Review -- Tarte Amazonian Clay Eye & Cheek Palette

Recently, I've been reorganizing my makeup collection to try to make it a little neater and easier to access.

In the course of cleaning out drawers and moving items around, I realized that I had a couple of items that I received at the beginning of the year (at Christmas or for my birthday) that I never got around to reviewing. When I realized that both were still available, I figured better late than never since both products are kind of interesting.

The first is the Tarte Amazonian Clay Eye & Cheek Palette.

I'd put this on my Christmas list because I liked the idea of having eye shadow and blush in one convenient little palette for travel -- and I have actually taken this on a couple of trips with me since the holidays and it really is a space-saver.

Tarte Amazonian Clay Eye & Cheek Palette

 The palette contains two blushes: Free, a shimmery reddish pink; and Exposed, a matte rosy nude that is one of Tarte's most popular blushes.  (I already have a full size of Exposed, but I didn't mind having a second in the palette since it's more convenient for travel.)

Tarte Amazonian Clay Blushes in Free (l.) & Exposed (r.)

It also has six eye shadows: Tame, a shimmery ivory; Rope, a matte light taupe; Canopy, a shimmery chocolate brown; Rare, a matte peach; Camo, a shimmery golden green; and Tribal, a shimmery dark purple.

Tarte Eyeshadows: Tame (l.), Rope (middle) & Canopy (r.)

Tarte Eyeshadows: Rare (l.), Camo (middle), & Tribal (r.)

Both the blushes and shadows are nicely pigmented and have good lasting power.

I think the color combination is also quite effective -- you can create a natural day look with Free to brighten up the cheeks and Rope, Rare and Canopy on the eyes.  When you want a more glammed up look, Camo and Tribal are ideal for a smokey eye look, while Exposed offers a nice natural look on the cheeks that won't compete with a darker eye.

Tame is a somewhat sheer shade, but it makes an ideal brow bone and inner corner highlight any time of day.

And of course, I love Rare, a lovely peach shade that's perfect for the lid. 

The packaging is also worth mentioning. The outside is covered in woven purple faux leather, with a strip in the center that features a combination of interesting animal prints, and there's a small gold button to press that opens the palette. It resembles a clutch, and while it is fairly large, it would fit in most travel makeup bags, I think.

There's also a decent sized mirror on the inside, so it's perfect when you need to do your makeup on the go.

The palette retails for $44 on Tarte's website and at Ulta.

I wouldn't say this is a must-have item for everyone, but if you do your fair share of traveling and like Tarte, I think it's a really convenient item to have in your makeup bag. I'll be traveling to my cousin's wedding in October, and I think that this may be the only eye shadow and blush that I bring with me (provided I can come up with a look with these shades that works with my dress, of course.).

Have you tried the Tarte Amazonian Clay Eye & Cheek Palette?  What you're favorite palette for travel?