Tarte Clean Slate 12HR Deluxe Primers - Review

Hi lovelies! Can you believe that these are my first products from Tarte, EVER?! I'm just as shocked as you all are. Since primer is without a doubt one of my top five makeup essentials, this seemed like the perfect little thing to try out and dip my toes into the Tarte brand. This little trio contains samples of Tarte's 12hr poreless, flawless and creaseless face and eye primers. I can't say that I'm in love with any of these but for $9 (0.25 and 0.09 oz), I'm still happy that I got to try them all.

My biggest gripe with this trio is that, there is not much product in any of the tubes. I know, I know, for $9 how much product did I expect? I understand that completely but, it was a let down for all three tubes to be filled with 80% air and having to flatten the tubes just to sample any product. Perhaps these were just duds?

Let's start with Clean Slate PORELESS, this is the perfecting primer; it is comparable to Smashbox Photo Finish, NYX Shine Killer or any other silicone based, gel like primer. This did a pretty decent job of smoothing out my pores for a short while but, I just can't get over how thick and sticky this product is. It is very hard to blend out, leaves my skin feeling tacky and no matter what method of blending or how little primer I used, it continuously pilled each and every time. I have never had an issue with any of my makeup pilling or balling up until now. As far as wear, once (finally) blended in, it seemed to disappear as if I hadn't actually applied anything. I could still feel the primer on my skin but, any pore minimizing properties that it had left the building within ten minutes; it in no way kept my pores smaller nor did my makeup wear longer than usual. I recommend NYX Shine Killer instead of this.

Next is the Clean Slate FLAWLESS, this is the brightening primer. When I first started using this, it seemed to do absolutely nothing; the subtle pink tint would just blend into my skin and disappear. Since I hate to let products go to waste, I started adding a few drops of this to my homemade BB cream and that is when I actually noticed some results. It perks my skin up a bit and gives the tiniest barely there glow. As far as perfecting or allowing my makeup to last longer, this primer provided none of that for my skin. I am on the fence because the primer is not necessarily bad since it does provide the brightening aspect that it claims to have but, the effect is so subtle it is easily not that memorable. Since it doesn't do much else as far as being an actual primer, I would not re-purchase this; I recommend NYX Pore Filler instead.

Lastly, is the Clean Slate 360 CREASELESS, this is the eye primer and my least favorite of the trio.  I found this primer is be very oily/greasy no matter how much I shook the tube before hand. Since the main goal of primer is to stop or decrease oil production during wear, the oiliness of this product just doesn't work. I also hate the texture of this product once applied, since this primer is so oily, it left an uncomfortable film on my eyelids. As far as wear time, my eyeshadows did not last very well with this as there was significant fading and creasing throughout the day. This would be better suited for someone with dry eyelids. I recommend theBalm's Put A Lid On It or Too Faced Shadow Insurance over this.

Overall, would I purchase any of these primers again? Absolutely not. None of them worked that well with my skin and I feel that I have much better alternatives in my collection as listed above. The best thing of all about those alternatives? Each one is cheaper than its Tarte counterpart so, I recommend trying those instead but, if you are a Tarte lover or just you just want to try the brand, the trio is worthwhile picking up since it is only $9 and allows you to try three products.

I could not find this trio pack on Ulta.com but it might still be in stores. Online they have another trio called Prime, Shine & Define here

You can purchase the full size Poreless here
$30 // 1 oz

You can purchase the full size Flawless here
$30 // 1 oz

You can purchase the full size 360 Creaseless here
$19 // 11g (0.39oz)

Much love xo