bareMinerals Glamour Now QVC TSV - Love!

Disclaimer: All of the products mentioned in this post were purchased by me. All opinions are my own.

I've tried writing an interesting introduction for this post multiple times. It isn't working, so I give up. I'll try again on the next post. :-)

I recently ordered a bareMinerals QVC Today's Special Value set called Glamour Now. It contains: a Ready eyeshadow quad in The Main Event, a Ready luminizer in This Magic Moment, a blush in Glamour, the Brightening Pearl Perfect Light Mineral Veil, Smoke & Define double-ended liner, a Marvelous Moxie lipgloss in Dazzler, a Lash Domination Volumizing Mascara, a contour blush brush, and a tapered shadow brush.

This set of 9 pieces is set to air on QVC on November 25. It is selling for $49.98 with $6.72 shipping and handling through the official TSV date. If there are any left after that date, the price will go up to $61. Don't count on any being left though. Last year's bareMinerals holidays TSV sold out well before the end of the day. As of right now, QVC doesn't have a retail value listed for this set, but just a Ready eyeshadow quad and a Lash Domination mascara sell for $48, so it is almost like getting the other 7 items in the set for free.

If you sign up for the auto-delivery version, like I did, you'll receive sets with new colors in April, July, and October. If you don't want the auto-delivery shipments, you can pick up the individual set here.

I'm not obsessed with all things rose gold, but I have to admit that the rose gold packaging in this set is gorgeous. The shiny finish does show fingerprints, but it can wipe clean easily enough of they bother you.

Eyeshadows

The Ready shadow quad included in the set is called The Main Event and has the shades Celebrate, Ball Gown, Cheers, and Stiletto.

From right to left: Celebrate, Ball Gown, Cheers, Stiletto

Celebrate is a satin-finish cream shade.
Ball Gown is a shimmery peach-champagne shade.
Cheers is a shimmery grey-taupe shade.
Stiletto is a brown with a plummy undertone that has lots of multi-colored glitter (with most of them being gold and purple).

The shadows are pigmented and buttery smooth. I love the combination of shades. The warmth of Ball Gown works surprisingly well with the coolness of Cheers.

Face Products

The Ready Luminizer included with the set is called This Magic Moment. It's a beautiful rose-gold highlight that adds sheen to the skin without a lot of glitter.

The shade itself is a little bit awkward for my particular skintone. It's too deep to be a highlight for the tops of my cheekbones. I tried using it as a blush, but it has too much sheen to be used on its own that way. So far, my favorite way to use it in conjunction with a blush on the apples of my cheeks.

The blush shade Glamour that comes in this set is a light, neutral pink with fine pink shimmer. It is a really nice, everyday color.

Even though it isn't new, I have to comment on the closeable sifter. The products in this set are the first ones I've owned since they added this feature, and it is really nice. It's well constructed, so there's no risk of product leaking through the sifter holes. Also, the fact that there are only 3 holes allows for a lot of control when dispensing the blush.

From right to left: Glamour, This Magic Moment, and Brightening Pearl Perfect Light Mineral Veil

The last face product included is the Brightening Pearl Perfect Light Mineral Veil. I'm pretty sure this is a new variation on Mineral Veil. I didn't take any close-ups in the packaging because it is essentially the same as the packaging of the blush.

I've only used the Mineral Veil once because the shimmer in it makes me nervous. I don't want to look like Edward Cullen. Once I have some down time and a few days when I don't have to leave the house, I'll experiment with it more.

ETA: I've used the Mineral Veil a few more times now, and I, thankfully, don't notice the shimmer when it is applied. I don't think it's going to become my go-to everyday powder, but I do like it and will continue to use it.

Liner, Gloss, and Mascara

The two-sided liner in this set is an interesting idea. One side has a kohl liner and the other has a liquid liner.

The kohl liner side is a dark brown. In the above picture, I have it swiveled out to show the amount of product it has. It isn't as soft and smudgy as Urban Decay liners, but it still applies easily. Because it isn't as soft, I feel like I have better control over how much of it gets applied. I get my typical fading around the outer corners of my eyes, but it lasts really well.

I'm not a fan of liquid liner, so I wasn't all that excited about this end. However, it has a nice felt tip and is a deep black.

The lipgloss in Dazzler is beautiful. It's a soft peach with gold shimmer. It isn't what I would normally pick out for myself, but it is sheer enough that it's really easy to wear. The formula is slightly sticky but not annoyingly so, and it smells like a candy cane. I'm really bad about reapplying colored lip products, but I can see myself reaching for this one because it is easy to apply without a mirror.

Left to right: kohl liner, thin and thick lines of the liquid liner, lipgloss

I have had the worst luck with mascara lately. Everything seems to flake or smear. I switched to waterproof mascara at the end of the summer. I was hesitant to try this one, so I was thrilled when it didn't flake or smear. The listing doesn't say that it is waterproof, but it is tough to remove. With my current mascara troubles, I'm okay with that. The spiraling brush seems to do a really nice job of separating my lashes too. Overall, this mascara is a winner for me.

Brushes

I owned a couple of bareMinerals brushes back in the day, and I wasn't impressed. They were scratchy. Based on that past experience, I wasn't expecting much from the brushes in this set.

The first brush is a contour blush brush. The natural-hair bristles are soft, but they aren't as soft as the synthetic bristles that I prefer. The shape isn't bad. I've only used it once for contouring, and it worked okay. It also seems fluffy enough to work for blush as well. I'm not in love with this brush, and it won't be one I reach for regularly, but I could use it in a pinch.

I haven't used the tapered shadow brush yet. I keep meaning to, but I automatically reach for my regular brushes and keep forgetting. Just the look and feel of the brush though is disappointing. The bristles are scratchy, and the cut of them looks really crude. It's not a high-quality brush. I'll keep it around for when I get desperate, but it won't make it into regular rotation.

Final Thoughts

If you are considering picking up this kit, get it! It's fantastic! I might not love all of the products, but even just for the products that I do enjoy, it's an amazing value.

Will you be indulging in this kit? Are there any other holiday TSV sets that have caught your eye?

 Disclaimer: All of the products mentioned in this post were purchased by me. All opinions are my own.

Tarte Journey to Natural Beauty 6-pc Collection - Review and Swatches

You know I'm completely in love with Tarte Amazonian clay blushes. They are my favorite blushes to use, and I've amassed a decent sized collection since their release.

When I saw that there was an Amazonian clay blush in the new Tarte Today's Special Value on QVC, I couldn't resist ordering it (and signing up for auto delivery).

The set is currently selling for $59.94 plus shipping (the price will jump to $72.50 if there are any remaining after the official TSV date of February 5) and comes with:

• Brow Architect Liner and Shaper
• Airbrush Finish Bamboo Foundation Brush
• Tarte Amazonian Clay Full Coverage Foundation
• Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Fearless
• Tarte Amazonian Butter Lipstick in Plummy Rose
• Tarte Lights, Cameras, Flashes Mascara
• Makeup Bag

Brow Architect Liner and Shaper in Fair/Light (Estimated Retail Value: $18)

Full product

Spoolie

Defining Powder in Fair/Light

Liner Product

Liner Product

I've never really done much to my brows. They are naturally full, so the most I normally do is pluck and wax them. This product was my first real experiment with a brow pencil. I surprisingly like the little bit of definition the liner part adds to my brows. According to the pamphlet sent with the set, the liner is a universal shade. Sadly, I can't get the defining powder to work for me. It applies cakey, uneven, and extremely obvious. The spoolie is nice to have right with the product.

Aside from not liking the defining powder, the other major negative to this product is that there isn't much of the liner product. The second to last picture above shows the liner product twisted all the way out. That's all there is there.

Airbrush Finish Bamboo Foundation Brush (Retail Value: $32)

I already have one of these from a previous purchase of the Amazonian clay foundation. It's a super dense, soft buffing brush. I used it a lot to apply mineral foundation over the summer. I find it a bit too large for applying liquid foundation.

What makes this version of the brush unique is the decorative handle. I think it's really pretty, but I'm worried about how clean it will stay and how well it will hold up over time. One minor feature that I really like about this version of the brush is that the bottom is flat. It's such a large-handled brush that it seems to make the most sense for me to just stand it up on my table, but the original one that I have is curved at the bottom of the handle, so I have to keep it in a brush holder.

Tarte Amazonian Clay Full Coverage Foundation in Fair (Retail Price: $38)

As I mentioned earlier in this post, I've purchased this foundation before. I like it. It's a really good color match for me, which is always nice since I have a hard time finding foundations that match me. I also feel it's worth pointing out that you are getting 1.7 fl oz of product when most foundations only have 1 fl oz.

My biggest gripe with this being included in the TSV is that it's included in TSV's too often and is included in the auto delivery shipments. I already had a tube-and-a-half of this foundation in my stash before I got this tube, and I'll have two more coming my way in future shipments. Even if I didn't have any of this in my stash already, I don't know anyone who can go through a foundation in three months (the amount of time between shipments). I wish Tarte would mix it up by including different face products in each shipment.

Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Fearless (Retail Value: $25)

The pamphlet states that Fearless is a warm pink shade, and I would agree with that. It also has fine gold shimmer. It's a beautiful shade that is up to par with the regular shades in the line.

Amazonian Butter Lipstick in Plummy Rose (Estimated Retail Value: $26)

 

I'm not a lipstick wearer, but I was curious to try this one, and I'm thrilled that I did! It doesn't feel heavy on the lips; it feels more like a balm. The color is also a really nice, everyday color. I'm really curious to see what shades will be sent in the following shipments.

Lights, Cameras, Flashes Mascara (Estimated Retail Value: $19)

 

If you've followed me for awhile, you know that I'm not a fan of the Lights, Cameras, Lashes mascara. I was skeptical about trying this new variation, but I figured I might as well give it a shot.

I'm happy to report that I'm liking it, even though there's been a couple minor issues. The first issue I had was figuring out how to deal with the brush.  I'm going to go ahead and link you back to the product listing for this set to see a better picture of the brush for this mascara because my picture doesn't show it very well. The brush has a slight curve to it, and, according to the pamphlet, one side has shorter, softer bristles, and the other side has longer comb-like bristles. The shorter bristles, as best as I can tell, are on the underside of the curve. The first few times that I used this mascara, the wand felt really awkward; I was worried I was going to poke myself in the eye.

My other issue was having it smudge onto my browbone during the course of the day. So far, this has only happened once, so I'm assuming it was some freak occurrence. I'm not noticing any flaking during the day, which is the usual problem I have with mascaras. I'll make sure to give an update if I discover down the line that I actually dislike this mascara.

Edited to add: I had the smudging issue again today. I've come to the conclusion that it was because I was too warm and ended up with a light sheen of perspiration on my face. Not good. I'm the type of person who sweats at the drop of a hat (lovely image, I know), so this is really unfortunate. I will probably still use this mascara some, but it couldn't be an everyday mascara for me. It'll have to be relegated to days when I'm just running a couple of errands or days when I'm just playing with makeup and not planning to leave the house.

Swatches

From left to right: Plummy Rose Lipstick, Fearless Blush, Brow Liner, Brow Definer, Foundation

 

The Bag (Estimated Retail Value: ???)

 This is a really cute bag that's a good size. All of the products from this set fit in this bag with plenty of room to spare. I don't know how much I'll actually use it, but since I just consider it an extra, that doesn't bother me.

Bonus Item:

 Tarte always throws in a deluxe sample of product with the first shipment of a TSV. This time it was a sample of their Brazilliance Skin Rejuvenating Maracuja Self Tanner. I was a little disappointed because they've sent this sample before, and I don't use self tanners. Then again, it's a bonus, so I'm not really bothered by it.

 Total Estimated Value: $158 (Note: I didn't assign any value to the bag or to the self tanner samples.)

Final Thoughts:

As with all of the other Tarte TSVs that I've gotten, this set is an incredible value. You are getting the entire set for less than buying the foundation and brush individually. If you are interested in a couple of these products, it's worth checking out. If you aren't sure whether to get the auto delivery option, get it. You can always cancel future shipments if you decide you don't like the colors in them (the future colors haven't been released yet).


Are you going to indulge in this Tarte TSV? If you've picked it up, can you give me any tips on how to get the defining powder to work.

Tarte Beauty and the Box in Brewed Awakening - Review and Swatches

Tarte sets on QVC are a special weakness of mine. Today's Special Value sets are nearly impossible for me to pass up, especially when they have an auto-delivery option. A bunch of products priced well below retail value? Exclusive colors? Early access to new products? Yes, please! I have a hard time featuring the extra shipments of these sets on my blog though since it is hard to impossible to get your hands on them unless you are already signed up to receive them.

Thankfully, Tarte seems to have listened to my silent plea, and they have released several TSV exclusive products/shades into their permanent line. The first of these products that I'm going to talk about it their Beauty and the Box in Brewed Awakening, which is currently selling for $22 at Sephora, Ulta, or Tarte's website.

First of all, please take a minute and admire the packaging. It's a cute cardboard box that reminds me of the Benefit box powders, but the Tarte box is slightly bigger and made from heftier cardboard. Each color selection also has a different design on the box, which is a nice touch.

On to the actual shadows!

Left to right: Foam, Raw Sugar, Espresso, Roast

As you can see, the box contains four colors, but they are pressed together in the same pan. I'm not in love with this design because it seems like it would become a pain when I get close to hitting pan, but since that will probably never happen, it doesn't bother me too much. Each color is also wide enough that a brush fits easily, so it isn't challenging to get just one color on my brush.

Left to right: Foam, Raw Sugar, Espresso, Roast

My experience with these shadows is about the same as it has been with every other Tarte shadow I've tried. They have okay but not good pigmentation, but they apply well and stay all day when I use a primer. With this particular quad, I'm not a big fan of the color Foam, but I think that is mostly due to my skintone. This sort of peach just looks odd on me. It's also the least pigmented of the bunch and a bit hard to work with. I really like the rest of the colors. They work well together to make a neutral, everyday look.

Bottom line: Would I pay full price for this shadow quad? Sadly, no. I'm a big fan of Tarte as a brand, but their shadows don't impress me. I get excited every time I see a new palette from them, but then I have to talk myself down because I know I'll be disappointed when I compare them to my Urban Decay palettes.

What Tarte shadows do you own? What do you think of the quality?

New Tarte QVC TSV! 6-Piece High Performance Collection

Hi Ladies!

If you've been with me for a little while, I'm sure you've already realized that I'm a big fan of Tarte Cosmetics. When I got the heads up that Tarte had another Today's Special Value set up on QVC.com for pre-order, I couldn't resist snatching it up.  You can find the auto-delivery version of it here. The actual date that this will air on QVC as the TSV is July 13.

If you aren't familiar with QVC'c Today's Special Value, it is pretty much what the name says. It is a one day deal offered on a product. In the case of beauty products, they are generally value kits that truly are an amazing value. If you order on or before the actual TSV date, you also get it for an even steeper discount. For example, now through it's official release date in July, the new set is selling for $49.96. After that date, it will sell for $59. These sets are also limited edition, so it is best to grab them quickly after the TSV date, or they could disappear on you.

These TSV sets can be purchased as a single set or on auto-delivery. If you sign up for the auto-delivery, you will receive two more sets (approximately every 3 months) with the same products in different colors.

The Box

 

 

The first thing I want to point out is that this kit comes in a nice box instead of the makeup bags that Tarte usually uses for these TSVs. I'm actually happy about that because I have makeup bags coming out my ears. The box is pretty and is sturdy enough that I'll be able to repurpose it.

Now here's a look at the real goodies, the stuff inside the box:

This set comes with (from left to right): a foundation brush, Maracuja Miracle 12-Hour Foundation with Broad Spectrum SPF 15, Pure Maracuja Oil Rollerball, LipSurgence Lip Shine, Gifted Mascara, and ModernEYES Waterproof Creaseless Shadow/Liner. You can also see peeking out underneath the foundation brush the bonus item that came with this shipment: a new maracuja eye cream.

Foundation Brush

Here's a closer look at the foundation brush. It is the classic Tarte design of a gold ferrule with a bamboo handle. I love the addition of the flower design on the handle. I don't love that they chose to make a foundation brush with natural hair bristles. I tried using it today, and it seemed to absorb a lot of the foundation. I don't think I'll use it again as a foundation brush, but I will give it a try for blush and bronzer/contour.

Maracuja Miracle 12-Hour Foundation with Broad Spectrum SPF 15 Sunscreen

The foundation is the feature of this set. It is a full size, with 1 oz of product. The packaging is nice with a frosted glass bottle, a pump, and a bamboo covered cap. I know a lot of people will be thrilled with the pump, and it is a nice feature from a sanitation standpoint. I wish the pump was a bit better in quality though. It seems to stick and then shoot out a bunch of product. It is hard to get just a little bit of product out, and I actually had a stream of foundation shoot across my fingers this morning.

Being as pale as I am, I ordered the fair shade without question. I have the Amazonian clay foundation in fair, and it works well for me. I was a little disappointed when I looked at the first pump of this new foundation. It is quite a bit darker than the Amazonian clay version.

Here's some comparison swatches:

From left to right: Tarte Maracuja concealer in fair, Tarte Maracuja foundation in fair, and Tarte Amazonian clay foundation in fair. As you would probably expect, the new foundation has a much thinner consistency than the Amazonian clay version.

All three products spread out.

All three products blended in to the skin.

Thankfully, I've gotten a little color this summer, and the new foundation works for me, but I don't know that it will for most of the year, which is slightly annoying. I had hoped Tarte would be a little more consistent with their shades.

I've only used this foundation twice now, so I can't fully review it. I do like the finish on it (I used a flat top buffing brush to apply it after not liking the brush included in the kit). It blended in nicely. I'm wondering if the oil in it helps it meld into the skin better. It does have an earthy scent to it that I'm assuming comes from the maracuja oil. The scent lingered after I put it on, but I would say it was gone within 30 minutes. So far today, I've worn it for over 10 hours. It has held up pretty well. If I needed to leave the house again, I would want to touch up with some concealer on a few spots and some powder, but I'm happy with how my face looks overall. I'm actually pleasantly surprised that my typically oily skin isn't a greaseball by now, but it isn't.

I'd also like to point out that I went out shopping today, and there was one point when I was hot enough to have some sweat dripping down my face. I didn't think to double check then and there that the foundation wasn't doing anything funny, but I looked normal the next time I did look in a mirror, so I'm assuming it didn't start sliding around my face with the sweat.

Going on first impressions, if it weren't for the shade being darker than I would prefer, I would be really excited about this foundation. Sadly, the color of a foundation is so important, it dampens my enthusiasm for it.

100% Pure Maracuja Oil Rollerball

This rollerball has .6 oz of maracuja oil, which is about 1/3 the size of a full size bottle. I like the idea of a rollerball. I used it last night, and it was kind of fun to roll it around my face. It didn't feel like I got too much product out either. I've had maracuja oil in my skincare stash since last summer, and I don't use it very often. I get lazy, and that's a step I can skip, so I can't say whether this is a great skincare product for me or not. Maybe the rollerball will help me be more consistent.

LipSurgence Lip Shine in Smitten

Right off the bat, there's a negative with the LipSurgence lip shine. It is a pencil that has to be sharpened. I've already read other comments online wishing that this was like the regular LipSurgence pencils that twist up, and I agree. I prefer the twist up packaging. At least Tarte is good about including sharpeners for things that need to be sharpened (I got a new sharpener in all three sets that included their SmolderEYES pencils). This one is even better because the sharpener is built into the cap. You can also see that the sharpener also has a handy little pick that you can use to clean out junk that gets stuck.

The pencil itself is a lot skinnier than the regular LipSurgence pencils, but according to the packaging, they both contain .1 oz of product. The color Smitten is a mid-toned pink that leans a little bit blue. It feels a bit thicker going on that the regular LipSurgence pencils, and it is also a little more opaque. It has the same minty scent/flavor as the rest of the LipSurgence line, and it isn't sticky at all. I have not tested the lasting power on this yet.

Gifted Amazonian Clay Smart Mascara

I'm not a fan of Tarte's Lights, Cameras, Lashes mascara, so I'm hoping I like this one better. However, I like the mascara I'm currently using, so I'm not tempted to try this yet. I didn't open it to take a picture of the brush because I want to wait to open it when I'm ready to give it a try. It looks like a traditional wand according to the picture on the information sheet included with the set, so it isn't anything unique in that respect. 

ModernEYES Waterproof Creaseless Shadow/Liner Pencil in Plumberry and Plum Brown

Plumberry

Plum Brown

Plumberry and Plum Brown

Plumberry and Plum Brown after "rub test"

 This is the final piece of this kit. Since Tarte seems to do really well with cream eye products (I really like their cream shadows and SmolderEYES liners), I had high hopes for this. I used it the other night, and I was pretty happy with how it performed.

The eye shadow side isn't so soft that too much color ends up on the lid when you are trying to apply it, but it can easily be built up. Unfortunately, it sets really quickly. There isn't a lot of time to smudge and blend it out. The liner side was creamier, and I had more time to blend it out.

I really like this color combination. It gave a soft, smoky eye look that was perfect for an evening out (okay...so my evening out was playing in a community band concert - it would work for a fancier night out too), but it is still wearable for the daytime.

I only wore these shades for a few hours, so I can't comment on how long they would last on the eyes, but the last picture I included above was after doing the standard "rub test." I applied the shadow and liner swatches, gave them a chance to dry, and then rubbed the swatches to see how they held up. As you can see, the shadow didn't really appear to budge. Sadly, the liner didn't perform quite as well, but there is still a decent amount of the swatch left, and it isn't smeared all the way across my arm.


Maracuja C-Brighter Eye Treatment (Bonus Item)

Tarte likes to add bonus items to the first shipment of their TSV sets, and this set was no exception. This time they threw in a pre-release sample of an eye cream with maracuja oil. Since I'm still on the search for my Holy Grail eye cream, I'm looking forward to giving this one a try.

Value Breakdown

I know when this set actually airs, they will repeat numerous times what the retail value of it is, but since it hasn't aired yet, I can only make a guess based on average Tarte prices. Here goes:

Foundation Brush - $25
Foundation - $30
Maracuja Oil - $16
LipSurgence Lip Shine - $24
Gifted Mascara - $19
Shadow/Liner Duo - $20

Total Estimated Retail Value - $134

I will be curious to see what they say the retail value is when the show airs (Edited to add that QVC says the retail value of this set is $157 - I was pretty close!).

Final Thoughts

I'm glad I got this set, but it's not one that I'm going to say everyone should buy. I think these products are good, especially for approximately $10 an item, but none of them are jumping out at me as must-have items I can't live without. If you're a Tarte addict like me, you'll probably want to pick this up. Otherwise, if one or two of the items catch your eye, I would suggest trying to watch one of the airings on the 13th to decide if it would be worthwhile for you (or skipping it so you aren't enabled into buying it).

What do you think? Will you be picking this up or will you be passing?