Tarte Maureen's Favorites Exclusive Value Set at Sephora

Here's a deal! Sephora has an exclusive, limited-edition value set called Maureen's Favorites ($39). The set features best sellers and new products (featured in new, limited-edition shades!), all hand-picked by Tarte creator Maureen Kelly exclusively for Sephora's Beauty Insiders! Anyone can become a Beauty Insider - just by signing up. If you haven't already become a Beauty Insider, where have you been?

Maureen's Favorites includes her personal favorites, like Lights, Camera, Lashes! the natural mascara that Tarte says is clinically proven to increase the appearance of lash volume by 424%; Lock & Roll 12-Hour Eyeshadow in a brand new shade, Deep Amethyst; Tarte's best-selling and award-winning Natural Cheek Stain in a new, limited-edition shade called Exclusive; the best-selling Park Ave Princess Mineral Powder Bronzer; and Maureen's newest favorite: the highly anticipated LipSurgence Natural Lip Stain, which Tarte says is clinically proven to increase lips' moisture content by 6000%, in a new, limited-edition, peachy-pink nude shade called Peaceful. All of the pieces in this collection of Maureen's picks perfectly complement each other for an overall "eco-enchanting look" suitable for all skin tones.

The darling purple makeup bag that comes with the set has a removable/reusable flower pin. The pin is actually kind of cute. I think it would look great pinned to my straw sun hat!

I took these arm photos after I fell while cutting down a volunteer maple tree that was infringing on the space occupied by my Japanese Maple Butterfly. I don't like to cut down trees, so I guess the wound I now have down my left arm was nature's revenge. I may have to take leg photos until the cut heals! My arm photo space is now severely limited.

Closest to my wrist above is the Peaceful Natural Lip Stain. It's a fabulous nude shade, perfect for pairing with your smokey eye look - or for a nice daytime look. Right under Peaceful is Exclusive Natural Cheek Stain, the wonder-product I could (and do) wear in just about every color available. You can see that Exclusive is very light. It adds a golden sheen that will be perfect for everyone. Too bad it's a mini. I can see myself wearing it out!

I didn't get an arm photo of Park Ave Princess Mineral Powder Bronzer. Here is Sephora's photo of this whisper-light bronzing powder that's fragrance-free. Park Ave Princess is a highly pearled light yellow-gold that coordinates beautifully with the Exclusive Cheek Stain.

Three items, a touch of gold - until you get to the natural, creaseless Lock & Roll with mineral pigments. I'm not sure the Deep Amethyst eye color works for me (although it sure makes my blue eyes blue!). I would rather wear it as a lip color. Plum will be a big color for fall (quoting Tim Quinn, Giorgio Armani's Celebrity Face Designer and makeup guru). Given the purity of Tarte's ingredients (I've studied the list), I'm fairly sure I'll be able to wear it on my lips.

Lock & Roll 12-Hour Eyeshadow has a rollerball applicator for the "loose shadow," which glides easily over the cream shadow (brush applicator) to lock in the color. The loose shadow shade is shown at the top in the photo to the right, with the intense cream below. They are gorgeous colors - together or alone. One nice feature is that they are absolutely budge-proof. I tried to wipe them off my arm with a tissue after I took the photo. That was a no-go. I had to scrub with soap and water! I know that the shades are going to be gorgeous on most of you. I'll see what I think this fall when I wear deeper shades of clothing. However, now that I've seen the performance of this shadow, I want Sandstone...and maybe Rosegold too.

This is a good value set. It's advertised as a $103 value (two of the five makeup items are full-sized). Regardless of what it's really worth, you get a lot of goodies for $39. These are colors that are going to take you from summer into fall. That makes them winners to me!

Set and Park Ave Princess photos courtesy of Sephora