Beauty, Face, Haul, Makeup, Mid-Range Brands, Swatches

When Tarte first released the Tarteist Contour Palette a while back my first thought was, “Okay, so where’s the deeper version?” The Tarteist Contour Palette is such a great, convenient highlight and contour palette that comes with everything you need from setting powder to blush. However, the first rendition wasn’t brown girl friendly at all so I gave it a hard pass and explored my options with Anastasia Beverly Hills. Somewhere down the line, Tarte got the memo that WOC like to highlight and contour too and teamed up with MakeupShayla to create a new, limited edition Tarteist Contour Palette more suitable for those of us with a little more melanin. I have to be honest. I gave Tarte major side eye for: A) waiting so long to come out with a darker version and B) using MakeupShayla to promote it. However, I have to say it was a smart marketing move because if I didn’t love MakeupShayla I would have easily passed on this palette.

But since I’m pretty much obsessed with MakeupShayla and her beautiful blend of #blackgirlmagic I made it my duty to support her and pick up her hand picked Tarteist Contour Palette. The Tarte x MakeupShayla Tarteist Contour Palette features 2 highlighters, a matte corrector, a matte blush and 2 matte contour shades including:

• Highlighter matte highlighter to illuminate center of the face while softening fine lines
• Correct yellow correcting powder to add dimension and neutralize redness or discolorations
• Soft/Deep Contour separate contour shades for defining light to medium or medium to dark skin tones
• Accentuate rosy blush accentuates cheekbones with soft complexion enhancing color
• Glow shimmer highlighter to brighten and illuminate angles of the face

After watching countless snaps of Shayla slaying her face with her new Tarteist Contour Palette I was sold. It looks so beautiful on her and works so well for us dark skin beauties. For starters, the contour shades are actually deep enough for us to use. The deeper shade, is super dark and very pigmented so it doesn’t take much at all to carve out those cheekbones for a more dramatic contour. I was worried the lighter contour shade may be a little too light for dark skin divas but it actually works like a charm for a more natural, subtle contour that’s great for everyday looks and slimming down your nose. I used both today to give me a nice contour that defines my cheeks without looking too dark or heavy but still add a little drama and glamour. I was very impressed with how pigmented they were and how easily they blended into the skin.

I’m also a huge fan of the Highlighter, Glow and Accentuate shades too. I think it’s a little weird and deceiving that Tarte lists the Highlighter as matte because it definitely brings the glow and it does it well. The Highlighter is a soft yellow gold with lots of fine golden shimmer that gives a natural yet pronounced glow that suits WOC well. The Glow shade is also beautiful as a highlighter but warmer and more subtle as it’s sheerer and sports a deeper more bronzy hue. I like to layer them together to customize my glow and add a little warmth in the process too. After seeing a handful of beauties complain about the Accentuate shade I was little nervous to try it. Some people have had issues getting it to show up but I actually love the Accentuate shade. It’s a soft warm peachy coral that shows up nicely on my skin and adds just the right amount of color without being overpowering.

The only shade I don’t really care for so far is the Correct shade. I find it odd that Tarte would include a pale yellow corrector as most WOC don’t suffer from redness. Nor do we color correct discoloration with pale yellow. The Correct shade seems to work best as a setting powder for concealer to help amp up your highlight. Which is also how MakeupShayla uses it. However, I’m not feeling how light the Correct shade is. Even as an under eye setting powder. It just seems too light for my complexion and I refused to touch it when I cracked it open today. It does have a really soft texture and swatches really sheer so it may actually work well as a setting powder. One day, I’ll gather up the courage to try it. Otherwise I think the Tarte x MakeupShayla Tarteist Contour Palette is a wonderful option for brown skin and is well worth the money. I couldn’t be happier that Tarte teamed up with MakeupShayla to make it happen!

Have you tried either of the Tarteist Contour Palettes?

Highlighter, Correct, Contour (light to medium), Contour (medium to dark), Accentuate and Glow

Rocking both Contour shades, Highlighter and Glow