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!

Fun Finds at Walgreens and Ulta & BONUS Birthday Benefit Brow Bar experience

This week I found myself doing some shopping on my birthday because 1) What better way to treat yourself on your birthday and 2) I was offered a free Benefit Brow Bar Arch shaping at Ulta.

I swear I got an email saying that I could go into Ulta to get an arch shaping at the Brow Bar on my birthday for free so I was really tempted. I wan't sure if I really wanted to go because I was like "what if it comes out bad, then all my birthday pictures I'll have wonky eyebrows!", but then I was also like, well, it's free and offers like this do not come around often. I decided to give it a whirl and hope for the best.
I drove all the way out to my nearest Ulta and was also planning on taking advantage of their Liter sale, so I grabbed some Redkin shampoos for only $15 for a whole liter! I already went and got a liter of shampoo and conditioner at the beginning of the sale but wanted a back up for when I run out, and the price honestly could not be beat. (Note: I really have enjoyed these higher quality shampoos, I never splurge on hair care but have been lately and HAVE noticed and huge difference. I'll have a post on that coming).
They didn't have the Blonde Glam shampoo I was hoping for so I decided to invest in a nice cleansing cream shampoo instead for when I need to clarify about once a week or so. Then I wandered over to the Benefit Brow Bar...I stood there for a few moments while the two sales associates finished their conversation with each other then finally spoke up and mentioned the email that I had received about my free Birthday Brow Arch. They looked at me like I was crazy and told me they no longer offer that and that "no Ulta benefit counter offers that any more, it was actually discontinued in February. Macy's may be the only place that still does, but they probably do not either".  What?! Then why did I receive an email from Ulta offering this service? And of course, shame on my part, I deleted the email! So, I didn't get my eyebrows done. I was upset with the customer service of Ulta and as I walked away from the counter, disappointed, no one even said "Oh, but Happy Birthday". Whatever, it is what it is.
As I wandered back to see more sales items, I passed by this display

I had NO idea that theBalm sold some of their hair care line at Ulta!

I was ecstatic to find these their. They price around $15 which is kind of steep for the amount that you get, but I do plan on trying it out sometimes. I especially would like to pick up their hair spray once mine runs out because I think the packaging would look precious on my vanity. Am I the last person to know theBalm hair care was available at Ulta?

Next, I headed over to Walgreens in a last attempt to try to find the Wet n' Wild Pop Art Collections. I've been searching high and low, all month, at several different Walgreens, dozens of different times.

Low and behold...

 

Finally! I finally found a Wet N Wild Limited Edition Collection! This is a first for the books and I couldn't be more excited.
Sadly, I ended up being THAT person that nearly bought out their whole stock of eyeshadows so that no one else could get them. In my defense, They only had one of each left and I told my self, that at on $3 a piece, I would buy one of each. I would never do it maliciously, I promise!
I'm not a huge fan of these WNW nail polishes so I didn't pick any up. I didn't find any of the colors unique enough.

I haven't played around with these babies yet, and to be honest, I'm not even sure I could use the one on the far right (I feel like it's very dark and gothic and I don't tend to use colors like that), but I'm excited to see what I could do with them! The blue shades are what I'm most excited about. If you aren't a huge fan of colored shadows, I would recommend the first palette "Hard Being the it Girl" because it offers 2 wearable shades in addition to a gorgeous blue.


I just wanted to let you guys know where I was able to spot the Wet N Wild Pop Art Craze display and that if you're interested in trying theBalm Hair care, check out Ulta!
Also, if you get an email offering a free Eyebrow arch at the Brow Bar DON'T BELIEVE IT, because it could end up being a huge waste of time. Or maybe you'll be more lucky than me, in which case, let me know because that'd be awesome to actually get a nice arch for your birthday, for FREE!

I hope you guys had an awesome weekend =]