Tarte for True Blood

Target had some good electronic deals on Black Friday, so I picked up a bunch of DVDs, including the first two seasons of True Blood. I've read all the books and loved them, so I assumed that I wouldn't like the show because movies/TV shows are generally never as good as the books they're based on. BUT, I've been hooked into the show. It has the same characters and the same places of interest, but it differs from the books in storyline. It almost seems like a work of fanfiction, or a parallel universe where everything is just slightly different. I think that that's actually a positive, because on one hand, you never know what's coming but you get the same great characters.

ANYWAYS, Tarte came out with True Blood inspired makeup a while back and due to my newly renewed affinity for the series, I decided to get me some Sookie and Pam-endorsed makeup. :)

I got the LipSurgence Natural Lip Tint and the Natural Cheek Stain.

True Blood LipSurgence

The Lip Tint is touted as a "mint-infused, iridescent red shade that drenches lips in a luminous, long-lasting tint." The mint is oddly refreshing and doesn't sting my lips like other mint-flavored products have in the past. The tint seems to last a normal amount of time (around 4 hours sans eating or drinking) for a lip product. This is not as moisturizing as the other LipSurgences I own. Maybe they played around with the formulation, or maybe I just got a weird batch. Mine is more moisturizing than a lipstick, but less moisturizing that a lip balm. The color appears in the tube to be a bright red, but when applied to my lips it takes on more of a pinky shade, I think because my natural lip color is coming through. This makes it a bit more wearable; sometimes I sport it on my lips to work. If you're looking for a really bright, dramatic lip, I would go for the LipSurgence in the shade "Enchanted," which has a deep, rose-colored tint and is one of the brightest lip colors I own. 

True Blood natural cheek tint

I love the color of the Cheek Stain! It is a very vibrant, berry red and is oh-so pretty to look at. I'm torn over the sparkles; some days I like how they catch the light, other times I feel rather stupid for being over 15 years old and sporting sparkles. The formulation took a while to get used to, but as long as you apply to one cheek at a time and being blending it out immediately, this blush can look almost natural. I used to use a cream blush by Clinique - that one was much more blend-able. Because of the glitter, I only wear this at night.

If you like True Blood, check out Tarte's line before these limited edition products are gone!

~ Susan