Review & Swatches: Tarte Amazon Escape Amazonian Clay Eye & Cheek Palette

Hey Tarte fans! I’m still getting through Tarte’s fall releases for 2012, and this palette is a Sephora-exclusive set for release a little later this month. From my understanding, the Amazon Escape palette is the first multi-product palette from Tarte that features the Amazonian Clay 12 Hour Blush formula inside. One of the things I really like about Tarte, is that they consistently do neutral/natural looks very well—and this palette falls right into line with the natural-look concept, which will please those who prefer a simple approach to makeup.

Tarte Amazon Escape palette

See more photos, swatches, and details…

While the brand has always had well-constructed packaging that appeals to me, Amazon Escape feels like a bump up in the packaging department. It’s all about the details, with three different textures and gold-tone hardware. This palette is predominantly dressed in classic Tarte purple, with a synthetic snake-skin material that wraps around the front and back. It snaps pretty securely, but I often wonder about these types of closures. I typically don’t use them frequently enough to notice any wear and tear on the clasp, but I’m curious if this closure will weaken with prolonged use.

The Amazonian Clay Eyeshadow formula is new-ish, it’s the same that’s inside of their cute quads. This offering features six shadow shades. The nature of Amazonian clay as an ingredient helps balance the oil of the skin, and it really works in the for me in their 12 hour blush formula, so I can see why it would be pretty beneficial for those with oily lids. While I haven’t worn these enough to notice a major difference in wear time (in contrast to the original Tarte eyeshadows), this formula gets consistently great reviews across the board. I paired this with Tarte’s Clean Slate eyeshadow primer however, which kept the colors pretty vibrant. They’re smooth to the touch, blend well, and offer surprisingly good pigmentation in just one swipe.

If this palette is of no interest to you, and you don’t already own any of the Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blushes—do yourself a favor—get one! It is seriously one of the best wearing blush formulas I’ve owned in all my makeup-loving years. The pigments truly hold up and stay true, not to mention the shade selection is gorgeous. The Amazon Escape palette features one shimmering shade, and one satin shade; Free (bright shimmering coral) and Exposed (satin finish dusky-rose).

Row 1: Tame, Rope, Canopy
Row 2: Rare, Camo, Tribal

Free, Exposed

Swatches…

Top to bottom: Tribal, Camo, Rare, Canopy, Rope, Tame (Tame is really there, but my skin is too fair for it to show in all of its glory!)

Free, Exposed

Bottom Line…

I’m not very experienced with Tarte’s Amazonian Clay eyeshadow formula, so I honestly didn’t know what to expect. The only other shades that I’ve had in this formula were in a cute four-shade box which looks similar to those of the Benefit blushes. So if you’re looking to switch over to this shadow formula—that would be it! With that, I don’t really find that these are dramatically longer wearing than their original formula, but the clay-enriched formula should do a better job of controlling excessively oily eyelids, due to the nature of the ingredient. I’ve always been a fan of the Amazonian Clay 12 Hour Blush formula, and it really works for me—so the two included shades are the icing on the cake.