Product Review -- Tarte Shape Tape Contour Concealer (and Quickie Blending Sponge)

Whenever I see a lot of hype surrounding a product before I buy it, I become pretty sure that it's never going to live up to my expectations.

It isn't fair, really, but all of the rave reviews and gushing praise for the product just make me set the bar so high in my own mind that it would be virtually impossible for the item to be as good as the hype.

That's exactly the experience that I was expecting with the Tarte Shape Tape Contour Concealer.

I've seen everyone and their mother rave about this concealer and it's been sold out everywhere for so long that it seemed like the entire world was desperate to get their hands on it (many shades are again sold out everywhere at the time that I'm writing this review, so you may need to be patient if you want to pick it up).

Product Review -- Kat Von D MetalMatte Eyeshadow Palette

Over the past few years, I've tried plenty of eyeshadow palettes (and single shadows too) from Kat Von D, and much to my surprise, I've yet to be really disappointed.

In fact, in most cases, I've been seriously impressed.

If pressed to pick a favorite, I would probably say the Monarch Eyeshadow Palette from a couple of years back, though I really love my Shade + Light Eye Contour Palette too.

I really didn't think anything could top those two.

But the MetalMatte Eyeshadow Palette that's come out recently as part of the Kat Von D holiday collection may actually outclass them (even if only by a hair...).

Product Review -- Tarte Tarteist Paint Palette Collector's Set

Tarte always puts out a ton of holiday kits, and it's always tempting to want to pick up all of them.

But large holiday palettes are often disappointing -- and how much more makeup do I really need? -- so I limit myself to one.

I've seen some pretty lackluster reviews for the Sephora exclusive kit, so I decided to pick up the Tarte Tarteist Paint Palette Collector's Set, which is an Ulta exclusive.

Product Review -- The Balm Appetit Eyeshadow Palette

I am a huge fan of The Balm.

I love their products and I love their packaging, so I always pick up their new palettes and products pretty much as soon as they're available.

Which is why I had to pick up their new holiday palette, The Balm Appetite.

It's designed to look like a menu, with all of the shade names being food puns, and features the usual adorable retro artwork that The Balm uses for all of its products.

Product Review -- Too Faced Sweet Peach Eye Shadow Collection

I've mentioned a few times that I'm an absolute sucker for peach eyeshadows.

I have blue eyes, so anything peachy, orangey, or coppery really does make them pop, so that's why I gravitate toward those types of shadows.

So you can imagine how excited I was when I heard that Too Faced was coming out with a Sweet Peach Eye Shadow Collection.

 And when I heard it was limited edition, you can bet that I was stalking the Too Faced site on the day it was released, sometime in March, like nobody's business until I got my grubby little hands on one.

I didn't do a review on the palette at the time because as predicted, it sold out in a hurry, and I usually don't review products that I know aren't available any longer.

But the good news is that the amazing popularity of the palette convinced Too Faced to bring it back this winter (along with a Sweet Peach blush and bronzer palette, an individual blush, and gloss). Right now, the Too Faced site says it will be back in December, so I figured it might be a good idea to review it in case anyone was thinking of picking it up -- or putting it on their holiday gift wish list.

Product Review -- Urban Decay Naked Ultimate Basics Palette

Usually at the holidays, Urban Decay puts out a new Vice Palette.

This year, they decided to do a variation on their matte Naked Basics Palettes with the Naked Ultimate Basics.

At this point, I'm nearly drowning in matte shadow palettes, but I still couldn't resist picking this one up too because the original Naked Basics Palette and the Naked Basics 2 Palette are some of my favorites.

Unlike those palettes, which contain six shadows each, the Naked Ultimate Basics features 12 shadows so if you don't own any matte shadow palettes, it's got all of your basics covered for sure.