Tarte Amazonian Clay 12 Hour Blush | Review & Swatches

These beautiful blushes have been out for ages, but I thought I’d throw my two cents into the mix of opinions!  I am a self proclaimed blush addict. My first piece of makeup was a blush, and the Tarte Amazonian Clay Blushes are neck and neck with NARS for my favorite blush formula of all time.  When these were first released, all of the shades were matte.  Due to their popularity the color range has been expanded and now includes some lovely shimmery shades as well!  The three I have for review today are the original matte formulation in the shades Exposed, Natural Beauty, and Blissful.

Starting with the packaging, I like that each blush is color coded so if you have a few different shades it’s easy to find the one you’re looking for.  Each compact is very sturdy and it has a satisfying click when closed.  No worries about popping open in your makeup bag here!  They also include a decent sized mirror.  I don’t think I’ve ever had to use them, but it’s a very nice feature if you need to apply makeup on the go.

My absolute favorite feature of the packaging is the fact that they’ve made the blush pan so easy to depot!  The compact has a small hole in the back that you can use to push the pan out with a paperclip, hairpin, etc.  The pan itself isn’t magnetized but it will stick to any magnetic palette you have.  The compact itself has a round magnet at the bottom so you can easily switch the pan from palette to a single blush to save space for travel if needed.  Personally I think this is my favorite feature of the product (is that sad?) and I wish all brands would do this!

Formula-wise, these are also a fantastic product.  I’ve found all three to be very well pigmented and easy to blend.  Even the matte shades like the ones I have here have a touch of sheen upon application that makes them blend seamlessly with the skin’s natural texture and prevents chalkiness.  The shimmer free shades would also be good for more mature ladies who are concerned about accentuating fine lines.  Natural Beauty is so densely pigmented I’ve only just recently figured out how to wear it without looking like a clown.  I think it would be amazing for someone with a very dark complexion who has difficulty finding a blush that will show up!

The spotlight ingredient in this formula is Amazonian Clay, which Tarte claims helps to absorb excess oil in oilier skin types and nourish dry skin types.  I find this claim to be a bit wishy-washy, especially with no real clinical testing behind it.  If you take a closer look at the ingredients, the only clay listed is kaolin.  Perhaps the certain type of kaolin they source from the Amazon is of a higher quality than most?  I can’t be sure.  Kaolin clay is commonly used in face masks targeted towards oily or acne prone skin.  Keep in mind it’s listed quite far down on the ingredient list so there’s likely only a very small amount of the clay present in the formula.  My own skin type has gone from oily to slightly more on the combination/dry side and I’ve never experienced a drastic effect while wearing this product.

Fancy ingredient claims aside, I do find these blushes to be very long lasting.  I don’t experience much in the way of fading.  Blissful is the lightest of the three.  After about 8 hours of wear I start to see a bit of fading in the color, but the other two shades are slightly darker and stay strong until I take my makeup off (sometimes up to 10 hours).  I haven’t tested up to the full 12 hour claim, but I will support that they are indeed long lasting for a blush.

Now what we’ve all been waiting for, the swatches!  My favorite part of any blog post.

From left to right:

Exposed is a nude rosy tan.  For fair skin tones this could even double as a bronzer or light contour color.  I think it would work well for fair to medium dark skin tones.  At first I thought it might be comparable to MAC Gingerly, but Gingerly is much more orange and Exposed sways much more pink.  If you’d like to see a comparison, let me know in the comments!

Natural Beauty is a pinky red watermelon shade.  It’s one of those that you can apply very lightly to the apples of the cheeks and get that “I just came in from cold windy weather” flush.  I think it would work for all skin tones, but you may want to avoid if you have a lot of natural redness in your skin.  Light skin tones will need to treat lightly since this is very pigmented.  I like to pounce an angled blush brush in the product, then essentially dust it all off on my arm before applying.  Otherwise I look like a clown!

Blissful is a medium coral pink.  This is the blush I’ll reach for if I don’t know what else to use, and my go to for fair skinned brides.  On light skin tones like mine I find it gives a beautiful, natural flush that’s oh so flattering.  I like to think of it as a way more pigmented version of NARS Orgasm minus the glitz.  I think it would work on all skin tones except the darkest of the dark.

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The Verdict

If you can’t tell already, I love these!  The formula is great, pigmentation is beautiful, and they have a fairly large shade range with different finishes.  You get a generous amount of product that helps balance out the higher end price tag.  I’m not sure that the Amazonian Clay does too much for the product, but they are very long wearing.  It’s a huge plus for me that they’re so easy to transfer from a single blush to palette pan, and it’s even more exciting that you can actually switch back without destroying the original packaging!  I think ladies (and gents) of all ages and all skin tones will be able to find their perfect flush from this range.

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Animal Testing: No, per the Tarte Cosmetics website. They are also suitable for vegans.

Availability:

• USA: Sephora, Tarte, Ulta
• UK: Sephora (now offering international shipping)

Tarte Amazonian Clay 12 Hour Blush
$26.00 USD
0.20 oz/5.6 g

 
Have you tried any of these Tarte blushes? Which color is your favorite? Share in the comments!