Splurge! Tarte Amazonian Clay Waterproof Cream Eyeshadow Review, Swatches vs. Maybelline Color Tattoo.

This weekend, after it stopped raining, I was dying to get out of the house, so the hubby and I decided to take a ride down Greenwich, Connecticut.  It's beautiful there, and it's a great place to window shop- lots of fancy, posh boutiques and stores you'd normally see on fifth avenue in NYC, but in a pretty New England setting. While there, I decided to stop in to Sephora on Greenwich Ave. and see what's new.  Since I'm a girl on a budget, I don't get to shop there as often as I'd like, but hey, a girl's gotta splurge once in a while!
This time, I ended up making a purchase from one of my favorite brands, Tarte.  It was so hard to choose, but I decided on one of their Amazonian Clay Cream Eyeshadows.  I've been borderline obsessed with Maybelline's Color Tattoo cream shadows, and I guess I was curious to see how the more expensive brands stacked up.
Besides, Color Tattoo has only a few wearable shades that I would consider wearing every day, while all of Tarte's shades were soft and wearable.
Here are the shades:
Top Row right to left- Shimmering Bronze & Slate
Bottom Row right to left- Shimmering Moss, Plum Smoke, & Seashell Pink

According to Tarte's website, these shadows are:

Powered by skin-smart Amazonian clay, micronized Amazonian clay intensifies color pigments while working double-duty as a primer, which binds the pigment to the skin so it won't slide off midday. Thanks to a botanical blend of natural plant waxes, the shadows glide on smooth and form a budge-proof layer that protects against sweat, tears, and creasing for hours of wear time. Not only is it super long-wearing, but it covers delicate eyelids with Amazonian clay, carnauba wax, mineral pigments, and vitamins A and E.

They also have:

skinvigorating™ benefits
			formulated without mineral oil formulated without paraben formulated without phthalates cruelty free formulated without sodium lauryl sulfate

I ended up purchasing the Slate shade, which is a bit lighter than Maybelline Color Tattoo's Tough as Taupe (one of my favorites, tied with Bad to the Bronze). I wanted all the shades, but at $19 a pop, it would have cost me $100 (yikes!).  It comes in a really big box, but it basically sits on top of a cardboard pedestal inside, so the bottom half of the box is empty.

The formula itself is very smooth and creamy, and it goes on silky.  I was worried about this when I first applied it, because I was positive it would rub off easily.  Maybelline's Color Tattoo has a thick, tacky texture which really holds in in place, but the Tarte version felt like others I've tried in the past that didn't last long.  

Ok, so I was totally wrong!  By the end of the night, it looked just like it did when I put it on- no creasing or fading whatsoever. 

Here's a swatch of the slate color on my arm:

It's grayish brown, which makes it such a versatile shade.  One thing I noticed is that this goes on a little sheerer than Color Tattoo, but the color can build really easily, and the smooth application makes it easy to apply. 

Here's the swatch next to Color Tattoo's Tough as Taupe:

My only complaint about Tarte's shadow is the packaging.  The jar is deep with a narrow opening that makes it hard to get a lot of product on my finger.  I like Maybelline's packaging better because it's a shallow jar with a wide opening.  Here are the two side by side:

While I'm not in a position to pay $19 for an eyeshadow all the time, they do exactly what they promise, and come in shades you can't find at the drugstore. I'll definitely be buying more when it's in the budget!

If you'd like to splurge and try one (or two or three!), Tarte is having a 30% off friends and family until August 6th.  Use code FFAUG at checkout at www.tartecosmetics.com.