Category Archives: Tarina Tarantino

Tarina Tarantino Eye Dream Hyperliner Review & Swatches

Tarina Tarantino Broken Doll, Sparkling Ammunition, Cute Robot

Next up in today’s Tarina Tarantino post-a-thon are three of her Eye Dream Hyperliners: Broken Doll, a very pale pink; Sparkling Ammunition, an olive green, and Cute Robot, a deep blue. All three are shimmery.

These are very soft-textured pencils – they remind me in softness of Prestige Total Intensity eyeliners. They are softer than Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliners. When first applied, they are very blendable and smudgeable, and although they dry down somewhat, I was still able to smudge my hand swatch after two minutes – which is very different than the Prestige Total Intensity liners, which are soft but then set to an immovable finish.

However, I’m wearing Sparkling Ammunition on my upper lash line right now, and it hasn’t smudged or migrated over the last hour – though I do have dry lids. These are going to need some experimentation (they could be set with translucent powder or matching eyeshadow), but I think they are probably best for people with normal to dry eyelids.

I applied Broken Doll to my waterline about an hour ago as well, and it’s still going strong – I think these are actually quite a nice texture for the waterline, since they are so smooth and easy to apply.

As requested, here’s a picture of my eye with Broken Doll on the waterline – it’s quite hard to see in photos, but does brighten up the eye area:

I apologize for the blurring of the swatches; for some reason none of my pictures came out quite right! Additionally Broken Doll looks white next to the darkness of the other colors – but it is actually a very pale, shimmery pink.

Tarina Tarantino Cute Robot, Sparking Ammunition, Broken Doll - swatches

Cute Robot, Sparkling Ammunition, Broken Doll – flash

Cute Robot, Sparking Ammunition, Broken Doll – natural light

When I swatched the eyeliner in store, I thought Sparkling Ammunition might be a dupe for Prestige Total Intensity eyeliner in Intense Olive (it’s not) – but it was when I got home that I realized there was something familiar seeming about Cute Robot. I pulled out my Prestige Total Intensity eyeliner in Fierce Blue and Intense Olive, and here are the results:

Comparisons: TT Cute Robot, Prestige Fierce Blue, TT Sparkling Ammunition, Prestige Intense Olive

Left to right: TT Cute Robot, Prestige Fierce Blue,
TT Sparkling Ammunition, Prestige Intense Olive

In terms of color, Cute Robot and Fierce Blue are definitely dupes. The texture also feels very similar upon application; however, Cute Robot remains somewhat smudge-able while Fierce Blue sets to an immovable finish. Cute Robot is also easier to remove (because it’s not so stubborn!) Personally, I prefer Fierce Blue.

As you can see, Sparkling Ammunition and Intense Olive are in the same color family, but are not dupes – Sparkling Ammunition is more green and more shimmery, while Intense Olive is more olive-brown and lower shimmer. I love this color family, so I’m glad I have both!

Overall, these are nice eyeliners but they don’t blow me away. I almost never pay for a high end eyeliner because I’m so happy with my drugstore eyeliners, and I wouldn’t consider these an exception to that rule. If there’s a color you like, it’s worth it at the sale price of $9, but at the full price of $15, I probably wouldn’t buy it – with the possible exception of Broken Doll, since it’s such a nice eye-brightening waterline shade and I’ve never seen something similar at the drugstore. As always, I recommend Prestige Total Intensity eyeliners as an alternative – super cheap, super awesome.

Tarina Tarantino Dollskin Cheek Palette Review & Swatches

Tarina Tarantino Dollskin Cheek Palette

Tarina Tarantino Dollskin Cheek Palette was a good deal at $45, and at it’s current price of $27, I would recommend it to any fair-to-medium skinned person looking for an easy to wear blush. The cheek palette contains four blushes – Feather (satin/shimmer peach), Parasol (satin/shimmer coral), Carved Rose (matte pink), and Candy Cameo (sparkling pink).

The packaging is quite nice; the blushes are in a solid feeling (but light) silver metal compact with etched designs. It does show fingerprints, if that bothers you – and it’s very reflective and hard to photograph, which is probably irrelevant for almost everyone. The mirror inside is a nice size and great quality – I can see myself using it when I travel to put on all my makeup.

Each blush is .12oz, which is a nice size; it’s a little over half the size of a MAC blush, and the same size a Rouge Bunny Rouge blush. If you love one of the blushes, three of them are available as full size individuals, but Candy Cameo – which happens to be my least favorite of the four – is not.

All four of the blush shades are very smooth and soft. Each has medium pigmentation. When I swatched them, I was concerned that they might not show up on my face – but I applied Parasol and the color was easy to built up in a swipe or two. These are great shades for pale to medium skintones, and especially great for people who are worried about putting on too much blush. These are sheer enough that you are unlikely to overapply.

Swatches:

Feather, Parasol – flash

Feather, Parasol – natural light

Parasol reminded me of NARS Orgasm, so I swatched them side by side – Parasol is a touch more pink and a touch more opaque, and the shimmer is silvery-neutral. Orgasm has gold shimmer, and the shimmer is more apparent. They are relatively close though

Feather and Parasol both have the same finish – it’s more shimmery than a satin, but less shimmery than what I normally think of as a shimmer. You can see the shimmer in the pan and a built up swatch, but it’ very subtle on the face.

Tarina Tarantino blush swatches - Carved Rose, Candy Cameo - swatches

Carved Rose, Candy Cameo – flash

Carved Rose, Candy Cameo – natural light (this picture is a little too pink)

Carved Rose is a cool pink matte. Candy Camo is a similar pink, but less pigmented and with tiny specks of glitter. Because of the glitter, I don’t see myself using it very often, but $27 is still a great deal for three lovely quality blushes.

I haven’t tested the wear time of these blushes; I’ve worn Tarina Tarantino Neapolitan Lane a couple times now and wear was pretty typical for me – so I would guess that these also have average wear. I’m wearing Parasol right now, and I’ll update if it does anything surprising!

Overall, I love this palette, especially at the reduced price. If you like sheer blushes and have pale skin, I would definitely buy it; if you prefer very pigmented blush or if your skin is more than 2-3 shades darker than mine, I’d skip it though.

Tarina Tarantino Preview

I know it’s been a little quiet over here, so here’s a preview of what’s upcoming on Project Swatch! I went to Sephora yesterday, and found a fully stocked display of Tarina Tarantino – I couldn’t resist several items.

I’m working on photographing, swatching, and reviewing them, and the posts will go up today and tomorrow – I want to get them up quickly, because I know everything is selling out quickly on Sephora.com. However, things do seem to be going in and out of stock, so if there’s a Tarina Tarantino item you’re hoping to purchase, it’s worth signing up for the “email when in stock” notification!

At the moment, the stock status is as follows online

I’ve already reviewed Neapolitan Lane blush – it’s out of stock online, but there were plenty in stock in my local store.

First up will be the Dollskin Cheek Palette – I couldn’t find this listed on Sephora, but a direct link to the product seems to work just fine. There were just a couple in my local store.

Next will be three of the eyeliners; the shades I bought are not in-stock online, but a couple shades are – but I will have dupes for you in my post.

Then, a lipstick – many shades are online, though not the one I picked (again, there were plenty in-store). I am loving the texture of this, so I would definitely recommend these.

And finally, one of the Sparklicity powders – all shades are currently in stock online (and in my local store).

Also worth noting – my Sephora has a NARS New Lover Velvet Gloss pencil as an 100 point perk. I’m always excited when I can get a color makeup item as an 100 point perk, so if that’s something that you love too, call your local Sephora to see if they have it as a perk! It’ll probably show up online soon, too.

This post contains affiliate links. For more information please see my disclosure policy.

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Tarina Tarantino Neapolitan Lane Blush Review & Swatches

Tarina Tarantino Dollskin Cheek blush – Neapolitan Lane

I’ve been interested in the makeup line Tarina Tarantino for a while now – Temptalia in particular has piqued my curiosity by rating several items in the line very highly (read her reviews of the line here).

A couple days ago, Jane over at Life’s Entropy posted that the entire line was 40% off at Sephora. Later that day, I headed out to a store to swatch & play, and came home with Tarina Tarantino’s Dollskin Cheek blush in Neapolitan Lane – normally $25 but on sale for $15.

I think Tarina Tarantino’s jeweled packaging is a love it or hate it type of thing; personally, I’m in the hate it camp. It’s sturdy and functional, but I just don’t like the aesthetic at ALL.

The blush, however, is fantastic. It’s very soft and seems finely milled, but isn’t powdery at all. It is very smooth and even. Usually, I prefer pigmented, bright blush shades – but lately I’ve been reaching for MAC Blushbaby almost every day since it goes with everything and is just so foolproof. Neapolitan lane is a similar no-fuss color, but is smoother and seems of higher quality than Blushbaby.

Since the colors are quite similar, I’ve swatched Neapolitan Lane and Blushbaby side by side. I don’t own Tarte Exposed, but I know it’s also very similar.

Tarina Tarantino Neapolitan Lane, MAC Blushbaby - swatches, comparison

natural light

flash

Clearly, these are very similar shades. Neapolitan Lane has a touch more pink and is more sheer. Blushbaby is a bit more pigmented, but not as smooth or soft.

I was a little concerned that Neapolitan Lane might not show up on my face, because it’s fairly sheer and a fairly neutral shade, but it works really well applied. It does take a couple swipes to build up the color. I would prefer it if it was a little more pigmented, but if your preference is for something that’s easy to apply and hard to overdo, this is perfect for you. Because of the sheerness and the shade, I would recommend this for light to light-medium skintones.

Neapolitan Lane (and much of Tarina Tarantino’s line) is now sold out on Sephora online, but still available in many stores. Since it seems that the line was a Sephora exclusive that’s no longer going to be sold at Sephora, I have no idea what is going to happen to the line overall – so if you’re interested in any Tarina Tarantino products, I would buy them now.