Tarte Coral Crush Palette

Prior to this spring, I had never experienced a single Tarte eyeshadow palette.  I'm now the proud owner of three, and can blame the incredible Aqualillies collection for starting a new collector need in my beauty life.

It takes me awhile to do these larger posts, so I hope this balances out many of the shorter reviews.

The Tarte Coral Crush Palette ($38) is currently available at Sephora. It is the standard circular full-face palette, and is another Amazonian clay eye and cheek palette.  It contains six eyeshadows, with a total net weight of 1.1g/0.04 oz, one blush with net weight 6.8g/0.24 oz, one bronzer with net weight 3.91g/0.13oz, and one shimmering powder with net weight 4.14g/0.14oz.

Tarte always makes beautiful palettes.  This one is a rich brown, with gold accents and a raised starfish on the top.

But really... it's all about the colors.  Here's a view in bright direct sunlight:

One of the really important things to notice is that there are two matte eyeshadows included.

Another look at the palette, outdoors in indirect light:

OK, now on to the actual shades.

Face Shades (Bronzer, Highlighter, Blush):

Carefree is a bold, cool-toned pink blush. It's too bold for me, but would look lovely on someone who has a darker complexion than I.  I'm a huge fan of Tarte's Amazonian clay blushes and get a full day's wear out of them.

In the sun:

Outdoors, indirect light:

Champagne is a beautiful highlighter- or shimmering powder as Tarte calls it. It's close to my skintone, so I could get significant use out of this. Alternatively, I've experimented with using this as an accent near my browbone and inside of the eye near the tear duct.  Note: obviously, I'm taking about outside on the skin in this case.  Instead of using a fluid highlighter or an eye pencil, this could fill-in, especially if you're traveling with just this palette.

In the sun:

Outdoors, indirect light:

Park Avenue Princess is the bronzer that Tarte inevitably places in every single palette. I previously reviewed it with the Romancing the Glow palette.  As an aside, this is my everyday bronzer- so it can sheered out considerably.

In the sun:

Outdoors, indirect light:

Eyeshadows:  

Cocoa Cabana is a rich matte chocolate brown.  Most of my experience with  Tarte shadows are shimmer formulations.  I like matte colors in theory but often struggle with application.  I like the color payoff, and have experimented with using this as a liner on the upper lashline.

In the sun:

Outdoors, indirect light:

Tropical Suntan is a mid-toned, matte tan.  For me, this worked well paired with Cocoa Cabana for a decidedly understated look.  I feel like others can probably be more creative than I.

In the sun:

Outdoors, indirect light:

Sandy Grey is the shade I've used the most frequently since I bought this palette.  It's a perfect neutral for me that falls between a nude and my favorite gunmetals. I find it to be a go-to, and one of several reasons why I'm happy to own this palette. It's a great all-over lid color.

Outdoors, in direct sun:

Outdoors, indirect light:

Golden Getaway is a rich gold that leans brown, in my opinion.  This can be used as an all-over lid color, or up into the crease.  I think it would be delicious on a darker complexion.

Outdoors, in direct sun:

Outdoors, indirect light:

Lilac Mist is another of the colors that grabbed my interest in the palette. It's a very warm-toned purple with large gold glitter.  I'm a sucker for a pretty purple shadow, and have used this nearly as often as Sandy Grey.  Tone-wise, it's similar to the Orchid Laura Mercier Caviar Stick.

Outdoors, in direct sun:

Outdoors, indirect light:

Paradise Pink is a color that intrigued me. I've referred to my woes trying to wear various pinks.  This is a frosty light pink that's so light that I suspected I could wear it as an alternative to nude.  I'm happy to report that I was right, but it's exceptionally frosty.


Outdoors, in direct sun:

Outdoors, indirect light:

Now that I've given an overview of the palette, it's time for swatches.

Outside, indirect light:

L-R: Carefree, Cocoa Cabana, Tropical Suntan, Sandy Grey, Golden Getaway, Lilac Mist, Paradise Pink, Champagne, Park Avenue Princess

Inside, no flash:


L-R: Carefree, Cocoa Cabana, Tropical Suntan, Sandy Grey, Golden Getaway, Lilac Mist, Paradise Pink, Champagne, Park Avenue Princess

 And finally, indoors with flash (where the true frostiness shows up):

L-R: Carefree, Cocoa Cabana, Tropical Suntan, Sandy Grey, Golden Getaway, Lilac Mist, Paradise Pink, Champagne, Park Avenue Princess

Bottom Line: It's a nice palette, but if you own other Tarte palettes it might not be a must-have because it's another neutral-heavy palette with similar bronzers and highlighters.