Tarte: 7 Surprising Things You Didn't Know

Some people are obsessed with the dessert and some people are fanatic about the concealer—most of us are probably fall into both categories. Tarte is all about making both groups happy, which has made it a favorite indie brand. Founder and CEO Maureen Kelly sought to create a line that is a fun treat for the skin, as well as healthy and effective. Although her perfectly tinted cheek stains and crazy dramatic mascara won’t necessarily satisfy a craving for cheesecake, Tarte’s line of “high-performance naturals” has definitely fulfilled our makeup bag’s appetite. You may know all about the shades in their palettes, but do you know the history of the company? These seven facts might even surprise the most devoted Tartlette out there.

1. Tarte has been in the game for almost two decades. Sixteen years to be exact. Kelly brought the line to market in 2000, earning her first order at Henri Bendel. Shelf real estate at Bergdorf Goodman, Sephora and QVC followed soon after. Her ahead-of-the-curve focus on creating products with natural ingredients instead of parabens, mineral oil, phthalates, triclosan, sodium lauryl sulfate, and gluten struck a nerve. She was using acai berries in Tarte's cheek stains before you started seeing everywhere in smoothie bowl form.

2. The's a reason behind the distinctive purple packaging of some of their most popular products. The amethyst hue of the and the Maracuja Oil vials stems from Kelly’s personal passion for purple. The self-described makeup junkie has considered it her favorite color ever since childhood. Back then, she was making over her Holly Hobby dolls and concocting cheek stains with shaving cream and cough syrup.

---

More required reading for Tarte fans:

1. The Most Unexpected Brand Just Launched Athleisure Makeup
2. Honey, Tarte Just Shrunk Their Palettes
3. Tarte's Newest Palette Is Like a Mini Caboodle

---

3. Their CEO had other plans before starting Tarte. Kelly was pursuing a PhD in psychology at Columbia University when she dropped out to create the company. She was frustrated with existing cosmetics that didn’t deliver on their claims. When she tried to replicate their results at home and failed, Kelly saw an opportunity to create easy-to-apply, effective products.

4. The Shape Tape hype is even more real than you could imagine. Tarte fanatics may call themselves Tartlettes. But Tarte has also earned a an even wider following for their Tarte Shape Tape Contour Concealer, which launched earlier this year. When the holy grail-status product is in stock, one Shape Tape is sold every 20 seconds. (That's 4,320 on a slow day.) And the love is only growing. In December, four new shades of the cult-favorite product launched, and a two-per-person purchase limit was instated, which is helping to keep the concealer available to more people.

5. #kissandmakeup hits close to home. The hashtag-driven campaign to help stop cyber-bullying started because employees were being bullied on Tarte’s own Instagram page. Taking in account that cyber-bullying is a much bigger problem that people all around the world face, the brand wanted to combat it by spreading positive, supportive messages on Instagram.

6. Tarte's products are rigorously tested. To help back up their claims, they have extensive clinical testing. For example, the Lifted Sweatproof Mascara had to survive an actual sweat chamber and withstand heat over 100 degrees. And their testing isn't for nothing: The Lights, Camera Lashes mascara, which was proven to increase lash volume by 424 percent, was tapped as the best natural mascara in our 2016 Reader's Choice Awards.

7. Kelly discovers many of her hero ingredients during eco-vacations. On a trip to Brazil, she discovered Amazonian clay when noticing the soft and supple hands on the locals. After meeting women who scooped the clay right from the river bank, Kelly brought some home with her. Another star ingredient, Maracuja oil, is derived from the Amazonian passion flower. Kelly uses a sustainable harvesting cooperative to cut the fruit from plant before hand cold-pressing the extract.

---

Now, learn about a Korean actress and pop star's all-natural routine:

---