Sink Your Teeth Into The Tarte For True Blood Collection

Tarte Cosmetics wants to do real bad things with you.

Inspired by HBO’s “True Blood”, Tarte has released a limited-edition makeup collection that nods to the beloved supernatural creatures of Bon Temps — from telepathic waitress and half fairy Sookie Stackhouse (played by Anna Paquin) to her husky-voiced, well-mannered former flame and current Vampire King of Louisiana Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer); bad boy vampire and Fangtasia club owner Eric Northman; his wickedly funny, glamorous, and often flip progeny, Pam (Kristin Bauer), who is perpetually clad in black leather and dominatrix-esque apparel; the lovably flamboyant Lafayette, the resident cook at local diner and bar Merlotte’s and the go-to guy for money-making schemes (hence a brief stint dealing vampire blood or “V”); and Sam Merlotte, the disgruntled owner of the most popular local hangout, and a closeted shapeshifter.

To that end, then, the three pieces in the Tarte for True Blood collection are packaged in funereal black tubes or boxes with blood red lettering in a crypt-ready, gothic font and, in the case of the cheek and lip stains, gunmetal-colored cap. The eye shadow palette, meanwhile, features a snakeskin patterned lid with triangular slithers of red faux leather slicing diagonally along the surface and black elastic threaded in a crisscrossing pattern along parallel, slanted rows of eyelets in a corset-like form.

This collectible collection consists of: the Tarte for True Blood Limited-Edition Palette ($52 at TarteCosmetics.com and Sephora.com), an enchanting, 17-color eye shadow palette that captures the beauty of the swamps, forests, starry skies, rustic dirt roads, and quiet bayous of Bon Temps, as well as the garb and paraphernalia associated with the show’s vampire, shapeshifter, werewolf, fairy, and witch cultures; the Tarte for True Blood LipSurgence Natural Lip Tint ($24 at TarteCosmetics.com and Sephora.com), a sheer crimson red color with a glazed finish that conditions lips with jojoba seed oil, cools them with peppermint oil, and protects them from free radical damage thanks to vitamins C and E; and the Tarte for True Blood Natural Cheek Stain ($30 at TarteCosmetics.com and Sephora.com), a fiery red impregnated with sparkling gold pearls and featuring extracts of antioxidant-rich superfruits like goji and açai berry, brightening acerola extract, and anti-inflammatory maracuja.

After the jump, you’ll find swatches of all three offerings in the collection, including all of the eye shadows in the limited-edition palette, as well as a sample look created with this memorable kit.

Take my word for it: you’ll be glamoured by these colors!

TARTE FOR TRUE BLOOD EYE SHADOW PALETTE

The central piece in the Tarte for True Blood collection is the eye shadow palette, which includes seventeen colors with clever names like “Charmer,” “The True Death,” “Stake,” “Fairy,” “Nocturnal,” “Moss,” “V” and “Fairy,” along with a pull-out bottom drawer lined in red (to create a slightly creepy, coffin-esque effect) and housing a deluxe-sized tube of Lifted Natural Eye Primer with Firmitrol; a deluxe-sized tube of Lights, Camera, Lashes! mascara; and a full-sized emphasEYES Aqua-Gel Eyeliner with jet black. When you open the palette’s top lid, you see that the diamond-shaped eye shadow pans are arranged to create a wing-like shape, perhaps as a nod to Sookie’s fairy heritage.

The kit also comes with a handy card that features illustrates of four sample looks designed by makeup artist Brigitte Ellis, as well as step-by-step instructions on how to get the looks, which range from “Vampy Vixen” and “Vamp Glam” to the more understated “Luminous Fairy” and “Not Your Average Waitress.”

Below, you’ll find swatches of all the eye shadow hues in the palette. First, we have Werewolf, a muddy, dirty-looking brown shade; The Light, a golden beige with peachy pink undertones and an all-over glow that captures the mystical beauty of the luminous sparks Sookie has shot out of the palms of her hands; Dawn, a light sandy yellow beige with minuscule gold and white pearls that captures the promise and warmth of a new day; and Fairy, a luminous pink nacre shade that captures the dreamscape of the fae universe Sookie enters at the end of Season 3.

Next, we have Nocturnal, a blackened navy with a chalky, dusty finish and sprinkles of cosmic blue pearl particles; Dusk, a matte, almost creamy, pale fawn shade that captures the tint of the clouds in the sky as it turns from blue to blood orange to black; and Waitress, a shimmering dirty blond shade with rose gold and yellow gold undertones, as well as both chunky pieces of glitter and smaller pearl particles in light gold and pink.

The next four shades include Bayou, a deep yellow gold with an even metallic sheen; Stake, a steel-y, dark limestone gray with a dusty, chalky finish; Glamour Me, a deep eggplant purple with tiny magenta, plum, and purple shimmer particles, as well as an all-over metallic tint; and Charmer, a scintillating metallic copper saturated with shimmer that might remind you of the colors we’d see onscreen when Maryann put people in a trance in Season 2.

Next, we have The True Death, a delicious silver that has so much sheen it looks like a sheet of aluminum foil, and Telepath, a shimmering peony pink with small pink, gold, and white pearls that’s fresh and young, much like Sookie.

Last, we have the darkest shades in the collection (save for Nocturnal): V, a wine red color with a metallic sheen and magenta-ish pearls; Legend, a deep matte black that’s a bit sooty, like a heap of charcoal, and features just a hint of clear pearl; Moss, a deep and mysterious dark forest green with a slightly moist texture and emerald green pearl particles that captures the mysterious feel of the woods in Bon Temps (think of the many scenes in which Sookie visits her grandmother’s grave site at night); and Immortal, a deeper, slightly glossier black shade saturated with clear pearl particles.

My faves in the palette: Nocturnal, Glamour Me, The True Death, Moss, V, and Bayou.

Next, I’ve included some photos of a sample look created with these shadows.

To create the look, I started out by applying the Moss color to lids (one of my absolute faves in the palette), sweeping the shadow across the lid and bringing it up to immediately below the crease area. Next, I smoothed on the golden beige Waitress shade along the crease to illuminate and open the eyes. I followed with a hint of the Moss shade along the crease, blending the two hues together, then layered on the coppery Charmer shade for a deeper contrast between the crease and the lid. Once these shades had been blended together and properly diffused at the outer corners, I added a touch of the “V” shade to the inner corners of eyes.

I finished off by lining eyes with the Hourglass Cosmetics Script Precision Liquid Liner in Jett, staying close to the lash line and then extending the line in a smooth horizontal direction, and brushing on two coats of the Bare Escentuals Flawless Definition Curl & Lengthen Mascara in black.

On the lips, I applied the new Bare Escentuals Buxom Lip Tarnish in Wardrobe Malfunction, a lovely pink shade.

TARTE FOR TRUE BLOOD LIPSURGENCE NATURAL LIP TINT

What would a vampire-inspired collection be without a bold dose of red? This soothing lip pencil looks like a ruby red in its tube but, when smoothed onto lips, the color is way more sheer, like a cherry gelatin glaze. The color has an all-over sheen without being saturated with sparkle, giving lips a fresh and natural look that’s sexy without being brash.

Check out what the shade looks like on skin:

TARTE FOR TRUE BLOOD NATURAL CHEEK STAIN

Since Tarte first rose to acclaim thanks to its blendable, gel-like cheek stains, it was only natural to incorporate a new color option into the True Blood collection. This limited edition cheek stain looks as bright and icy as a frozen strawberry fruit bar when in its stubby tube but, as you smooth the perky red into your skin, the color softens immensely, eventually leaving behind just a rosy flush. Unlike previous cheek stains, however, this one is saturated with gold glimmer particles meant to give skin a magical, fairy dust-like glow.

My one complaint about this cheek stain was that the glitter made for an uncomfortable application — my skin actually hurt a tad as I blended the sheer, acerola red color in due to the pearl particles, which felt overly abrasive against my admittedly sensitive skin. That being said, while I feared that the glitter would leave me looking like a disco era reject, this wasn’t at all the case — it turned out to be just the right amount of sparkle. The final result was lovely — even if the road there was a bit bumpy!

Here’s what the Tarte for True Blood Natural Cheek Stain looks like when you first glide it onto your skin:

Now, check out how it looks after it’s been blended in. Magic, right?

Are you under the Tarte for True Blood spell? We can’t get enough! It’s as addictive as V!