The limited-edition Tarte Rainforest of the Sea Eyeshadow Palette exclusive to Sephora is a palette that called out to me because neutral eye looks have become my everyday staples.

Years ago, I was all about colourful eyes, but as I began wearing bold and bright lipsticks, I opted for neutral eyes to balance things out. It’s interesting how tastes can change over time.

I’m a fan of Tarte’s eyeshadows. The Tarte Tartelette In Bloom Eyeshadow Palette houses my most-reached-for eyeshadows and the Tarte Tartelette Eyeshadow Palette is my second favourite.

Since I had such a great experience with the quality, performance, and packaging of those, I felt compelled to try out the Tarte Rainforest of the Sea Eyeshadow Palette. (It also didn’t hurt that it has a summery design with cute packaging!)

When it comes to eyeshadows, I have to be extremely picky, and I must read the ingredients list thoroughly (including the ‘may contain’ section). This is because I’m allergic to one popular eyeshadow ingredient. However, oddly, that ingredient only affects me when it comes into contact with my eyelids and/or face, but not with my nails when it’s in nail polish. (Thank goodness…because it’s also a popular ingredient in nail polish!)

After checking the ingredients list of the Tarte Rainforest of the Sea Eyeshadow Palette several times, I was so happy to see the ‘villainous’ ingredient was nowhere to be found. This meant that I could use all the colours – yay!

I’ve been trying out this palette for several weeks, and this post contains my thoughts, as well as if I think this palette is worth hunting down.

On my nails: OPI Rich Girls & Po-Boys from the New Orleans Collection.

Tarte Rainforest of the Sea Eyeshadow Palette Pictures

Seashell

Wave

Abyss

Reef

Starfish

Cove

Sand

Mermaid

Tarte Rainforest of the Sea Eyeshadow Palette Ingredients

Tarte Rainforest of the Sea Eyeshadow Palette Swatches

All swatches are shown:

• Over the NYX HD High Definition Eye Shadow Base
• In natural light

 Claims: TRUSTED

• Everyday eyeshadows (Yes)
• Creamy, velvety formula (Yes)
• Pigmented & blendable (Yes)
• Formulated to hydrate the eyelids & not appear chalky (Yes – for the most part)

Key Notes

• Name: Tarte Rainforest of the Sea Eyeshadow Palette
• Amount: 8 eyeshadows with 1.5 g (0.05 oz.) each
• Retail Price: $41 CAD
• Disclosure: I purchased this.
• Where to Buy: Sephora stores & Sephora website (Unfortunately, because it has been very popular, it’s out of stock on the Sephora website, however, keep checking because they could restock it. I saw them restock this once, and I’m not sure if they’ll do it again. Also, it’s exclusive to Sephora, so unless they change things, it won’t be available through the Tarte website.)

Tarte Rainforest of the Sea Eyeshadow Palette Review

Colours

The reason why I was most interested in the Tarte Rainforest of the Sea Eyeshadow Palette is because the colours were simple, everyday neutrals. I can get a lot more wear out of these than palettes with pretty rainbow hues, which makes this a practical palette that I know I’ll hit pan on.

Years ago, I only bought colourful eye shadows. Then I went through a period of not wearing any eyeshadow. Now I’m back in the game, but am exploring neutrals that I used to think were ‘boring’! Now, I can’t imagine not wearing neutrals because they pair more easily with colourful lipsticks.

All of the shades in the palette suit my light complexion with a yellow undertone, but if you have a much richer skin tone or an olive-based one, I’m not so sure that you’d get enough bang for your buck with this palette.

If your skin tone is similar to mine, you can easily reach for this palette everyday. It’s a no-brainer because there isn’t really an occasion that these colours would be inappropriate to wear to, unlike a loud eye shadow that you probably should avoid wearing to funerals.

What I like about this palette is that it would work brilliantly with any eye colour, which makes it a nice gift for someone you know who’s into makeup.

My favourite colour here is, surprisingly, Cove. While I wasn’t drawn to it at first, after using the palette, I found myself loving it as a gentle transition colour. It goes on lightly, and isn’t too pigmented off the bat, so I can work it up and blend it in easily.

Sand is the colour I use all over my eyelids after a primer because it’s close enough to my skin tone to act as a base and make blending other shadows easier. (When swatched heavily, the colour shows up against my skin, but when I use it on my eyelids, that colour blends in and almost looks ‘invisible.’)

I love that the palette has light, medium, and dark shades, so you can create dimension with your eye looks.

Pigmentation

The pigmentation was softer than I expected. (The two Tartelette palettes delivered more pigmentation with less effort than with the Rainforest of the Sea palette.)

I found that I had to really build up all of the colours, especially for Seashell, Mermaid, Wave, and Starfish, even when packing it onto the lid with a dense shader brush. I had to use a light hand when blending out the edges with a fluffy brush, or it would soften it more than I wanted.

Although the pigmentation was on the more delicate side than I’m used to from Tarte eyeshadows, sometimes that can be good for beginners because it’s harder to ‘mess up,’ and it helps you avoid having to ‘fix mistakes.’ However, for those who have used eyeshadows and can apply them in their sleep, you may be a bit disappointed because you have to put in more effort to get the colour payoff you see in the pan.

Without primer, they still offered decent pigmentation, but since I always wear a primer, that’s why I showed you the arm swatches above over one. Plus this way, you can better see the colour in a photograph.

Formulation & Finish

All the colours, except Sand and Cove have a shimmery finish that reflect the light softly. Even when I packed the shimmery hues onto my lids, they never looked like an outdated frost. Instead, it was more like a medium sheen that I think is pretty because it adds soft dimension to your eye look.

This is really pretty, but as I’m in my 30s, I’m surprisingly losing interest in shimmery finishes that I loved in my teens and 20s. On older eyelids, they tend to accentuate the little fine lines. (Matte has been my go-to.)

The formulation of these eyeshadows feels creamy and comfortable on the lids, not drying. Sand, the lightest colour, however, seemed slightly chalky and crumbly in comparison to all the others.

All the colours were easy to blend with a fluffy brush, and I didn’t get much fallout.

My major complaint about the Tarte Rainforest of the Sea Palette is that there are only two matte eye shadows, and they are both on the light end of the spectrum.

This means that I have to supplement it with other eyeshadows to complete my look. (I don’t like using all shimmery shadows for one eye look, and I realized that I also tend to like a dark matte in my crease and outer corner instead of a shimmery one. I think it’s because there are naturally more creases in the outer corner of your eye, and shimmery shadows only emphasize them.)

I see this palette as being one that I reach for when I want to accent the middle of my eyelids with shimmer.

Longevity

Whenever I wear eyeshadow, I always wear a primer because my eyelids are oily, which would make any eye look crease within an hour. So I only tested out this palette in conjunction with a primer.

The longevity of the Tarte Rainforest of the Sea eyeshadows is great! From morning until the wee hours of the night, the colours and the finish remained true on me. They also didn’t crease. (Sometimes shimmery shadows, especially creamy powder shadows like these tend to wear off faster on my eyelids. I was happy that wasn’t the case here.)

Packaging

Let’s be real – the packaging is really pretty and summery, and it was the first compelling reason for why I looked into this palette.

The compact is large and round. I have small hands, and as you can see in my first photo in this post, I can barely hold it with one hand! 🙂

Each eyeshadow has 1.5 grams of product, which is fairly decent, and I love how they are arranged in the palette. All the colours remind me of the beach, seashells, and summer!

The compact’s face features a whimsical print that makes me think of feathers and dreamcatchers. I love the upbeat combination of purple, aqua, and gold.

When you open up the palette, there’s a huge mirror, which is handy.

The compact itself feels sturdy and on par with the high quality that I’ve come to expect from Tarte.

Ingredients & Animal-Friendliness

The vegan-friendly Tarte Rainforest of the Sea Eyeshadow Palette has been dermatologist tested.

It doesn’t contain parabens, mineral oil, phthalates, triclosan, sodium lauryl sulfate, or gluten.

I’ve included the ingredients listed on the back of the box, which you can see in the photo, if you scroll up the page.

Value

At $41 CAD, I find it very reasonable for a palette of this size and quality.

Pros Everyday, easy-to-wear neutrals Light, medium & deep colours 2 mattes & 6 shimmers Pretty packaging Sturdy compact with a large mirror Powder eyeshadows feel slightly creamy (not drying) Easy to blend Long-lasting (when used with a primer) No parabens, mineral oil, phthalates, triclosan, sodium lauryl sulfate, or gluten. Dermatologist tested Dermatologist tested Vegan-friendly

Cons Sand was a bit chalky & crumbly Shimmery finishes can accentuate fine lines Not an all-in-one eyeshadow palette (missing key darker matte shades) Limited-edition (If they don’t restock it, it could be gone forever)

Final Verdict: 7/10

Even though this is my newest eyeshadow palette, I still wound up reverting back to my Tartelette In Bloom Eyeshadow Palette for my everyday looks, which is why I gave it only a 7 out of 10.

I’m at the point now where I don’t collect palettes. I prefer all-in-ones, so I can get my light, medium, dark, and transition shades without reaching for a second palette. The Tarte Rainforest of the Sea Eyeshadow Palette sadly isn’t that for me, so I only really bring it out now when I want to add a little shimmer onto the middle of my eyelids.

If you aren’t a big matte fan, maybe you’ll go nuts over this palette.

Despite all the hype surrounding it, after I put it to the test, this was a palette that I could’ve easily skipped. So, if you missed out on this, don’t feel bad. Tartelette In Bloom and the first Tartelette are so much better, and I would highly recommend those instead.

Do you prefer shimmers, mattes, or a mix of the two? What’s your go-to eyeshadow palette? Do you like putting together a unique look and dipping into multiple palettes to complete your eye look, or do you prefer one that contains everything?