Last week, I may have hit the beauty junkie jackpot: the Insta-famous cosmetics brand Tarte invited me to tag along with 20 social media influencers on a Hawaiian adventure. Why? To celebrate the launch of two enormous collections, the Double Duty Beauty (which is exclusive to Ulta) and Rainforest Of The Sea, which will live in Sephora stores. While on the island, Tarte's founder, Maureen Kelly, dared us to try out each product on the beach, in the air, and even underwater. It was a brave move — testing out the products in the 99% Hawaiian humidity could either make or break our opinion of the collections. If the heat, moisture, and hours spent engaging in adventurous activities made a dent in the makeup, it would be all too apparent. But in the case of Tarte's new collections, this approach worked in its favor.
The DDB collection, as you can probably imagine, is made up of nine products that are all about multitasking — so they're perfect to wear on the regular whether you're in school or in an office. The ROS line includes 19 makeup and skin-care items that contain skin-loving ingredients, like algae extract and antioxidants to help boost hydration and radiance. Both lines, of course, stay true to Tarte's philosophy of creating cruelty-free cosmetics that don't contain all the chemical nasties (phthalates, parabens, synthetic fragrances, to name a few) that many other products do.
DDB products are availabletoday at Ulta and ROS will be available online at Sephora on February 29 (and in stores on March 14). Not sure where to start? Ahead, check out 10 of my favorite products from the lines.
Not only does this hydrating facial mist tone the skin and set makeup, but I love spritzing my foundation brush with the liquid to sheer out the coverage of my base product before buffing it onto my face.
Tarte Rainforest Of The Sea Marine Boosting Mist, $25, available February 29 at Sephora.
This color-correcting palette might be my favorite of the bunch. I personally use the brown, green, and salmon shades most (for contouring, redness-reducing, and undereye-bag-erasing, respectively); the different hues can be mixed to create the perfect shades for you. Plus, each cream has a lovely, smooth texture that's super easy to blend.
Tarte Rainforest Of The Sea Wipeout Color-Correcting Palette, $45, available Februaty 29 at Sephora.
The angled end of this brush makes carving out cheekbones easy, while the pointed brush on the other end is perfect for concealing hard-to-reach areas, like around the nose and inner corners of the eyes.
Tarte Rainforest Of The Sea Color Correcting Brush, $24, available February 29 at Sephora.
If you don't like the feeling of heavy makeup, this water-based foundation will be right up your alley. Simply dispense a few drops of product directly onto your foundation brush and buff the lightweight mixture onto your face. It provides sheer-to-medium coverage at first, but can be layered to create fuller coverage that lasts all day (even in that Hawaiian humidity).
Tarte Rainforest Of The Sea Water Foundation, $39, available February 29 at Sephora.
The first time I wore this pint-sized waterproof eyeliner, I quickly traced it along my lashline post-facial without even wiping the residual face oil off my lids. I was sure the oils would break down the eyeliner immediately, but to my surprise, it stayed put. I then proceeded to take a dip in the pool and walk around the humid island. I didn't feel the need to touch up once.
But apart from the product's longevity, the shape of the felt tip is super-thin and precise, making it great for drawing on cat-eyes and covering up eyelash bands.
Tarte Rainforest Of The Sea So Fine Micro Liner, $22, available February 29 at Sephora.
Many rounds of "yassss" could be heard when Tarte unveiled this product to the group — and for good reason. The product contains two shimmer-heavy powder highlighters (one that's slightly more gold-toned, and one that's deeper with silver shimmer) that lend a "strobed" effect to cheekbones. The pan in the middle holds a beautiful banana-toned powder that I love for setting my undereye concealer.
Tarte Rainforest of The Sea Skin Twinkle Lighting Palette, $42, available February 29 at Sephora.
These opaque, semi-matte lipsticks feel balm-like on the lips and come in a range of flattering hues. My favorite? Beach bum, a beautiful brown-nude that brings us right back to the '90s.
Tarte Rainforest Of The Sea Drench Lip Splash Lipstick, $22, available February 29 at Sephora.
This palette contains five pigmented, creamy eyeshadows and a peachy-pink blush that will take your look from office to drinks with ease (even if your makeup station is a public bathroom sink). Plus, they're all infused with Amazonian clay, which means they're designed to last all through the night.
Tarte Double Duty Beauty Day/Night Eye & Cheek Palette, $28, available at Ulta.
Your favorite mascara now comes with a itty bitty bottom-lash mascara wand attached. You can also use it in tandem with the larger wand to get super-fanned-out lashes or to get hard-to-reach inner-corner lashes.
Tarte Double Duty Beauty Lights, Camera, Lashes Bottom Lash Mascara, $21, available at Ulta.
This pressed-powder foundation can be used wet or dry, depending on the amount of coverage you're looking for (wet if you want fuller coverage, dry if you're looking for less). And unlike most powder foundations, it doesn't cling to dry patches and blends like a dream onto the skin.
Tarte Double Duty Beauty Confidence Creamy Powder Foundation, $35, available at Ulta.
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