Almost exactly a year ago, Tarte launched their HIGHLY anticipated Shape Tape foundation, only receive huge amounts of backlash due to their downright horrible shade range. Then their response to the backlash somehow made it even worse. I wrote about all of it in great detail, here.
Since then, I have not purchased anything from Tarte. It was harder than I thought it would be, because even though Tarte is not my absolute favorite brand, they do have a lot of beautiful products, and I have been eyeballing a few of them for a *LONG* time.
However, I have been waiting and waiting to see if I could tell if the brand had even LEARNED anything about the whole debacle, but none of their releases following the Shape Tape foundation felt like they had learned much at all. There were some eyeshadow palettes with a ton of super light shades that likely wouldn’t work on deeper skin. They re-released one of their concealers in new packaging. A few other things, too. But nothing that said, “Tarte understands how they messed up and why it’s so important to be inclusive.”
Until now.
From a recent Allure editor:
After staying silent for a year, Tarte’s founder and CEO Maureen Kelly is about to let actions speak louder than words. The adage came as she introduced the new Face Tape Foundation to a group of beauty editors, including me, Tuesday morning. She acknowledged that she let down Tarte fans — or Tartlettes, as she calls them — and disappointed them in 2018 when the brand launched the highly anticipated Shape Tape Foundation with a seriously lacking shade range. To make up for it, Tarte is taking the 25-shade Shape Tape Foundation off of shelves and replacing it with the new 50-shade Face Tape Foundation. Essentially, Kelly said, Tarte is pressing the redo button and doing what it can to make amends for under-representing its customers.
Tarte Face Tape Foundation ($39):
Inspired by Tarte’s iconic shape tape concealer, this longwearing, full coverage foundation mattifies, hydrates & brightens your appearance. They’ve bottled up your skin-smoothing filters, selfie settings & Instagram feedback to create the foundation of your dreams. PLUS, this baby comes in 50 shades with 5 undertones.
Why you’ll love it:
It’s manufactured the same way as their #1 best seller, shape tape concealer making it the perfect partner to their holy grail.
Based on a consumer perception study:
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100% said it helped minimize the appearance of pores
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100% said it covered dark spots, redness & imperfections
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97% said it helped skin look smoother
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97% said it felt comfortable & gentle on skin
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97% said it felt lightweight & like it allowed skin to breathe
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94% said it made skin look natural & healthier
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94% said it felt nourishing
So… now what?
I was never going to permanently “cancel” Tarte. I was waiting and HOPING to see something, and thanks to that Allure article, it wasn’t just in my mind that they said/did nothing for a year– they really didn’t!
That said, I was pleasantly surprised by this launch – I think it hits all the right notes: The shade range is very inclusive, they worked to include a variety of undertones, and they adjusted the applicator wand to a pump. From what I’ve gathered from influencers, their marketing theme is, “We listened.” Which is fantastic – they needed to.
That said, part of me wishes that they didn’t try to cash in on the Shape Tape name again. I think it would have been smarter to launch a brand new foundation, where inclusion was the name of the game, rather than, “we listened,” as it all alludes to their failed launch where they got it all so wrong. If I was a person of color, I don’t know if I would be interested in this new Face Tape, since Tarte so clearly forgot about POC the first time. Ya know? Even though it’s only a name, I would rather be included in a brand new foundation rather than only being included in a second launch because the first launch didn’t include me at all.
I can understand why some POC might not totally be into this new launch from Tarte – It’s 2019, and plenty of brands are including them from day one, and they don’t have to wait to be included later. I can understand why they would want to continue supporting those other brands rather than a brand who once thought of them as an afterthought.
Personally, I’ve decided to remove my embargo of Tarte, as I do (now) feel like they are learning and trying, and I think there is something to be rewarded in all of that. No one is perfect, and I want them to keep moving forward in this same direction. What do you think about Tarte? Are you ready to buy from them again? Do you think they’ve done enough? Did you never stop buying from them in the first place? Let me know what you think in the comments!
I have an idea for another blog – five products from Tarte I have my eye on, and five products from Tarte I would never buy. There are a few things from them I am excited about but they also have some of the tackiest products I’ve ever seen, and I sort of want to write about both. So keep an eye out for that soon!
laurenelectro
A self-proclaimed beauty junkie/hoarder with a serious Sephora problem. This blog is a total rationalization of that problem. Everything is TOTALLY fine. Her free time is a mixed combination of making fun of reality TV with her husband, hanging out with cats and finally trying to figure out how to do her hair.