Product Review -- Tarte Rainforest of the Sea Volume III Highlighting Eyeshadow Palette

These days, Tarte seems to be operating under the notion that you can never have too much of a good thing.

That's both in terms of how often they seem to be putting out new products and the way they keep adding to existing lines within the brand.

Case in point: the Rainforest of the Sea Eyeshadow Palettes.

I feel like I just bought the Rainforest of the Sea Volume II Eyeshadow Palette, but the Rainforest of the Sea Volume III Highlighting Eyeshadow Palette has already hit shelves, and considering how much I love the formula of the Rainforest of the Sea shadows, I couldn't resist picking it up.

Like the other Rainforest of the Sea Palettes, Volume III comes in a circular compact. The artwork on the lid features turquoise, purple, and gold detailing that's really lovely. There is a nice size mirror on the inside, and the lid stays open by itself so you can use it do your makeup pretty easily.

Tarte Rainforest of the Sea Volume III Highlighting Eyeshadow Palette

The palette contains 8 shadows: Escape, a shimmery pink champagne; Tiki, a matte pinky beige; Heat Wave, a shimmery light pink; Malibu, a shimmery plum bronze; Rays, a shimmery peachy copper; Compass, a shimmery champagne; Jewel, a shimmery copper; and Treasure, a sheer shimmery golden white.

Tarte Rainforest of the Sea Volume III Highlighting Eyeshadow Palette

The formula for the shadows in Volume III is the same as the one used in the other Rainforest of the Sea Palette -- while the shadows are powder, they have a dense, cream-like texture with pretty intense pigmentation. They blend easily too, so they're really nice to work with.

I do find that they tend to apply better with a fingertip, though. If I'm using them in on my lid, I dab them on that way. For the crease or any precision work, a synthetic brush seems to work the best for picking up, applying, and blending the shadows.

From l. to r.: Escape, Tiki, Heat Wave, Malibu

From l. to r.: Rays, Compass, Jewel, Treasure

In terms of the shade selection, I originally thought that the colors were similar to those in Volume I -- but I was wrong. The use of the term "Highlighting" in the description of the palette should've clued me in, but Volume III's shades are much lighter (with the exception of Malibu).

Volume III is also much more shimmery than the other palettes -- they seem to have two to three matte shades, while Volume III only has the one, Tiki.

Tarte Rainforest of the Sea Volume III Highlighting Eyeshadow Palette look card

Tiki works nicely as a transition shade for my fair skin, but it's too light to work that way for medium and deeper skin tones. As a result, I feel like most people will need to bring in some other darker (and probably matte) shadows to use with the palette.

I've taken to using whatever bronzer or contour powder I'm using that day to deepen up my crease and the outer corner when I'm wearing these shadows.

Don't get me wrong, though -- I think the brightening effect that these shadows have on the eyes is beautiful. I feel like the palette really does have a pretty summer vibe, though I suspect I'll be reaching for this one year round.

For me, personally, I feel like Volume III is my favorite of all the Rainforest of the Sea Palettes. But I think Volumes I and II are probably better if your skin is medium or darker.

The palette retails for $36, and is available on the Tarte website and at Sephora.

Have you tried the Tarte Rainforest of the Sea Volume III Highlighting Eyeshadow Palette? Which Rainforest of the Sea Palette is your favorite?