July 20, 2015

Tarte Glisten Cheek Stain Review & Swatches

This was provided to me by a brand for review and I receive a small commission if you shop using the links in this post but all opinions are my own.

Tarte Glisten Cheek Stain1

Tarte Glisten Cheek Stain ($30) is a new permanent shade of Tarte Cheek Stain that launched with the Tarte Fall 2015 Collection. Tarte did a few shade extensions to their permanent collection and Glisten in a new formula, as far as I’m concerned, is a welcome treat as I love Tarte Glisten Amazonian Blush. It’s one of my favorite shades!

Tarte Cheek Stain Glisten

Like NARS Orgasm, Tarte Glisten is the perfect golden peachy pink shade of blush! I love this color! Glisten was launched to the permanent Tarte Amazonian Blush range for Spring 2012 and it’s one of the few shades that contains a gorgeous luminous glow from the range.

Tarte Glisten Cheek Stain

Tarte Glisten Cheek Stain

Tarte Glisten Cheek Stain swatches

Tarte Glisten Cheek Stain Swatches

Imagine my delight when I heard they were doing a Tarte Cheek Stain in the same color! I was just so excited about this even though I’m not really a huge fan of the Cheek Stain formula (there a bit too dewy for me)!

Tarte Cheek Stain comes in a chunky twist up tube and can be gently dabbed on cheeks or you can swirl a brush into the top and blend onto cheeks. This is a gel formula with the texture of a cream that gives cheeks a natural flush of color. Glisten however, well, it isn’t really all about color. I felt the color was a little lacking here and it had more shimmer frostiness versus color. I was sooooo sad as I was kinda sorta hoping the shade would be like my beloved Sephora Double Contouring Cream Blush in Coral Flush. But sadly, where as that has plenty of pigment and a glow-y finish, Tarte Glisten Cheek Stain is more about chunky shimmer with a hint of color and not so much a glow-y finish but a frosty one!

Sniff!

If you have drier skin the shimmer does unfortunately accentuate those areas which leads me to believe it’ll like put a spotlight on larger pores as well!

I was hoping for this (wearing Sephora Double Contouring Cream Blush in Coral Flush below):

Marc Jacobs Understudy Lip Gel

But what I got was this:

Tarte Glisten Cheek Stain fotd

You might be able to use this over a cheek stain or another cream blush to add luminoisity but if you’re heavy handed go easy because as I said there’s a lot of frosty shimmer here even more than what we’ve seen in the Tarte True Blood Cheek Stain.

Glisten is a shade that has endless possibilities! It’s the perfect luminous golden peach but unfortunately the shade just didn’t translate well in the Cheek Stain formula for me! There’s a whole lot of shimmer here that ruins the color.

I’m not giving up on it though!

Back to the blending board.

Tarte Glisten Cheek Stain is available now at Sephora and Sephora.com.

This was provided to me by a brand for review and I receive a small commission if you shop using the links in this post but all opinions are my own.

About the Muse

Isabella MuseIsabella is just an average everyday geeky girl who doesn’t blend her eyeshadow correctly, wears too much blush, and hopes she never finds her holy grail products because she likes the thrill of the chase so much. Her mission is to bring you super honest reviews on makeup, skincare, fragrance and all things beauty. She’s in no way an expert on the topic and she sure as hell isn’t a super model. But she’s passionate about makeup and is seeking like-minded individuals that like pina coladas, getting caught in the rain, and ones that enjoy spending hundreds of dollars at Sephora without feeling buyer’s remorse. If you’re that person feel free to reach out and leave a comment or follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Bloglovin‘.

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Comments

  • Joan

    That Sephora Double Contouring Cream Blush in Coral Flush is beeeeautiful on you.

  • Melissa

    The swatch looks like a pretty color. Wasn’t there a new lip color like this that just came out also?

  • devon

    don’t give up, muse! would make a beautiful highlighter or shimmer topper to any other blush :]

  • Michelle Flamingo

    wow, you look so great in the top photo, wearing Sephora Double Contouring Cream Blush in Coral Flush. I love natural looking makeup.

  • Cass

    My thoughts exactly! I just got it today, and you do get far more large shimmer than color. I’ll be using it as a luminizer I suppose! I typically love tarte’s cheek stain colors.

    That sephora blush looks fabulous on you!

    • Isabella Muse

      Glad I’m not alone. It had potential to be gorgeous but it’s not much color, just a lot of frosty shimmer! It def will might a nicer highlighter than a blush! Aw Thanks Cass!

  • Charmaine

    I totally agree with you, though they both look absolutely fab on you, Sephora is definitely the better of the two. I miss Sephora! There’s pretty much nothing out here on this rock in the middle of the ocean, ugh! Lol
    Hugs