I've been pretty good about only buying products that fit in my pretty minimal makeup aesthetic (the amount I buy is in no way minimal, I mean minimal as in "no makeup makeup"). I haven't touched a contour palette in probably over a year (unless you're counting my custom Surratt palette), but when the new Tarteist Pro Glow Palette popped onto the scene, something in me just couldn't resist. I even ordered it from Tarte's website because I just couldn't wait for it to be available at Sephora or Ulta.
It's the inclusion of a cream contour shade, as well as a good selection of highlighters, that won me over. I'm a highlighter junkie, so I figured even if I didn't use the contour shades, I'd definitely use the highlighters. I really appreciate a contour kit that actually has shimmery highlighters as opposed to those light setting powders - they're never light enough for me to highlight! All the shades included in the Tarte palette looked like they could work for me, too, unlike some of the Anastasia Glow Kits that I so desperately want but can't justify for just one or two shades. The palette comes with four powder highlighters, one powder contour, and one cream contour shade. It has a pretty good mix of warm and cool tones, so I think it would suit a large range of skintones. Many early reviews I'm seeing are people rejoicing to have found a "deep skin-friendly" product, but I'm finding the shades work wonderfully on my paper white skin, too.
The powder shades feel super buttery and pigmented, with the exception of Fire, the left highlighter in the middle row. It's only slightly less buttery than the rest. It's probably the least flattering on my skintone so I don't even mind at all. Both contour shades are quite neutral and work well as contour shades on me, although they're not as ashy as something I normally would go for. I'm embracing giving my skin a little extra color, though. The cream shade, Shade, is slightly cooler than the powder shade, Sculpt. I was worried about the cream contour shade being too dark for me, but it blends out so beautifully that it hasn't been a problem. I just have to draw a small line under my cheekbone from my ear to even with the end of my eyebrow, and it'll blend out to the perfect contour shade for me.
My two favorite highlight shades in the palette are the two on the right side, Strobe and Stunner. Strobe is a beautiful white gold, and Stunner is an amazing purple-y-silver color. I've been mixing the two together as my everyday highlight. The highlighters are quite intense, but they're easily sheered out (as I really tend to pack them on - I love a strong highlight). They're also not chunky/glittery whatsoever - they give the illusion of smooth, dewy skin. I don't have too many texture issues with my skin, but these don't emphasize any uneven texture I do have.
I only have two complaints with the palette and they both have to do with the packaging rather than the formula. The first is that the palette's material is that same rubbery matte material as NARS compacts, so it'll get dirty quite quickly - you can see in the photo of the closed palette that it already is getting dirty, and I've only had it for a week. The second is that there's no extra cover for the cream contour shade. I suspect this is why the palette opens up in the center, so you can cover the contour shade if you're working from the right side of the palette, but I'm still worried about getting powder fallout stuck in the cream. Neither of these are dealbreakers though, as the products themselves are lovely.
If you're looking for a new contour palette, and you're a highlight/glowy skin fiend like me, I'd highly recommend the Tarteist Pro Glow Palette.
What's your favorite contour product?