TARTE Rainforest After Dark eye and cheek palette

This palette caught my eye in magazines and ads when it was first introduced. Tarte’s Rainforest After Dark colored clay eye & cheek palette contains beautiful, mostly neutral-hued colors based on natural colored clay. A key ingredient, the three colors of clay (rose, cream and gold) have properties that absorb excess oils and help the product stay put all day without creasing. This handy round palette packages together color for all areas of the face: a bronzer, a highlighter, six matte and frost eyeshadows and a blush. The edgy design on the front of the lid, is a gold snake with a purple gemstone in the center of its head. I picked this item up at ULTA for $38.00.

Love this limited-edition palette! The colors are natural enough that they should be complimentary on most skin tones and the thoughtful packaging makes this perfect for throwing in your gym bag or taking on vacation (without having to carry separate compacts for each item). Tarte’s description is——’inspired by the Rainforest after dusk,’ which must account for the snake graphic on the lid. The colors are versatile enough that they work great for daywear and can be amped-up with the deep brown and burgundy eyeshadows for evening.

The color names are (from the upper right-hand corner clockwise): park avenue princess – bronzer, (the eyeshadows) don’t turn a-brown, tan-gled up in you, up to no gold, plum away with me, make a mauve, bare to explore, champagne – highlighter and unleashed – center blush. A card that comes with the palette suggests how to achieve two looks – seductive sunrise (for day) and after-hours adventure (for night).