Tarte Color Splash Hydrating Lipsticks - Rainforest of the Sea Collection

Hi Friends, I trust that you are all well. Today, I'll be talking about Tarte Cosmetics' Color Splash Lipsticks from the Rainforest of the Sea Collection.

I was sent the set of 24 lovely lipsticks by PR for consideration.

In Australia, Tarte is available exclusively to Sephora (link to website) or if you are overseas, you can shop at your local Sephora or online at http://tartecosmetics.com

There are 24 lipsticks in the collection. Overall, the shades do seem to me to be mostly brown based colours. There were not a lot of very bright colours in this collection. There were definitely a lot of nude and pinky nude shades, great for every day wear. I felt like there was a mix of neutral, warm and cool tones in this collection. They retail for AUD 32 (USD 21) each.

If you follow me on Instagram (teacupofmakeup) , I do daily demos and vlogs on Instastories, you might have caught my live swatches (follow me on Instagram by clicking here).

So, it is obvious that one of the most stunning features of this collection is the PACKAGING. Oh yes. Marble Heaven. Drool over the marbled blue packaging. While I was testing them, I did not see a repeated pattern of marbling on the lipsticks that I had. That's pretty cool. The packaging is made out of plastic (including the golden lipstick barrel, it is coated with a metallic finish). It feels quite sturdy in the hand and is slightly thicker than your average lipstick. They have a good weight to them that makes them feel extra luxe (not too heavy mind you, just right). NICE.

The packaging also comes with neat little colour matched stickers on the bottom. SO I store mine upside down so it is easier to pick out which shade I want to wear.

So let's talk about the formula. In the press kit, it says the following:

get longwearing color and moisture-rich, full coverage lipsticks powered by H20
intense pigments and buttery-smooth conditioners for color that locks in place with NO feathering (with an emphasis on the word "NO"):
Rainforest of the Sea (TM) complex: a proprietary blend of algae and marine flower extracts that helps reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles while smoothing and refining skin.
shea butter: a natural skin emollient that helps retain skin elasticity
olive oil: rich in antioxidants to help soothe and restore lips
they are formulated without: parabens, mineral oil, phtalates, triclosan, sodium lauryl sulfate and gluten.
they are dermatologist tested.
And as you know, all Tarte products are vegan and cruelty free.

Okay, WOW. That's like a dream list of what you would want your lipstick to be right? Long lasting, moisturising, no feathering, smooths out lines, has skincare properties. Amazing. So what did I think? Well first up, I can only say that I've had these for about 2 months to test all of them. So I'm not in a position to comment on the longer term skin care properties. However, I can say the following with full confidence:

they perform consistently across the board (I've had some experience with lipstick collections where some performed better than others)
they have a demi matte finish. Some of them looked more matte than others. In general, I would say they leaned to the matte side rather than glossy.
definitely full coverage. A little goes a long way. Highly pigmented.
I felt they did go on smoothly. Like poetry in motion. Oh how they do go on smoothly! I didn't feel that drag that you get with some lipsticks.
as for wear time, if I only had say a room/cool temperature drink, they stayed put (they did leave that lipstick ring around the rim of the cup/mug/glass). If I had food or a warm drink, I had to reapply them. Average wear time on me without eating/drinking anything, was about 3 - 4 hours (maybe 5 hours max?). They are not food/drink type budge proof, which I was not expecting given the formula. If I did not reapply/touch up, I noticed that they did gradually wear off into a more or less uniform stain (i.e. not the kind of patchy stain that can be embarassing).
they definitely had that creamy rich texture that you would want in a luxury lipstick. None of that waxy feeling (yucks), so hurray!
there is a slight sweet floral scent. This did not bother me at all. I quite like it.
taste wise, they didn't taste much of anything to me. I hate lipsticks that have that horrible waxy/chemical taste. Nope, didn't get much of any flavour from them.
they did not feather or bleed.
my lips felt moisturised. Yes, they are super hydrating. Pretty neat for the shades that were more matte than the others (can be more matte than a matte? I don't know, I'm just being silly).
they are not kiss-proof. So be careful if you (or your lover) are wearing clothes with high collars.
I felt like the lipsticks coated my lips with a smooth veneer. I kept smacking my lips together to feel if they were still there.
they did not feel heavy on the lips. They did not feel tacky. They felt super comfy.
they did not crack on me (which can happen for some matte lipsticks)
my lips looked like they had been treated to a good lip balm after I removed the lipsticks.

In conclusion, I have to say, I quite like them. I would give them a 8/10 (-2 for not lasting all day through food/drink or being kiss-proof, yes there is actually one brand of lipstick that I own that does that). The marble packaging is cool (you can easily spot your lipstick in your bag/makeup bag). Are they worth AU$32? Yes, I think so. I liked the range of shades, though I feel it would have added to the range if they had like a statement red, but I think they were going for more natural colours with this collection. The brightest shades in the bunch were Popsicle, Miami Vice and Daiquiri. I think the shade "Salt Lyfe" a kind of pinky nude with slight blue undertones will be the most popular. It looks a bit like Stila's "Patina" and Kat Von D's Lolita. See swatches below.

I like to do my swatches on white art paper (specifically tooth white paper with 220GSM). I just think my perception of the shades are not tainted by the particular undertones of someone's skin.

Of the 24, my top 7 were (and I classified them by what day of the week I might wear them) as follows:

Monday: daiquiri (start the week with a lovely pink with brown undertones)
Tuesday: sunkissed (let's play it safe with a pinky nude)
Wednesday: escape (a lovely pinky coral for Hump Day)
Thursday: popsicle (almost there to the weekend, celebrate with a bright fushcia)
Friday: miami vice (drinks with the girls with a nice wine red)
Saturday: yachting (a bold dark burgundy to vamp it up for a night on the town)
Sunday: salt lyfe (sit back for some R&R with this perfect pink nude)