Friday, October 23, 2015

Tarte Bling It On Amazonian Clay Blush Palette (Comparison & Review | Holiday 2015)


Now it's no secret in the beauty community, Tarte has yet to top the blush palette that they released during Holiday 2013. In fact, the blush palette released last year was such a disappointment in terms of packaging and product quality, that I was very surprised to see Tarte give it another go. Needless to say, I was very much looking forward to this release because the original blush palette is an absolute favorite of mine and is what introduced me to the Tarte brand in the first place. So the question remains: How does the Tarte Bling It On Amazonian Clay Blush Palette measure up to its older sis?

Tarte Bling It On Amazonian Clay Blush Palette (Outer Packaging)
Tarte Bling It On Amazonian Clay Blush Palette (left) and Tarte Off the Cuff Amazonian Clay Blush Palette (right)

I figured the best way to go about a comparison was to put these two babies to the test side by side. At first glance of the outer appearance, one would think that the palettes are similar. However, the Off the Cuff Palette packaging is made with a woven shimmery fabric, while the Bling It On Palette is made with actual chunky glitters. This means that the packaging is not as smooth and that the glitter particles fleck off from time to time, leading to a bit of a messier makeup application. It is also notable that the palette did not come with Tarte's usual cute additions. The Holiday 2013 Palette came with an actual cuff bracelet to match the theme.


Though at first sight, they might be reminiscent of one another, opening the palette soon reveals that the differences become even more striking. The first thing that I noticed immediately had to be the color selection--the original palette has much more bright, saturated shades, whereas this year's palette is more neutral and muted, not to mention the Off the Cuff Palette also sports Tarte's beloved Park Ave. Princess Bronzer. While the palettes clearly reflect the beauty trends of the time, the original palette satisfies a lot more skin tones than the current one does. I don't see the Bling It On Palette working on dark or deeper skin tones, so that is a bit unfortunate, but the formula is still the same remarkable formula that I fell in love with. In fact, I seem to like the formula of the Tarte blushes better in these palettes. They appear to have smoother pigmentation and blendability, where I find the individual blushes to be slightly more patchy and not as long-lasting. Secondly, the 2015 palette has the names printed on it, which is a change that Tarte instilled last holiday season and is greatly appreciated by beauty bloggers and consumers alike.


Swatches from the Tarte Bling It On Amazonian Clay Blush Palette Left to Right: Fetching, Dollface, Prim, Smashing, and Beaming
I'm very pleased with the pigmentation of the blushes in this palette. They work beautiful on the skin and meld into the other base products seamlessly. Here is the breakdown of this year's shades:

♥ Fetching (LE) - True matte rose
♥ Dollface (Permanent) - Repeat shade from the Tarte Off the Cuff Palette, however, I find that in this palette it is more cool-toned, lighter, and the white base of this product to be more prominent
♥ Prim (LE) - My favorite shade in the palette. It is a lighter version of Dazzled (second shade in the Off the Cuff Palette). It is a matte neutral dusty rose shade
♥ Smashing (LE) - Matte bright pink with coral undertones
♥ Beaming (LE) - As the name suggests, there is a ton of shimmer in this shade. However, it is quite beautiful. It is a very, very light coral that will probably only show up on fair to light-medium complexions


Now let's see the two palettes swatched side-by-side for further comparison:

Tarte Off the Cuff Amazonian Clay Blush Palette (left) Left to Right: Crave, Dazzled, Darling, Dollface, Park Ave. Princess Bronzer. Tarte Bling It On Amazonian Clay Blush Palette (right) Left to Right: Fetching, Dollface, Prim, Smashing, Beaming

As I mentioned earlier, the Off the Cuff Palette is a lot brighter and much warmer compared to the muted tones found in the Bling It On Palette. They will pair much better and even enhance any contouring you choose to do on your cheekbones. While the Bling It On Palette may not be an efficient purchase for darker complexions, it is still a purchase I'm glad to have in my collection because it is a fresh take on Tarte's current Amazonian Clay Blush collection. It is now available for purchase at Sephora for $44.


XO

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