Tarte Cosmetics is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

cosmetics Cosmetics are constituted mixtures of chemical compounds derived from either natural sources, or synthetically created ones. Cosmetics have various purposes. Those designed for personal care and skin care can be used to cleanse or protect ...

company headquartered in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. It was founded by Maureen Kelly in 1999; her first product was a cheek stain that was used the following year for the cover of ''Self'' magazine. Also in 2000, Tarte Cosmetics debuted its first order at

Henri Bendel Henri Bendel, Inc. (pronounced BEN-del), established in 1895, was a women's department store based in New York City which in its later history sold women's handbags, jewelry, luxury fashion accessories, home fragrances and gifts. Its New York Ci ...

. In 2003, Tarte products were being stocked by

Sephora Sephora is a French multinational retailer of personal care and beauty products. Featuring nearly 340 brands, along with its own private label, Sephora Collection, Sephora offers beauty products including cosmetics, skincare, body, fragrance, n ...

and in 2005 at

QVC QVC (short for "Quality Value Convenience") is an American free-to-air television network, and flagship shopping channel specializing in televised home shopping, owned by Qurate Retail Group. Founded in 1986 by Joseph Segel in West Chester, Pen ...

. By 2010, the company's products were being sold by

Ulta Beauty Ulta Beauty, Inc., formerly known as Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. and before 2000 as Ulta3, is an American chain of beauty stores headquartered in Bolingbrook, Illinois. Ulta Beauty carries both high-end and low-end cosmetics, fragran ...

. Tarte products are sold in U.S. department stores, including

Macy's Macy's (originally R. H. Macy & Co.) is an American chain of high-end department stores founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. It became a division of the Cincinnati-based Federated Department Stores in 1994, through which it is affiliated wi ...

and Beauty Brands, and in Sephora stores internationally.

History

Tarte Cosmetics was founded by Maureen Kelly. She was pursuing a PhD in psychology at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

when she decided to pursue her interest in cosmetics because she could not find effective makeup she liked; she wanted natural makeup that gave a glamorous look. Kelly started the company with the support of her first husband. Kelly began to research cosmetics and worked out of her apartment until her cheek stain was developed. The cheek stain caught the attention of beauty writers a week after launching in

. Kelly spent much of the first two years delivering sample products to the mail rooms of magazine publishers, hoping they would invite her back. As sales continued, Tarte launched in Sephora in 2003 and two years later on QVC. In March 2014, a 93.5 percent stake in Tarte Cosmetics was acquired for $135 million by Japanese company Kosé Corporation, which wanted to expand into

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

. In June 2018, Tarte announced the revival of its sister brand, Awake, which produces a line of cruelty-free skincare products.

Ingredients

Maureen Kelly has stated that she wanted makeup that uses natural ingredients, including Amazonian clay, goji berry extract, passionfruit and vitamins A, C, and E. Tarte Cosmetics does not use

parabens Parabens are a class of widely used preservatives in cosmetic and pharmaceutical products. Chemically, they are a series of parahydroxybenzoates or esters of parahydroxybenzoic acid (also known as 4-hydroxybenzoic acid). Parabens are effective ...

mineral oil Mineral oil is any of various colorless, odorless, light mixtures of higher alkanes from a mineral source, particularly a distillate of petroleum, as distinct from usually edible vegetable oils. The name 'mineral oil' by itself is imprecise, ...

, synthetic fragrances or

gluten Gluten is a structural protein naturally found in certain cereal grains. Although "gluten" often only refers to wheat proteins, in medical literature it refers to the combination of prolamin and glutelin proteins naturally occurring in all grain ...

in their products. Parabens are excluded because they are known to disrupt hormones. Mineral oil is also not included because it clogs pores and can be contaminated with toxins. Synthetic fragrances are avoided due to the risk of allergic reactions. Gluten is not included because if it is accidentally consumed, it will cause a reaction. Tarte is a

cruelty-free In the animal rights movement, cruelty-free is a label for products or activities that do not harm or kill animals anywhere in the world. Products tested on animals or made from animals are not considered cruelty-free, since these tests are often ...

makeup brand. They do not test on animals or sell products where animal testing is legal. Tarte is certified by

PETA Peta or PETA may refer to: Acronym * Pembela Tanah Air, a militia established by the occupying Japanese in Indonesia in 1943 * People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, an American animal rights organization * People Eating Tasty Animals, an ...

. Tarte is not 100% vegan, but some of their individual products contain only vegan ingredients.

Philanthropy

Maureen Kelly partnered with Sustainable Amazon Partnership, which encouraged forest stewardship, created new jobs, boosted living conditions, and offered educational opportunities. On 28 August 2017, Tarte announced the company's support of an anti-

cyberbullying Cyberbullying or cyberharassment is a form of bullying or harassment using electronic means. Cyberbullying and cyberharassment are also known as online bullying. It has become increasingly common, especially among teenagers, as the digital ...

campaign with the

Tyler Clementi Foundation Tyler Clementi (December 19, 1991 – September 22, 2010) was an American student at Rutgers University–New Brunswick who jumped to his death from the George Washington Bridge over the Hudson River at the age of 18, on September 22, 2010. On S ...

. Tarte asked consumers to take a self-portrait and upload it to

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

with a

hashtag A hashtag is a metadata tag that is prefaced by the hash (also known as pound or octothorpe) sign, ''#''. On social media, hashtags are used on microblogging and photo-sharing services such as Twitter or Instagram as a form of user-generated ...

#kissandmakeup. For each self-portrait uploaded, a donation was made to the foundation and one poster received a lifetime supply of Tarte Cosmetics.

References

External links

* {{Cosmetics 2000 establishments in New York City Companies based in New York City Cosmetics brands Cosmetics companies of the United States