I have a confession... I'm much more likely to buy a small, more affordable high end palette than I am a big one even if the bigger one is actually a better value. I feel like I'm not alone in this and more and more we're seeing Sephora brands putting out smaller palettes recently. I think the reason I'm more likely to go for a smaller palette is actually twofold. First, I have so much eyeshadow at this point that it's hard to justify yet another large palette. And second, it feels like less of an investment so I'm able to buy them a lot more casually. Make sense? Anyway, I've actually been eyeing the tarte Tarteist Pro To Go Amazonian Clay Palette for a while now, but during the VIB Rouge shopping event recently I finally picked it up - and it's been a bit of an instant obsession.

For more on this palette, keep reading.

When it comes to the curation of the shades in this palette, I feel like it's almost perfect. It walks that line of being really trendy with the warmth of the tones, but is also incredibly wearable. For me, the shade that really sold me was Dominate, because I think it takes what could otherwise be a fairly standard neutral palette and makes it something a little bit special. Also, that's the shade I've reached for consistently since I've owned this palette because it's just next level stunning. The only thing that keeps this palette from being perfect for me is that it doesn't have a highlight shade in it, which is something that I personally think all palettes should have.

One thing I want to note is that when comparing this to the tarte Tartelette Tease palette from last year it actually looks like you're getting a lot less product in this palette, but the pans in both palettes each contain 0.03oz of product. In fact, when you look on the back of the actually packaging it does say that this palette contains very slightly more than the Tease palette. 

The quality on these shadows is overwhelmingly impressive to me. The matte shades have a dense, creamy texture that packs a lot of pigment and really sticks to the skin, but also blends really well, which ticks all the boxes for me. The shimmer shades are also fairly dense and creamy with a lot of texture, but I do find that they look some of their punch if you blend them, so I would recommend packing them on with a flat brush and then doing minimal blending if you really want a strong metallic.

One thing that I would say is that this is a formula that should be used with a primer to keep the shades vibrant all day, particularly the shimmer shades. This do have a tendency to fade in intensity throughout the day without a good base.

Drive - Mid-toned pale neutral taupe matte.

This shade, for me, looks lighter in the pan than it does on the eyes and I think it makes a really perfect transition shade on my skin tone because it looks quite natural. It's definitely too dark for a highlight shade.

Stylin - Neutral deep brown matte.

This shade is phenomenal for adding depth to the crease and outer V without getting too muddy. The thing that I love about this is that it's neither too warm nor too cool, so it can work well with a lot of different looks.

Boss - Midtoned golden bronze metallic.

This shade is HEAVEN. I feel like this is a shade that would literally look gorgeous on any skin tone. I personally like to use it as a lid shade for a smoky eye, but I've also used it on the outer third with a brighter shade on the inner third and it works beautifully in that way as well.

Hype - True gold metallic.

This is one of those really pitch perfect gold shades that I also think is pretty universally flattering because it doesn't skew too yellow or too champagne. For me, this is a no brainer lid shade, but also makes a nice wash for a one shade look.

Crisp - Warm, mid-toned caramel matte.

This is another PERFECT shade for the crease that I think a lot of people will fall in love with. It can bring warmth to a transition or give a little bit of depth to a subtle eye look. I also think this will work beautifully as a lid shade for a matte fall eye look. 

Dominate - Golden berry metallic with a brown base.

This is my favorite shade in the palette, because it's stunning on the lid and also really unique. When applied sheer, this does skew quite brown, but when packed on a little more heavily, it definitely packs a lot of berry.

Can you tell that the obsession with this palette is real? For a six pan palette, I think the shade selection is incredibly well thought out and allows for a surprisingly wide range of looks from the very subtle to the very dramatic. I also think the shade selection allows for year round seasonal looks, which is important to me. I think the quality of the shadows is incredibly impressive and perform exactly how I want them to. Overall, I am just so glad that I bought this - to the point that I actually kind of want to buy a backup in case this disappears from tarte's line up and I run out. That's how into this palette I am. 

The tarte Tarteist Pro To Go Amazonian Clay Palette retails for $30CAD and I picked mine up at Sephora!