Tarte Romancing the Glow Palette

Today I bring you my most recent Tarte palette acquisition: Romancing the Glow.  Aqualillies set the bar extremely high for my future Tarte purchases, and I've been searching for its perfect companion ever since.  Although the colors in Romancing the Glow are perfect for a simple, polished neutral work look, Aqualillies II it is not.

I love the details that Tarte puts into their palettes.

Romancing the Glow is a standard Tarte palette, consisting of six eyeshadows, one blush, one highlighter, and a bronzer. Total weight breaks down like this:

That's 1.14g of eyeshadow (0.04oz x 6), 6.2g blush (0.2oz), 3.91g bronzer (0.13oz), and 3.91g of shimmering powder (0.13oz).

Colorwise, it's very similar to Aqualillies.

Champagne is true to its name.  This shimmering highlighter is what I would describe as a perfect shimmery nude for my Alabaster skin.  It's a nice alternative to highlighters like NARS Albatross (my daily go-to) and would be perfect most of the year.  I think this one's best left to the paler girls, as it may look off on darker skintones.

It's beautiful in the pan, but it's even more beautiful (and sheer) swatched:

It's a near-match for my skintone- you can barely see it.  Bottom line- it's a love for me, either as a traditional highlighter or as an accent around the eyes for extra light.

Park Avenue Princess is Tarte's famous bronzer and my go-to.  Depending on your hand, this golden bronzer can flatter a variety of skintones.

It's beautiful, swatched with a rather heavy hand.

Romantic is a pure rose blush laden with large gold flecks. In terms of glitter, it reminds me of NARS Super Orgasm (which I personally find too glittery for daily wear).  It's a nice mid-tone rose, but too much for me.  This color probably is for the medium-to-dark complexions. This is a bit washed out from flash, but it's the best picture to show just how much chunky glitter the shade has.

Swatched on my arm.  Pretty color, but not practical for me.

A note on all of the eyeshadows- I generally get 10+ hours of wear time from Tarte shadows, if I use a primer (I'm loyal to NARS, if anyone's curious).  There is a considerable amount of glittery fallout when applying these shades, so apply carefully.  Without a primer, I get 3-5 hours, tops.  That's in line with many other brands of eyeshadow for my lids.  All swatches are without primer and applied with a dry brush.

Pearl is Champagne's pinker cousin with much larger glitter. In terms of sparkle, it's up there with Romantic. This is a very sheer color, suitable best for an overall eyelid wash.  For me, it's far too glittery to use above the crease.

Swatched on my arm (look closely):

Sandstone is the shimmery neutral that Tarte includes in all of its palettes. That is, it's a staple of the overall formula, not that this particular shade is in all palettes. It's a work-friendly neutral that makes for an easy look first thing in the morning without much additional thought.

Swatched on my arm:

Cafe Brazil is a rich, shimmering cocoa.  This is a beautiful color to use in a brown smoky eye.

Swatched on my arm:

Sunset is a mid-toned brown shimmer that would pair nicely in a brown smoky eye with Tropical Breeze or Cafe Brazil.

Swatched on my arm:

Tropical Breeze is a light-toned brown shimmer with copper undertones. I've been hunting for a beautiful copper, so this is a standout shadow in the palette for me.

Swatched on my arm:

Turquoise is a sheer, shimmering turquoise- as the name would suggest.  Very sheer, and probably best suited for summer.

Swatched on my arm:

Here's all of the shadows, swatched together:

1- Pearl
2- Sandstone
3- Cafe Brazil
4- Sunset
5- Tropical Bronze
6- Turquoise


Overall Thoughts: I've been using this palette every day since I got it.  It's simple and low-maintenance if you're a fan of sheer shimmers. Overall, some of the colors are a bit tricky to use (Romantic), especially since the palette seems to be aimed towards light-to-medium complexions.  I find it uncomplicated and will likely keep it in rotation.  However, if you own Aqualillies, give this one a pass. The formula and pigmentation on Aqualillies are superior.  If you missed Aqualillies and want colors in the same family, this is a good substitute.

Cost: $36, but currently on sale at Sephora for $28 (where I nabbed mine)

Availability: Online at Sephora, occasionally in Tarte's sale section.