I recently popped into Sephora and managed to walk out with only one new item for my collection- which, as my fellow makeup junkies know all too well, is pretty much unheard of. It'll be no surprise to anyone who knows me that it was a lipstick. In truth, there were a handful of lipsticks that I would have liked to take home with me, but I exercised restraint and this was the only one. When I swatched this on the back of my hand, I instantly knew that it would be coming home with me. I've been loving the kind of nude lip that looks really great with bronzed up skin this summer, and since this is part of the Park Ave Princess line from Tarte I felt like it would be the perfect pairing.

So how did it measure up? Keep reading for my thoughts!

You know we're going to talk about this packaging first. I'm still a little unsure of how I feel about the newish Tarte lipstick packaging. These tubes have a kind of paper/cardboard outer that is really cute. This particular one sticks true to theme with a mixture of gold and bronze and a feel that is distinctly beachy. I personally don't really love how this type of packaging looks and feels. I preferred the old style of Tarte lipsticks with the wood look packaging. However, I will say that this packaging does feel a lot sturdier than you would expect and, luckily, the inner part of the tube is a hard plastic that I don't imagine will fall apart. Brightsides? Overall, this packaging is really middle of the road for me.

One feature of the packaging that I do like is the top of the tube, which shows the shade - although I can't imagine that you'd forget what you were reaching for since the pattern on the tube is specific to the Park Ave Princess shade. I can't help it... I'm inclined to look for things that I love.

I have to say that the first time I tried this product on my lips, I was really surprised. It really wasn't what I was expecting. This is a very sheer lipstick that gives more of a wash of color to the lips than any opacity. I suspect that this means this color will look different on everyone based on the pigmentation of their lips and their skintone. It's got more sheen than I was expecting as well, giving an almost glossy finish to the lips. Personally, I prefer a nude lipstick with enough pigmentation that the natural pigmentation of my lips isn't showing through, but I think people who like a subtle wash of neutral color to the lips would really enjoy this shade and formula.

I would describe this shade as being a warm, sheer rosy nude. However, like I said, I do think this will pull differently on different people depending on their skin tone and lip pigmentation.

Wear time, for me, on this product is really not great. I suspect it's because of the sheer formula and the amount of slip that it has. This lipstick just doesn't cling to the lips like I was hoping it would. Since I tend to rub my lips together a lot, this only gets a couple of hours of wear on me tops before it's completely gone.  I don't think I'd go so far as to say that I found this particularly hydrating on the lips, but it's definitely a non-drying formula and it has cupuacu and murumuru butters which I believe are intended to make it more hydrating. For me, this does feel quite comfortable on the lips.

Much like the Tarte Lip Surgence pencils, there is a mintiness to this formula that I think some people will love and some people will hate. I don't think it's particularly tingly on the lips, but it does have a strong smell of mint that is hard to ignore. If you can't stand a minty lipstick, I would avoid this like the plague, but if that's your thing you'd likely really like it.

Overall, while I do think that this will be a lipstick that will be exactly what some people are looking for, it just wasn't for me and I'm thinking about seeing if my shopping buddy (who also bought a lipstick that day that wasn't exactly what she was looking for) might want to switch because I suspect this might be more up her alley and the lipstick she chose might be more up mine. We'll see! Anyway, if this description sounds like what you're into, this definitely might be worth checking out!

Have you tried this lipstick? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

PS - HAPPY NATIONAL LIPSTICK DAY, BEAUTY LOVERS!