Review: Tarte "Off The Cuff" Blush Palette

As I've stated several of times over here on Beauty and Blogging, Tarte is one of my favorite brands to browse at Ulta and Sephora. While there are dozens of products by them that I have yet to try, the few that I have tried are some of my all time favorites that I own in my collection. Of these favorites are definitely their blushes. They are highly pigmented and last a really long time. They come in a variety of finishes and look quite natural which make them photograph really well. They are one of the easiest blushes I've found to work with, especially for beginners, as I find that since they are not really powdery or buttery it doesn't come across streaky or ever worse, clown-ish!
Last year, Tarte released a Holiday Collection that contained 4 miniature blushes that were limited edition colors. Needless to say, I had to have it! I bought it for myself and immediately fell in love with all of the colors. To this day, I use all 4 all the time and they still look brand new; these things last forever! They also came out with another really fantastic Holiday Collection that came with lipglosses, a blush, a brush, an eyeshadow palette, and a finishing powder all bundled together in a travel case that I use every single time I travel. Bottom line, Tarte comes out with the absolute best holiday collections.
This year they recently released a blush palette that contains 4 blush shades, 1 bronzer shade, and a cuff bracelet as the palette is so properly named "Off The Cuff". While I'm not positive it is part of their "Holiday Collection", it is now available for a limited time at Sephora.

The packaging is very flashy and shiney. I think it is very pretty but I don't really like the texture of the palette's cover fabric. I feel like it will snag and get dirty really quickly.

The cuff bracelete is also a little cheesy; I probably will not wear it, but it did look cute wrapped around the palette. 

Now into the good stuff! The palette comes with a really large mirror and very substantial sized blushes/bronzer. I know that Dollface (the 4th shade) and Park Ave Princess (5th shade) are permanent to the collection, but I'm not sure about the other three; I don't think that i've ever seen them but I could be wrong. Anyways, I wanted to snag this up quickly since last year after I realized how much I loved my blush collection I wanted to go pick one up for a friend and it was nearly impossible to get my hands on. I also do not own any blush palettes and missed the boat on one that Nars released a few years ago and have never really gotten over it. I always travel with several blushes in my caboodle so I figured this would be a really good thing to have. I've tried all four of the blush shades and would love to give some quick thoughts on each:

Crave: described as a pink peach. I really like this shade a lot, it is my favorite of the four. It is a fantastic shade to wear in the fall and winter as it is fairly neutral but really warms up your cheeks which makes your complexion look flawless. Paired with your favorite bronzer, this shade is absolute perfection.

Dazzled: described as a soft rose. This is a neutral shade with shimmer. It is much darker than the other rose blush by Tarte called "exposed". I really like this shade as it leans a little bit on the red side and reminds me a little bit of my favorite Nars blush in "Lovejoy". This shade would look great with perfected lashes and a deep lip shade. 

Darling: described as a nude melon. This shade is what drew me to the palette in the first place and ironically it is my least favorite of the four. I do not hate it, but I don't find that it does much for my skin or complexion. It is a little bland. To give it more dimension, I put "Crave" onto the apples of my cheek and it made it look more interesting. 

Dollface: described as a light pink. This is a great shade of blush for everyone to have in their collection. Light pink blushes are very natural on the cheeks and make you look like you've just been out in the cold (in a good way!) I've never purchased this blush by Tarte before, even though it has been getting rave reviews since the beginning of time, but I am so glad they incorporated it into this palette. It is one of those shades that would be flattering on anyone. 

I have yet to try the  Park Avenue Princess matte bronzer that is in the palette, but I'm sure it is gorgeous and very usable. Everyone on YouTube and blogs across the internet have been raving about it for years now, and I love the Tarte matte bronzer in "Hotel Heiress" so I'm sure this one is no different. 

(Left to Right) Crave, Dazzled, Darling, Dollface, Park Ave Princess.

This palette comes in at $42, which given the fact that a single blush is $26 and a bronzer is $29, I think that this palette is a really good price. Each of the powders inside the palette are full sized so you're getting the 5 for the price of two! This would make a great gift for a friend (or yourself!) But I recommend getting your hands on it quick, I have a feeling it will sell out fast!

Beauty Blender Thoughts...

First off, let me begin by saying I want to cry because I let eleven days slip out from underneath me without blogging about anything. I'm at this point where I have so much to post about that I'm having a hard time narrowing down what to talk about first. On top of that, I'm working on getting a YouTube channel up (soon, like, soon soon) and everything is just all so crazy! Also, quick note, how is September almost over?! I literally just wrote a post about how hectic August is and now it is nearly November. Oh my goodness, time is just going too fast and pretty soon Sephora, Ulta, and the drugstores are going to start releasing Holiday collections and then the reviews and blog posts are REALLY going to be flowing.
But until then, let me tell you my thoughts on the extremely popular and well known Beauty Blender.

This little pink egg of squishy goodness is like nothing I've ever experienced. I've never been a fan of using a brush or a sponge to apply my foundation. I'm more of a blend-with-my-fingers kind of gal. I have never found a brush or sponge that I found to do an amazing job that was worth ditching my extremely convenient hands behind, until now!
What I really love about the Beauty Blender is that it is small and compact and really precious and pink...until you squeeze some water into it and it expands to nearly twice it's size. At that point, it has no more room to absorb any liquid, so when you dip it into your foundation, it doesn't all get sucked up and end up being a huge waste of money. It truly does blend foundation like a dream, and it doesn't end there! I then go in with my concealer and brightener (down my nose, under my eyes) and blend it in quite quickly with the pointed tip of my Beauty Blender. Within seconds my face is covered with a natural finish that I absolutely love. It's unreal.
I also love that after I use all my powder products like bronzer and blush and highlighter, I can take the large rounded side and just go around the outline of all my contouring/blushing/highlighting and make all my lines look totally seamless. I even take the extra time to contour my bridged nose because the Beauty Blender can quickly fix the extra product that I've applied to heavily or darkly.
Cons to the beloved Beauty Blender would definitely include cleaning. OH MY GOSH, it's like having a child or a pet, you cannot just ignore it and hope it gets cleaner or you'll get used to it because it does not happen. It just keeps getting grosser and dirtier and soon I'm sure the stains are probably irreversible and then you have to go out and buy a whole new $20 sponge. 
Also, truly think about it...you are putting a sponge all over your face, getting it wet, putting it all over your face, getting it wet, and repeating over and over again without cleaning. Um, talk about a breading ground for bacteria. No Thank You. So you really do have to clean your Beauty Blender every single day, which is quite the responsibility, especially if you are anything like me and absolutely dread the thought of even cleaning one cosmetic brush.
Also, another obvious con is the $20 price tag...yikes! I had a really difficult time coping with the price issue of the Beauty Blender because breaking it down you really are spending a whole Andrew Jackson on a sponge that is neon pink. I figured "it can't be worth it". For me, my Beauty Blender was worth it. It gives me something to look forward to each morning when I apply my make up and I use it every single day. I also did not let it be an impulse purchase. It sounds silly to say I saved my money to buy a $20 Beauty Blender, but I really kind of did. I actually returned something I had sitting in my collection for a few months that I never used and exchanged it at Sephora for my Beauty Blender.
Final Thoughts it you are looking for a refreshing change to your make up routine, I would highly recommend looking into the Beauty Blender. I could live without it, but at this point, I wouldn't want to. It blend out foundation so nicely and comes in handy all through out my make up application process. It really is unique and quite useful, but not an immediate necessity.


Quick Tip: I clean my Beauty Blender with the Mac Brush Cleanser (thats what I use and have laying around, when I run out I may look for a cheaper alternative). The greatest Beauty Blender tip that I can give is to clean it when it is dry. I clean mine in the morning before I apply my make up, not after. The reason this works better is because the sponge is not full of liquid, so all the foundation in it is pushed towards the surface thus making getting it out of the surface much easier than if the sponge was already filled with water. I pour some cleanser on it and massage the whole Beauty Blender in my hands and then run the water. I continue squeezing and drenching the BB in cleanser/water until the squeezed out liquid is not the color of my foundation and is clear water instead. I do this process every single morning before I take my shower. 

YSL Babydoll Mascara...Worth The Hype?!

What does Tim Lincecum have to do with mascara reviews?!
Keep reading to find out =]

Hey Guys! Okay, so YSL is known for having really luxurious products that people really love and cling to. Their lipsticks are a cult favorite and their mascaras are said to be the best. I personally only own one of their Candy Sheer Lipsticks and have never tried their mascara. While part of me wanted to know what I was missing out on, the other [rational] side of me was really unwilling to spend at least $30 on a mascara if it wasn't going to work out for me. With my track record, most mascara's that people love, NEVER work out on me. While everyone is raving about all the Maybelline mascaras, I'm over here trying to separate my lashes and keep my eyes from watering from the awful black mess Maybelline mascara leaves on my face. I was really torn between wanting to try out YSL Babydoll mascara, but not wanting to spend the money.
After my birthday, I got some gift cards to Sephora and I wanted to treat myself to something I wouldn't typically buy for myself. Now was my chance to try the YSL mascara that so many YouTuber's are going crazy about!

The brush is a rubber bristle brush, which I tend to prefer because I can get closer to the root of my lashes while I try to build volume. The issue I ran into with this mascara, is no matter how close I get to the root of my lashes and how much I work to build volume, I cannot get my lashes any thicker or fuller! It drives me crazy because I get amazing length and great separation, I can really maneuver the brush into the inner and outer corners of my eye, and when applied to my lower lash line (which is something I very seldom do), it almost doubles as a liner, but does not smear under my eye and really does open up my eyes and make them look really wide and "babydoll" like. I just cannot get enough volume! The main thing I look for in my mascara is mega volume with some lengthening qualities as well. This is not cutting it. 

I find myself wearing this mascara on days when I want a more "natural" look, and while it is a look I go for often, I do not need a special mascara to achieve a natural lash and especially not one that costs a pretty penny. 

What I do like about this mascara is that it works well with others. I've been wearing it under a heafty coat of my beloved Tarte Lights, Camera, Flashes mascara and it makes my lashes look fake! I'm not kidding, the other day I was taking shameless selfies at a San Francisco Giant's game and I was amazed at how full my lashes looked, even in pictures. 

My final consensus on this mascara is that it is a Pass. It is not worth the hype and I would not repurchase it. While it is not horrible, I am most definitely not loving it and the price is just not doing it for me. 

You can actually see that I have eyelashes in the photograph; I was amazed!

PS. HI CHAD!

I told you...shameless selfies.
GO GIANTS!