Tarte Amazonian Clay Full Coverage Airbrush Foundation review
❤ Wednesday, April 16, 2014
My first review! Excuse the quality of the photos; these were taken with my iPhone 5, before I got my camera. All product photos will be of better quality from now on!
I've been using Tarte's Amazonian Clay Full Coverage Airbrush Foundation for over a month now and I do really quite enjoy it.
What Tarte says:
Amazonian clay full coverage airbrush foundation delivers flawless, natural-looking coverage that lasts, while the skintuitive™ formula invigorates skin tone and texture for a youthful complexion. Powered by Amazonian clay enriched with the Earth’s natural, light-reflecting gemstones, this moisture-rich powder buffs on smoothly for waterproof, 12-hour coverage that won’t settle into fine lines and wrinkles. Available in 11 shades to perfectly complement a wide range of skin tones and undertones, this innovative foundation also employs a custom mesh delivery system for a fool-proof, mess-free application every time. Formulated without parabens, mineral oil, phthalates, triclosan, sodium lauryl sulfate and synthetic fragrance.
My Thoughts:
I've never used mineral foundation before, so I wasn't sure what to expect. While it claims to be 'full coverage', I don't find it to be of full coverage, but it certainly can be if you choose to build it up. While researching for a new powder foundation to try, I came across reviews of it being very buildable without looking cakey. I was skeptical about that point but decided to give this foundation a go since it had so many good reviews online. It really is very natural-looking, as Tarte claims it to be.
I have very dry skin, and the first few times I used this foundation it really accentuated the dryness of my skin. As you can imagine it wasn't a very nice look, so I made it a point to make sure my skin was always moisturized before using this. That really made a difference. No more flakiness! However, I'm not one to build up layers of foundation because I find that this, with my concealer, covers up most of my flaws yet gives me a natural looking complexion. So I don't quite mind it being a medium-full coverage foundation.
The packaging of this foundation looks very earthy, which lives up to Tarte's cruelty-free reputation.
It has a bamboo-looking plastic lid, which on the inside has a small round bit that acts as a stopper to prevent the powder foundation from going everywhere. The container itself has a mesh sifter instead of the common plastic top that most mineral/loose powder containers have. The combination of the stopper and mesh sifter keeps the product pressed in the container, so you don't have product flying out when you open the lid after this product has been rolling around in your bag. I really like the design of this. The mesh sifter allows you to press your brush into the container to get the product out, which means you are able to control how much you get, inside of the common way of tipping or shaking the container upside down with the lid on which usually causes excess powder to fly everywhere and making a mess.
Tarte also made a brush that goes with this foundation, called the Airbuki brush. It is essentially a very dense kabuki brush for this airbrush foundation, sold separately. However, I've read that some people in the US are able to get the Airbuki brush free with the foundation for a limited time. I chose not to buy the Airbuki, so I use this foundation with Real Technique's Buffing Brush which is dense enough and fits just nicely in the mesh centre of the container. If you don't want to get the Airbuki and are looking for a cheaper alternative I really recommend this Real Techniques one.
One thing that I was concerned about when I was researching this product before buying it was the fact that it contains bismuth oxychloride. Bismuth oxychloride is an inorganic ingredient commonly used in mineral products as a filler and it also commonly causes acne on acne-prone skin. That does sound a little unpleasant but I decided to give this a go anyway since I don't have acne-prone skin. After a month of using it this foundation hasn't broken me out at all so thank God for that! If you have acne-prone skin though, you might want to think twice before trying this.
This foundation also has pearl powder, which has been used for centuries to help skin become more radiant, smooth and youthful, which is why Tarte claims that "91% of women saw an overall improvement in the appearance of their skin with continued use."
I have yet to see a visible difference but I must say that recently I've had quite a few people tell me that I look really fair, which is a compliment that I shall accept but I'm not entirely sure is the work of this foundation.
Overall, I really enjoy this foundation and I'm having a great first experience with a mineral product. It is a little costly as it isn't a drugstore product but I'd say try this if you can! This is my first Tarte product as well. I've always wanted to try their products as I've heard such great things about them, and I really love how they're a cruelty-free company as well. I've had to do a research project in school before, on the horrors of animal-testing and all I can say is everything I learned really broke my heart. While I will never be able to make sure that everything I use is from cruelty-free companies I will do my best to use as many cruelty-free products as possible.
I bought this foundation for $58 (SGD) from Sephora, in the shade Fair Honey.
So here ends my first ever review and if there's anything I could've done better please feel free to give me your feedback and I will be sure to do better next time!
Here's me with the foundation on!
xx
