Tarte Amazonian Clay Waterproof Cream Eye Shadow In Plum Smoke--Review, Swatches, Pictures

Tarte has been touting its Amazonian Clay line for quite some time now. Every few months, a new product is introduced to the line; thus far, they've launched foundation, tinted moisturizer, concealer, eye liner, and now eye shadow. The benefits of the "skintuitive" Amazonian Clay include soothing properties and the ability to adjust to any skin type, be it oily, combination, or dry. In the Waterproof Cream Eye Shadow, the clay supposedly intensifies the color pigments, nourishes the skin of the eyelids, reduces surface oil and improves texture. Pretty lofty claims, yes?  

I decided to try the new Amazonian Waterproof Cream Eye Shadows for pretty much the same reason I try all the makeup I have--it's a beautiful collection. As a matter of fact, I had to really restrain myself to keep from buying the entire exclusive collection at Ulta. However, in light of my recent promise to at least attempt to pare down, I chose the one color I didn't have in some other line or formulation, which was Plum Smoke. 

Plum Smoke is a muted shimmery purple. Only it isn't really purple. It's certainly not as purple as the photo swatches on the Ulta site would lead you to believe. In the pictures, Plum Smoke appears to be more of a fairly bright violet, whereas when I examine my Plum Smoke up close and in person, I'm almost reminded of taupe. It's as if taupe met plum and they married and had millions of baby sparkles. It's a gorgeous color that's suitable for all eye colors, particularly brown and green. 

Here's a shot taken outside in the sun, late in the day, with flash: 

Even from a bit of a distance, you can see the soft shimmer that runs throughout this lovely color. It's subtle enough for day, most certainly. However, it's enough to add plenty of depth and dimension. 

On my arm, you may be able to see where I get the taupey feel with this color: 

Somehow, it feels as if the undertone of this pretty purple/plum is a soft, shimmery, silvery taupe. It doesn't feel like silver outright...it's too soft for that, too understated. However, this is not your everyday plum, and as a result it's quite fun to play with. 

As for performance, it's better than average, but not extraordinary. I found that I had far, far fewer problems blending this cream shadow than I normally do (I'm pretty inept with creams). It applied smoothly and blended easily. However, as you can see in the photo below, after 10 hours I did have some minor creasing. To be fair, I didn't use a true shadow primer because I was testing the longevity of the product. Instead, I applied Plum Smoke over MUFE Aqua Cream #13, which I always use without primer and which has never creased on me. And frankly, given the claims about that clay absorbing oil, I was surprised to have any creasing at all. My lids have never been oily, so I was actually expecting the shadow to dry my lids, not crease. 

The good news is that, with a simple and quick swipe of my eye shadow brush, the creasing blended effortlessly back to the way it looked at the beginning of the day and remained flawless for the next 4 hours. It also stayed color-true all day with no fading. 

Bottom Line: I'm going to continue playing with this one to see if I can eliminate the creasing issue. I'm fairly certain a good primer will solve the problem. If it does, I'm going back for the Slate and the Shimmery Bronze. 

Be aware that different outlets are offering different shades from this line. Plum Smoke is currently an Ulta exclusive. There are different shades available at the Tarte website.