Tarte Create Your Own Beauty Box Review – May 2017

Tarte recently had a create-your-own beauty kit sale that let you pick 7 items of your choice: 5 full-size makeup items (in your choice of shade), plus a makeup bag and brush of your choice for $63!

Your choices were limited to select offerings, and one per category, but there was still a ton of item and shade options to choose from! You can view this post to see all of the items that were offered. This box is no longer available for sale.

FYI - QVC is offering a 6 Piece full-size tarte box with a pick-your-shade foundation for $65.48.

The Box: Tarte Build Your Own Custom Beauty Kit

The Cost: $63

The Products: A makeup bag, foundation, lip product, eyeliner, mascara, blush, and makeup brush of your choice!

Check out the Beauty Subscription Box Directory for more makeup boxes!

I received an invoice listing each item sent.

Unicorn Fabric Cosmetic Bag

With as trendy as unicorn/holographic things are right now, of course, I had to get this bag! It’s actually a nice size and has a good amount of room without being too big! The quality feels nice and it stands on its own.

It’s also lined in lavender and the zipper works smoothly.

Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush, in Exposed, 0.20 oz. – Value $29

I have to confess that I totally picked this blush as a stock-up on one of my all-time makeup holy grails. This shade, “Exposed,” is the blush I’d pick if I could only ever wear one blush again for the rest of my life.

It’s a matte nude pink and looks great on just about every complexion (especially my pale one) and is neutral enough to go with any makeup color scheme and it looks very natural. When I worked at Sephora, I showed this blush to all my clients and we were always sold out.

LipSurgence Lip Crème, in Serene, 0.1o oz. – Value $24 (currently on sale for $12 on Tarte’s website!)

This lip crème comes in a thick twist-up formula and I love it. Especially for summer, I always keep something like this in my purse to easily apply even without a mirror. This shade, Serene, is an apricot pink and it’s a great natural shade! I also love how hydrating the formula is. There’s a matte version of this product too, but for summer I love some more natural/hydrating formulas!

SmolderEYES Amazonian Clay Waterproof Eyeliner, in “golden beige”, 0.056 oz. - Value $22 (currently on sale for $14)

The other shades of this product were darker (purple, brown, black, etc) and because this is a thicker pencil I chose the lighter color that I feel I can use as an eyeshadow. I was right – this makes a fantastic shadow in one to two swipes. It’s a flattering, warm shade that has some glitter and shimmer and is easy to wear on its own for a simple eye look. Plus, it stayed all day with no creasing (with a primer, but I didn’t set it with any powder on top).

Lights, Camera, Lashes 4-in-1 Mascara, 0.24 oz. – Value $23

This has been Liz’s favorite mascara for years and she totally turned me onto it, too. While it’s not my all-time fave it’s definitely one of my top picks and the packaging can’t be beaten. The tube is wrapped in leather with gold embosses letters and the packaging just feels so luxe.  The formula is lengthening, curling, volumizing, and conditioning. The pigmentation is great, I don’t have problems with it smearing under my eyes, and it doesn’t clump. They also make a waterproof version, as well as a limited edition version that fulfills all your holographic unicorn needs.

Amazonian Clay Airbrush Foundation in Fair Honey, 0.247 oz. – Value $36

First and foremost, I have to mention my very favorite everyday foundation is Tarte’s Amazonian Clay BB Tinted Moisturizer with SPF 20 in Ivory, and it’s one of the few makeup products I’ve actually finished and repurchased more than once. That being said, I chose to try Tarte’s loose power foundation essentially knowing it’d be too dark for my super pale complexion (this has always been my #1 cosmetics struggle) because it was the only one of the options for this kit I hadn’t actually tried yet. Even though Tarte has multiple formulations for foundation/complexion items, their BB Tinted Moisturizer is the only one that has the palest shade that’s actually pale enough for me.

Sure enough, this shade is definitely too dark for me, but the pigmentation and finish were actually pretty nice (especially compared to what I generally think to expect from powdered foundations). I also really like the packaging.

Concealer & Finishing Powder Brush – Value $14 (originally $34?)

This brush has probably been discontinued since I don’t see it offered for purchase, FYI. It’s called a concealer and finishing powder brush but the sizes aren’t quite what I’d use for those things (I’d use a larger, fluffier brush for finishing powder unless using it just to set under eye concealer, and I use a smaller brush for my concealer). These, I’d probably use more for detail contouring with bronzer and highlighter. It’s a really nice quality brush, the bristles feel great on my skin, and I love double-sided brushes!.

Here are swatches of everything for you – first, the Exposed blush, the Seren lip pencil, the golden beige eyeliner, and the powder foundation (which, as you can see, definitely doesn’t work on my skin).

Here’s a look with those items! In fact, I’m only wearing those items, except that my foundation is my aforementioned Tarte Tinted Moisturizer since it actually matches my coloring. I know that the limit of one item per category may annoy some but I really don’t mind since it seems like more people get a fair chance at getting a complete bag instead of being left with leftover brushes or something no one else wanted to pick first. Plus, you get a full look with it! I get a full simple daytime look from this kit! I especially love this lip!

Here’s a better look at that eyeliner used as shadow.

I also received a bubble sampler of their newest foundation formula, Rainforest of the Sea Water Foundation, which consists of four shades from the middle of their formula spectrum.

Verdict: I love that Tarte did a kit like this again this year! I love their brand and have a lot of favorites from their product selection. I think this kit is an excellent value for $63! I received $148 in products – not including the bag – or $128 if you use the current on-sale prices. I’m definitely happy with that!

What do you think about the Tarte Create Your Own Beauty Kit this time around? What did you get?