow pencils. On the one hand, I really like the smaller brow pencils (like ABH Brow Wiz), but on the other, I hate how quickly I use those up. The ABH Brow Definer certainly lasts longer, but I like the precision that smaller pencils provide. This is the second Brow Definer that I have used up, and likely won't be the last, but I do like smaller pencils better.

NYX Micro Brow Pencil
Goal: Finish
Status: Will continue to use

A while ago, I was gifted several of these NYX brow pencils, so this is what I will be using until I finish all of them. I love this pencil and have purchased it before, and this is the size of pencil that I prefer to the ABH Brow Definer. The negative with this pencil and others like it is that there is so little product, and I go through it very quickly. Even during the time I started this project, I was able to use up two of these pencils (that were brand new) in a shorter amount of time than I used up the ABH Brow Definer that was more than half-finished. But, I'm happy to have a nice supply of them, and I will continue to use. 

What I'm Not Buying: Tarte Be a Mermaid and Make Waves Eyeshadow Palette

Coming off the heels of the Shape Tape Foundation backlash, Tarte has released a new eyeshadow palette that is not inclusive and looks exactly like every other eyeshadow palette they have ever released. This version of it, in clamshell packaging, is called Be a Mermaid and Make Waves. 

And I won't be buying. 

Before I get into why I won't be buying this ridiculous palette, I just wanted to share briefly why there hasn't been too much activity on the blog recently. As I mentioned in my last post, I recently made a cross-country move, and I am still settling in and dealing with newness growing pains. Added to that, I have been experiencing some health issues related to the surgeries I had last year, so I've been focusing on my health. 

Thank you to those who continue to tag me in posts of new products, including the person who tagged me in a post about Be a Mermaid and Make Waves, which might be the most unnecessary name for a platte I have seen. 

So, let's talk about Tarte. 

Tarte is a brand that seems to look at everything that Too Faced does, sees that as successful, and emulates it. 

• Too Faced made their palettes smell like chocolate; Tarte made their palettes smell like vanilla
• Too Faced serialized their Chocolate Bar palettes; Tarte serialized their Tartelette palettes
• Too Faced made gimmicky packaging and product names; Tarte made gimmicky packaging and product names
• Too Faced focused on mermaids and unicorns; Tarte focused on mermaids and unicorns
• Too Faced caters to white people; Tarte caters to white people 

And Be a Mermaid and Make Waves is no different. 

First, let's talk about the elephant in the room, the clamshell:

This is the outer packaging of this palette, which seems to be a faux leather or vinyl multi-color clamshell. Now, if I'm being totally honest, when I was a very young child (we're talking under 11 or so), I would have begged and begged for a compact that looked exactly like this. Not an eyeshadow palette, but a compact. And that's because I would have loved it for when I was playing pretend that I was Ariel from The Little Mermaid. 

This would have made an amazing toy for me as a child. As an adult woman, and for $42 plus tax, this is not something that calls to me as being practical or something that has any kind of longevity. 

Let's look at the inside:

The eyeshadows are shaped like pieces of coral, maybe? Or kind of like a mermaid tail? A little? I'm not totally sure what the idea is behind the shape (please let me know if you know), but I can tell you that the way these pans are shaped indicates that Tarte is not expecting people to use up entire shadows. 

I get that Tarte is trying to have an interesting-looking palette that people will want to buy for the novelty of it, but it is common knowledge that the easiest pan shapes to functionally use are circles and squares. If you've ever watched videos of people who use up entire eyeshadow palettes, you'll know that when the pans are oddly shaped (like this), it makes it challenging to use. 

At first glance, the color scheme of this palette is pretty. The colors look nice together. But when you look at it again, and really look at it, you'll see that there are a ton of duplicate colors in it. There are four reds, five pinks, two golds, a blue, a green, and a purple. So in your 14-shaodw palette, there are really only six distinct colors, making more than half the palette repetitive. 

Let's look at the colors away from the packaging and design as just pigments:

When I look at this picture, I see one potentially interesting shade, and it's in the second column, the third shadow down. That reminds me a bit of the way Colourpop Glass Bull looks as just a pigment, and that shadow has quickly become a favorite of mine. But otherwise, these colors all look more of the same to me and like something I have several times over. 

Let's look at swatches:

So, this is the picture that literally made me laugh out loud. I've mentioned this before, but swatch pictures are supposed to make a consumer enticed to buy something. Swatches are so crucial, in fact, that most brands will alter the images to make them look that much more impressive. But when I saw this picture, any positive feeling I might have had about this palette completely vanished. 

I encourage everyone to look at this picture and then cover up the first two or three shadows on the models' arms. when you do, you'll see a whole bunch of bland and repetitive shades. The top three colors are easily the most interesting in this entire palette, and what's great is if you are drawn to those shades, you can get them as singles from brands like Coloured Raine, Makeup Geek, or Colorpop that will be great quality and reasonably priced. 

This color scheme has a lot of problems, the most basic of which is that it is boring. It's basically ABH Modern Renaissance if Modern Renaissance was less pigmented and had three pops of color. The next problem is that the quality looks poor, especially since this is the brand's PR swatch image. The colors don't look very pigmented, and especially on the lightest skin tone (where the colors were not applied as heavily to make them show up), you can see that the colors are patchy. 

This is also evident in the PR images of models wearing the shadows:

The colors look sheer and ashy on both models instead of richly pigmented and foiled like they do in the pan and (somewhat) in the swatches. 

And finally, the biggest problem with this palette is that it is not inclusive whatsoever. Like almost everything that Tarte releases, this palette was only made with light skin tones in mind. And while that is absolutely not surprising at this point, it is nevertheless continually disappointing. It is also not surprising whatsoever that Tarte applied the few colorful shades onto the model with deep skin. That's because the rest of the shades in the palette would have not worked or shown up on her skin. 

With the disaster that was the Shape Tape Foundation release (you can read my anti-haul on that here), you would think that Tarte would have halted or aborted the release of this palette since it is so obviously not inclusive. To release this kind of a palette at a time when people are demanding better tells consumers that inclusivity absolutely is not a priority of the company. 

And what's worse still is that Be a Mermaid and Make Waves looks like almost every other palette Tarte has released. At this point in an anti-haul post, I typically show other palettes that share the same or similar color scheme. But for Be a Mermaid and Make Waves, I'm going to compare it ONLY against other Tarte palettes. 

There's Make Believe in Yourself:

Rainforest of the Sea Volume III:

Dream Big:

Swamp Queen:

Tarteist Pro:

Tartelette in Bloom:

Tartelette Tease:

And Tartelette Flirt:

So not only is Tarte selling a boring, poor quality, non-inclusive palette, but they are also selling a palette that they have sold to you many, many times before. Be a Mermaid and Make Waves might as well be Make Believe in Yourself. They just traded a gold-green and purple for a yellow gold and several duplicate shades. And again, when you take out those three pops of color, it just becomes every other palette listed above. 

Without doubt, Tarte has to be the biggest brand right now that is the least interested in providing interesting, unique, and inclusive products. Instead they are trying to compete for Too Faced's target audience, which is white teens and white young women. 

And I suppose that is perhaps why this palette, especially, is a disappointing release. Tarte has quite a few products that have positive or uplifting names: Dream Big, Make Believe in Yourself, Be a Mermaid and Make Waves. These are important messages to give a younger demographic, especially young women, compared to Too Faced's names like "Better Than Sex" and "Glow Job." But that message is completely ruined when you exclude everyone other than the privileged. 

To end this post, I just want to share a story of something that happened during a recent Sephora trip in Los Angeles. A young woman of color who was disabled was shopping with her mother. The two were trying to find makeup that would work for the young woman, and, frustrated, she finally blurted to her mother, "I know nothing is going to look good on me because my skin is ugly." 

I was shopping near them, and that comment completely stopped me in my tracks. The mother did not dispute the comment, only agreed that there were not going to be options that worked for her. 

People who have the privilege of choice know that others do not have options. But that thought is pushed to the back of their minds because they know that they will have an option. And they think that if there is one option that works for someone else, while there are 50 options that work for them, that it is enough. And since they don't know what it is like to be without options or to be degraded based on skin color on a daily basis, they don't have empathy or see the desperate need for immediate change. 

I don't know what it is like to be without options. And hearing that small conversation between mother and daughter genuinely made me so upset that I had to leave the store. This is why brands like Fenty Beauty are crucial—brands that are created and owned by women of color, have a wide range of inclusive products, and are available in store for people to try. And why brands like Tarte are part of the problem, not the solution. 

Be a Mermaid and Make Waves is a bad release. It is a gimmicky product that is so transparently a lazy money grab created from existing Tarte palettes that is more about packaging than it is about quality or inclusivity. The brutal truth is that it is not hard to be inclusive. And at this point, brands that are not inclusive are not out of choice. There is literally nothing that I like about Be a Mermaid and Make Waves or Tarte, so I won't be buying. 

What I'm Not Buying: Tarte Shape Tape Foundation

Image credit: PopSugar

Tarte has announced their latest product, Shape Tape Foundation, which is an unsurprising addition to the "Shape Tape" line following the immense success of the Shape Tape Concealer. 

And I won't be buying. 

As a blogger, I feel like I should be transparent about areas where I don't have a ton of knowledge. And for me, that's foundation. For the first six or so years that I wore makeup/was really "into makeup," I strictly wore powder foundation. I didn't (and still don't) like the look of full-coverage foundation on my skin, and I didn't feel I had skin that was so "problematic" to warrant liquid foundation. And that's basically where I still am now, two or so years later. But now instead of powder foundation, I am drawn to tinted moisturizes and BB/CC creams. I have tried some liquid foundations in the past couple of years, but not nearly as many as most people, and not even close to what's available. 

I settled on one that worked for me about a year or so ago, and I haven't been all that interested in searching for more. 

Base products have never been all that appealing to me, and I typically only have one of each at any given time. It's not an area of excess for me, which is why those products rarely (if ever) appear on my blog. I personally don't find the launch of a new foundation tempting, and I haven't personally tried enough foundations to accurately portray how similar or not a new launch is to existing lines. 

But I want to talk about the Shape Tape Foundation because this is a conversation I feel needs to be had in the beauty community and not ignored. 

Since the Shape Tape Concealer was such a huge success for Tarte, the announcement of a Shape Tape foundation was met with a ton of excitement by a lot of people. (Again, with full transparency here, I was not one of those people.) 

And then the shade range was revealed:

Image credit: PopSugar

It's disappointing that this is so commonplace in the beauty industry, but it's still astonishing in how blatant this example is.

In 15 shades, there are 13 for light skin and 2 for dark skin. And that is, frankly, unacceptable. 

It is truly baffling to me how this was approved by Tarte. How they could look at the shade range, see that it skewed so heavily toward light skin, and think this was inclusive and acceptable is beyond me. With the lighter foundation shades, there gets to be nuance. There gets to be ranges in "lightness," and there gets to be warm, cool, and natural undertones. A light-skinned person can have a "winter shade" and a "summer shade." They can find close to their exact skin tone. And for POC, there are two options. That's it. No nuance. No undertones. No range in depth of color. Just two options. Even for the model in the above photograph, there is not an appropriate shade match. 

This speaks to a much larger problem, which is the racist overtones in the beauty industry. This foundation shade range sends the message that Tarte either thinks that lighter skin is more important and should therefore have these nuanced options, or that Tarte wants their audience to only be people with light skin. People continually give the excuse that "light shades sell more, so this is a business decision," which is a baseless lie. The ONLY reason why light shades of foundation sell more than dark shades in specific lines is because there are more of them available. 

In 2018, this is unacceptable. And as consumers within the beauty community, we need to demand better. 

While the above photo is of swatches provided by PopSugar, here is Tarte's picture of the shade range:

Image credit: PopSugar

With this photo, it appears that there are 3 to 4 shades for POC instead of 2, which is suggested by the swatch photo above. (Frankly, the swatch photo seems less manipulative and more believable.) Nonetheless, in this photo, there are two solid rows of foundations meant for light skin and less than one row meant for dark skin. 

And let's look at the shade names, shall we?

FAIR

• Fair Sand
• Fair Neutral
• Fair-Light Neutral 

LIGHT

• Fair-Light Neutral
• Light Neutral
• Light Sand
• Light-Medium Neutral
• Light-Medium Honey

MEDIUM

• Light-Medium Neutral
• Light-Medium Honey
• Medium Honey
• Medium Sand
• Medium Neutral 
• Medium-Tan Honey

TAN

• Medium-Tan Honey
• Tan Honey

DEEP

• Deep Honey

RICH

• Rich Sand

MAHOGANY

• Mahogany 

If the photos of the shades don't make enough of an impact, maybe seeing the shades broken down into shade categories will. Once the shades hit "Deep," there is an incredible drop off of shades and variations available. 

Added to this, in Tarte's picture of the shade range, you may notice that there are not many diverse models, and there are noticeably no Asian models. This is especially disappointing considering Tarte's controversy last year (a few months ago) where they reposted a racist meme targeted at Chinese people on their Instagram. The brand botched the apology for a couple of weeks before the CEO stepped in, offered an appropriate apology, and accepted all responsibility. It would have been a positive sign of good faith, if nothing else, for Tarte to showcase Asian models. Instead, it is largely white models. 

And this isn't new for Tarte. Their Shape Tape Concealer has similar shade range issues:

Yet its launch was met with praise for including a deep shade in the first place. 

Several of their palettes have been geared toward light skin, such as the Rainforest of the Sea palettes:

When you see the success of eyeshadows and palettes from brands like Coloured Raine, Juvia's Place, Colourpop, Kat Von D, and Anastasia Beverly Hills, it makes it pretty obvious that being inclusive is not difficult and is celebrated. 

And for foundation, let's look at brands that have inclusive shade ranges.

There's, of course, Fenty Beauty:

Fenty had an explosive debut last year because of one major reason: INCLUSIVITY. They launched with 40 shades of foundation and gave equal nuance to a range of skin tones. 

There's also Make Up For Ever:

MAC Cosmetics:

And Bobbi Brown:

At the drugstore, there's Milani Conceal + Perfect:

Finding the absolute perfect shade of foundation can be very challenging for most people. But there's a major difference between having to buy a shade that isn't exactly perfect (but is close) and flat out not having any options available. And this is something that I often see with white people in the beauty community who don't recognize the privilege of choice that they have.

This is a conversation that needs to take place. Christine from Temptalia wrote a post recently addressing the Shape Tape Foundation's abysmal shade range as well as opening up a dialogue on why brands resist diversifying their shade range. If you have not read it, I highly recommend doing so. I think it's incredibly important for everyone who has a platform to bring attention to this, and consumers should leave feedback for brands stating that a blatantly non-diverse shade range is unacceptable. 

Personally, Tarte is not a brand that I feel comfortable supporting. Over the years, I have purchased a number of Tarte products, but most have been decluttered from my collection. All that remains is the blush in Exposed and the Sephora birthday gift blush in Paaarty. They have not released anything in recent months that has interested or tempted me, and with the incredibly poor judgement on the Instagram controversy as well as this most recent launch, I don't see much that's worth supporting. 

I don't see this latest launch as anything other than a calculated decision. I imagine they saw the success of their Shape Tape Concealer with the limited shade range and figured the foundation would produce similar sales numbers. And that means that they are literally banking on people with light skin to buy this foundation despite it having a terrible shade range for anyone other than themselves. They are betting that people with light skin will think "well, there's a shade for me, so that's all that matters" and give them money. 

And the truth is that many, many people will do that. They won't care that the shade range is not inclusive because there will be a shade that matches them, and it will be more important to them to try the new "likely-to-be-hyped" foundation than it is to demand better for all consumers. And that's equally disappointing. 

My hope is that this launch will bomb and that Tarte will see how poor of a decision they made. I also hope that brands like Fenty and Make Up For Ever will continue to make headlines and be celebrated to the point where other brands will be forced to diversify in order to keep up. Of course, it would be great if all brands just recognized the worth of all consumers and acted accordingly by producing products for everyone. Until then, I can't see myself buying from Tarte, and I certainly won't be buying the Shape Tape Foundation.  

Edited to add: Tarte confirmed today, January 15, 2018, that they will release 10 additional shades of the Shape Tape Foundation. They have not yet announced what those shades will be, but my guess is that this is damage control due to all of the bad press. Despite Tarte's actions, I stand by my original post since they launched with 13 shades for light skin and 2 for dark skin. 

What I'm Not Buying: Tarte Tartelette Toasted

Tarte has released a new palette in their Tartelette line, this time with a warm, neutral focus—Tartelette Toasted. 

And I won't be buying. 

(Sigh.)

I have a lot of thoughts about Tarte, and I feel like the longer I am a part of the makeup community, the more unsavory things I come to know about brands. 

But we will get there in a little bit. Let's talk about this palette. 

I have owned both Tartelette and Tartelette In Bloom, and at some point in time, I was utterly infatuated with both of them. I wore In Bloom for several weeks, every day, which is a rarity for me. That was also the palette that was a "gateway" for me into mauve or berry crease shades, and I learned a lot about myself and my preferences from that palette. I have "decluttered" it from my collection, but I still own the palette. I've been starting to do some freelance makeup, and I feel In Bloom is more appropriate in that capacity than just for myself, mainly because there are a lot of cool-toned shadows, and that is not something I enjoy. 

Had Tartelette Toasted come out a year and a half ago, I would have snapped this up in a heartbeat. This is the perfect Tartelette palette for me. It's all warm colors and has all the neutral shimmers I love. 

But here's the thing: I have every single color in this palette several times over. And so do you. And because of that, it's a waste of money. 

I find myself perpetually annoyed by all the hype surrounding makeup, and this palette is no different. I can't tell you how many comments I've read of people acknowledging that there is literally nothing special about this palette, that they have these colors already, that this color scheme is tired at this point, but that they are still going to buy it. 

This mindset is frustrating, and it is what contributes to the crazy amount of hype and hysteria and the overwhelming culture of consumerism. It's additionally frustrating for me because I also understand it and still sometimes struggle with those feelings. 

When I look at Tartelette Toasted, I could easily talk myself into buying it:

• I would use every single color
• There are several "go-to" looks I could create using just this palette
• It's easy, and looks would be fast
• It would be great for travel

But I have been talking myself into buying things I don't need for years now, and I have also been anti-haul blogging for over a year, and I know what a load of crap all of those reasons are. Thing is, after a while, when the newness of something wears off and you are just left with the fact that it is the same as all of your other products, it is treated as the same as all of your other products. 

When talking about palettes like this that are serialized, I like to bring up a few points. There are some people who really love to collect makeup, and it is not my place or my intention to judge that hobby. But for the people who "collect" certain items purely because of the hype or fear of missing out, I would really encourage you to look at the items you already own and ask yourself how additive a product like this would really be. (To read more of my thoughts on serializing palettes, read my anti-haul post on the Lorac Mega Pro 4.)

Finally, one of the biggest excuses I hear from people buying things they know they don't need is "I really like the formula of that brand, so I want this product in that formula." And this is something I would like to talk about. If you have gone out of your way to buy all of these colors already, chances are you like the formula of your existing shadows. If you don't, then it might be worthwhile to declutter the items that you have and don't like and replace them with this product or something similar in a formula that you do like. But just wanting to have more of the same in a different formula is not, in my opinion, a good enough reason to justify spending that kind of money on something you already own. 

And it's true that not all eyeshadow formulas are created equal. I know some people who found one or two formulas that they really enjoy, and they decluttered everything that wasn't that. Moving forward, they are only purchasing those select formulas. And I certainly have my preferences. I don't like Urban Decay or Anastasia Beverly Hills palettes, and I tend to like the Colourpop pressed shadows, Makeup Geek, and Coloured Raine. But, at the end of the day, many shadow formulas perform similarly. And the difference is typically not so substantial to warrant needing to buy things you already own to have them in a specific formula. That is an excuse to buy into hype.

Let's look at the palette:

And swatches (provided by Tarte):

I've said many times that I am not a fan of relying on swatches (especially those provided by the brand) to really gauge how a product looks or performs. Take the above photo, for example. First, it is obvious that the colors have been applied in several layers to the models' arms. Next, several of the colors don't look that different across skin tones, and it is because they have been applied in such thick layers. While I appreciate brands showing diverse models, it defeats the point of the exercise if the swatches are unrealistic. 

Tartelette Toasted reminds me a lot of Tartelette In Bloom: 

If In Bloom had less variety. In Boom as an entire palette is not great for me because I have too warm of a skin tone for the whole thing. But for people with neutral or cool undertones, I think a lot about In Bloom works well. I think it's a great palette to have in a kit, because it has neutral shades that can suit several different skin tones. Tartelette Toasted is taking that same concept but just making the entire thing warm and repetitive. 

It also looks like so many other warm neural palettes. Like Urban Decay Naked Heat:

Too Faced Sweet Peach:

Morphe 35O:

Smashbox Ablaze:

Viseart Warm Matte:

Colourpop Yes, Please!:

NYX Fire:

Tartelette Toasted feels to me like Tarte is too late for the warm neutral trend, but, like Urban Decay, they are still going to throw their hat in the ring with a product. This is a product that is entirely dependent on hype and people buying something they already own. There might be an audience of people who are not makeup-obsessed who just want one palette filled with warm shadows that will flatter them. And for those people, this would probably be a good palette if the quality is good. Even still, they will have many options for a palette like that, and Tartelette Toasted is just one of them. There is nothing so special about it to elevate it above its competitors, in my opinion.

And yet, I don't think that is Tarte's targeted audience, even though that is the audience that makes the most sense. Tarte's target audience is the makeup-obsessed who have no self-control, have to buy the new serialized product, and have to have whatever their favorite online "influencers" are talking about. 

Finally, let's talk about Tarte. 

Tarte, in many ways, is an exceptionally uninteresting brand, in my opinion. They teeter between releasing the same product over and over again and then jumping the shark with whatever is trending (like mermaids or unicorns). Their holiday releases are typically terrible, and this year's Buried Treasure eyeshadow palette:

Has received horrendous reviews. I'm always put off by brands who value pumping out mediocre products over producing fewer, quality products, and Tarte definitely falls into that category. Since I've decluttered the In Bloom palette into my freelance kit, I no longer have any Tarte palettes or shadows in my collection, which I think is really telling. That is not to say that everything Tarte produces is poor, just that their releases are usually quite repetitive and nothing that really rises to the top or stands out. 

And then, of course, there is the recent controversy where Tarte reposted a racist meme on their social media and later posted an apology that was at best in poor taste before the CEO posted an appropriate apology days later. What was further troubling about this incident was that many people who are not a part of the racial group of people attacked in the meme told those who were offended that it was "not a big deal" and that they should "get over it."

This is a problem that goes far beyond talking about why I'm not going to buy the Tartelette Toasted, but Tarte handled themselves so poorly, and it is difficult for me to look past it. In the appropriate apology post, Tarte acknowledged that telling people to "get over it" is not acceptable and encouraged people to have a discourse. However, they disabled the comments so that no discourse could take place. 

It is not acceptable for people to tell others to not be offended by a racist remark targeted at them. And it is not acceptable that Tarte let that happen for as long as it did. One can argue that whoever was in charge of the social media is responsible, but the post was so inappropriate that it is shocking that it came from a professional account. 

I personally feel that having an apology come from the CEO was appropriate, but it is unfortunate that it took as long as it did for the brand to pursue an appropriate course of action, with several missteps in between. 

Trying to find brands that are worthy of support seems to be increasingly challenging. And I do feel that if you look into most brands, you will find controversy or something unsavory. However, I also feel that right now, especially, we need to stand up as much as possible and demand better. 

Going back to the actual product of the Tartelette Toasted, there is just nothing interesting about this product. I feel like we all have these colors already, and there is nothing so incredibly special about this palette to justify buying what I already own, except that it is branded as a "Tartelette" palette and part of the series. I've been working hard to pare down my collection to items that inspire and excite me, and this palette doesn't do that for me. I don't need it, so I won't be buying.