Tarte Amazonian Clay Smoothing Balm Review & Swatches
Tarte Amazonian Clay Smoothing Balm is a new foundation that makes an appearance is the Tarte Beauty in the Basics May QVC Today’s Special Value which debuts exclusively on QVC on May 11th. The new Tarte Amazonian Clay Smoothing Balm was inspired by Tarte’s Amazonian Clay Full Coverage Foundation.
Balm is an accurate description of this product as it is in fact a balm and NOT a cream compact foundation product even though that’s exactly what it looks like.
Let’s take a look!
I typically dislike cream compact foundations as they feel a bit too heavy and greasy to me plus they all make me think of Benefit Some Kind of Gorgeous! I was relieved to see that Tarte’s new Amazonian Clay Smoothing Balm is in fact just that, a balm! This comes housed in a 0.31 oz compact with a generously sized mirror and when you purchase the Beauty in the Basics set you get in your choice of Fair, Light, Light/Medium, Medium, Tan, and Deep.
Now this only comes in the set as of now and isn’t available as a single purchase however, you also get:
- Lights, Camera, Lashes Mascara (Full Size)
- Lipsurgence Cream in Vintage (Full Size)
- Tarte Eyeshadow Quad (Full Size)
- Amazonian Tightlining Eyeliner in Black Brown (Full Size)
- Bamboo Smoothing Balm Brush
The set is $47 so its almost like purchasing the foundation and brush and getting a bunch of other stuff free! Plus QVC now offers a new flat rate shipping on beauty of $30 so for $50 bucks you get a ton of delicious Tarte!
This is a thinner balm with a very, very light creamy consistency. It’s not balmy nor is it greasy, shiny, or oily. I think automatically when you think of a balm you might think mega hydrating but this isn’t a balm texture in that sense! It actually applies like a powder and sets to a matte satiny finish that feels very much like a powder. Tarte gives you a very large Bamboo Smoothing Balm Brush to apply it which has massive bristles. It’s a good buffing brush but a LITTLE too large for my liking so I felt like I didn’t have a ton of control when applying the balm. For me, it applied best with my fingers as I could smooth and blend it out easily. Although I personally have drier skin I didn’t feel like this clung to my drier areas! It had a very smooth, soft appearance once blended out and provided sheer, natural coverage that evened out my skin tone and brightened up my complexion very nicely. Tarte says coverage is buildable but personally I get more of a my skin but better finish with this so it’ll likely even out your skin tone, brighten, and possibly hide minor redness or darkness but isn’t an ideal pick if you desire or need medium or heavier coverage.
Tarte Amazonian Clay Smoothing Balm
Tarte Amazonian Clay Smoothing Balm Swatches (Light)
For me, cream compact foundations sound lovely in theory but they typically turn out to be very heavy and quite oily or greasy on my skin. They also feel very mask-like. I love the idea of them because I have drier skin but they end up not really working out for me. Tarte perfects the cream compact foundation formula with a super light formula that melds beautifully with skin and provides breathable, natural coverage.
The wear time varies for me on this little guy. If I’m inside I do well at around five hours of wear but outside, on a warmer day, (I wore it yesterday during a rather nice warm, sunny day) and it seems to be a bit shorter at four hours before showing signs of wear.
I like this formula a lot, was excited to try it out, and quite pleased at the outcome. If you’re looking lightweight, natural Summer coverage I’d suggest giving the Tarte Amazonian Clay Smoothing Balm a try!
You can grab Tarte Amazonian Clay Smoothing Balm now on QVC.com in the new Tarte Beauty in the Basics May QVC Today’s Special Value or wait for the debut on May 11th to see it live on QVC!