Back in June cosmetics brand Tarte collaborated with popular YouTuber Grav3yardgirl [Bunny Meyers] on a eye & cheek palette, which was pre-launched on the Tarte website [with no warning for people who don't follow Tarte on social media platforms] where it sold out in two hours. It was then re-launched on the site (where it again sold out in hours), and was released in Sephora, Ulta and Macy's stores - where it still proved to be so much in demand that it sold out everywhere within weeks.
But now due to high demand from the hundreds of thousands of international Grav3yardgirl fans who were unable to order the Swamp Queen palette on it's first run [Sephora was the only other retailer that shipped internationally - and they only ship to around half a dozen countries], it is back for another limited sale on the Tarte website (as are both of the Grav3yardgirl liquid lipstick shades), as their site ships worldwide.
Tarte say that when the range sells out this time, then that's it - it's gone for good. Therefore I want to show people who may be umming and ahhing over it what they would be getting, and giving honest feedback, to help you decide if the palette is something that you need and want...
I only posted my review for Tarte's QVC-exclusive Be Your Own Tarteist eye and cheek palette a few days ago, and in it I said that I'd ordered it because the shades picked for it reminded me of the ones used in the Swamp Queen one. I did order the Swamp Queen palette when it was launched, but it arrived all smashed (I did send Sephora photo evidence of the damage on my phone, but no longer have the pics) and the dark brown shadow and glittery highlight were the most damaged, so the microglitter and dark pigment got over everything else = all of the shades are half-powder that apply with a muddy tone, and there is glitter that spreads everywhere all over the palette. I'm whining, aren't I? Anyway I was happy enough with my Be Your Own Tarteist palette, but the other day I got a email saying that there was a new listing for one of my followed searches on eBay...
... A new & boxed Swamp Queen palette was on buy-it-now for £45 + free postage, so of course I needed to order it quick sharp, because after shipping and tax I ended up paying around £55 for it on Sephora, so this seemed like a bargain that couldn't be missed. As I can now compare the palettes side by side fairly, I thought that it'd be interesting to look at some swatches from my Be Your Own Tarteist palette, and show them against what I thought might be their equivalent shades in the Swamp Queen palette, to see how far off I was [or how close] in my thinking that the shades were similar.
Lets dive in, shall we?
I'm not usually into celebrity/YouTuber collaborations with cosmetic brands when picking out makeup items as I know what colours and formulas I do and don't like, so they don't usually have any sway over me. However I love the Tarte brand and have been using their products for years, and I've seen quite a few of Bunny's [Grav3yardgirl] videos and know that she tends to wear the same kind of makeup I go for in her day-to-day looks, so I was very keen to pick up the Grav3yardgirl/Tarte collaboration palette; Swamp Queen .
Alas; I found that disaster struck when I recieved my order, which arrived a week after I'd placed a Sephora.com order on the minute the collection became available to buy. So now I have a powdery mess, that I barely use as the smashed powders won't repress, so it is just too messy for me to bother with...
But it seems that my habit of leaving the TV in my bedroom on whilst I'm in the bathroom getting ready for bed provided a possible solution a few weeks ago; the Be Your Own Tarteist eye and cheek palette was created for QVC, and I was excited by it as I find the colour selections chosen for it similar to the selections to those in Swamp Queen.
As the Swamp Queen palette proved to be so popular that it sold out everywhere within weeks [the stock numbers were high enough that it was meant to be around for 3/4 months], I wanted everyone else who missed out on it to know about this other option...
The Icy Betch began life as a joke 12-pan eyeshadow palette last April Fools day on Tarte's Instagram page [or was it actually a clever way to gather customer responses & marketing idea?], which disappointed thousands of people who actually wanted to own a palette in that colour scheme. 
Fast forward to the lead-up for this year's April Fools day and Tarte began dropping promos and swatch snaps, before unveiling the real Icy Betch - yeah, I hate the cringy name too - palette; the real one contains 9 pans of shadow at 0.9g each, and 1 cheek/eyes highlighter [5g].
