Review: Tarte “The Starlet Makeup Vanity”
With the holidays coming up, I wanted to do reviews of all the major holiday palettes that are out now! My first palette review: The Tarte Starlet Makeup Vanity”
What is It?
This decorative mirrored palette that has 24 eyeshadows, 3 blushes, 1 bronzer, and mascara all in one gorgeous case.
My opinion on this product:
My favorite thing about this palette is the packaging- the mirrored case and glass pull knobs is so classy looking! This would look so elegant on my dresser as it looks like a jewelry box
I love the purple satin finish on the inside, but hate the cheap glitter inserts; the overall look of the palette is very nice though.
Now comes the actual makeup (drumroll…) I’m not going to lie: I’m fairly disappointed. Tarte’s other palettes have amazing pigmentation, are smooth, and blend well but this palette- not so much. The shadows feel cheap and aren’t that pigmented (except for the metallic finish ones which are ok). I’m incredibly sad as I’m a huge Tarte fan (their blushes are freaking amazing!)
Although the eyeshadows aren’t my favorite from this palette, the blushes are really nice. They have the same smooth texture as the blushes from their regular line, except all of these are shimmery. There’s 2 blushes: a peach color and a pink, both are shimmery. Then there’s a bronzer as well as a champagne colored highlighter.
Lastly, there’s a lash primer and a sample size mascara, which I love! (I’m not a huge fan of lash primers though)
Pros:
- Gorgeous case with beveled mirrors and glass pull knobs
- Nicely pigmented and smooth blushes
- Fair price for what all is included
- Poor pigmentation and texture of eyeshadows
- Not enough variety in eyeshadow colors
- Could have had 1 matte finish blush instead of all shimmery
Rating:
- Packaging: 5
- Quality: 3
- Overall: 3
- Would I buy again? Not thinking so
- Price: $52
Where to Buy










Soooo glad to see this review bc I thought about getting it, but saw a few people saying the same thing about the eyeshadows that they were not that pigmented. However I fully trust all your reviews so I def wont be getting this, esp. after seeing the swatches. They dont look like anything I dont already have. Thanks so much for this review Marlena!
Thank-you was going to get this it guess i won’t tarte is realy slipping
you know what… I absolutely LOVE all of Tarte’s products – Except for their eyeshadows…. I have a lot of their other stuff; blushes, amazonian clay foundation, illuminating serum, eyeliner, cream eyeshadow (it rocks), etc… but when it comes to their pressed eyeshadow, i’m not loving it. it’s their one weak link in their cosmetics line…
but that does not in any way negate anything else in their line!!
Thank you sooo much for this review! I was thinking about getting this for my makeup obsessed friend because of the amazing packaging, but after watching your review and looking at your swatches I think I’ll skip it. I love holiday makeup collections especially because they normally include colors that are different than their normal lines, but these colors look like everything I already have. Boring.
if you’re looking at a holiday makeup collection, look at Lorac’s Bejeweled box. it looks pretty amazing…
I bought it and LOVE it. I like that I can put one or 2 layers of eyeshadow down for a day look or apply 1 or 2 more layers for something that can be very dramatic. I have lots of tarte palettes and I really didnt notice a difference with these shadows in comparison my other ones. There could of been a better variety of colors but I think they are trying to appeal to the average woman as apposed to people like us who like to get more creative with our makeup.
I was hoping you’d do this review series! Can’t wait to see which one you picked
Thank you for sharing your review on this product. I was at Sephora and the sales associate was pushing me to purchase this good deal. The colors didn’t appeal to me but thought I’d hold off on the purchase until I researched on reviews. I’m glad that I didn’t purchase on the spot as I already had doubts and you convinced me that it’s not a palette for me. Thank you again for sharing your opinion and experience. I look forward to your reviews on the other palettes that are being offered this season. Take care and keep up the good work!!! I love coming to your website!!!
Aloha,
Ann
If you want this to appear to be more professional than amateur, for God’s sake PLEASE get an editor. The ridiculous number of grammatical errors is appalling.
that is the main reason why i didn’t buy this palette, i find the shadows not too much of the pigmentation as of their previous ones. marlena, could you do a review on the lorac palette. that’s the one I bought, the bronzer is huge and the colors are amazing. hope to hear from you
Good to know. Though, the swatches came out nicely.
Thank you so much for doing this review! I was thrilled with Tarte’s jewelry box pallet last year, and if I had not watched this, I probably would have bought this years pallet thinking it would be just as good! I’m really looking forward to seeing the other reviews!
I NEEED 1
thank you!! I wanted this one…but now I see how unpigmented a lot of these shades are!
what lipstick/gloss are you wearing? Sooo pretty!
agreed about the quality of the eyeshadows…