Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-hr Blush: A History and Complete List of All Shades

We all know that Tarte's 12-hour Amazonian Clay blushes are a "cult favorite" beauty product.

Most of us will have at least one of these blushes, some a handful, and some have 15+.



I love Tarte's blushes, and despite the fact that more than half the shades probably won't suit my skintone and coloring, I still want them... or at least I want to learn about them and keep them cataloged lovingly in my brain. (I now have 5 shades, woohoo!!!)

So, I was hoping to get some help from my other makeup lovers in making a complete list of all the shades, with possibly a photo of the blush in the pan, and the color description that Tarte gives it, and maybe what it was released with (if it isn't in a single.) What do you think?

I'll start it off with just a randomly put-together list of all the shade names I could find (46 shades total!):

Charisma (Aqualillies palette, single) (warm golden apricot)

Natural Beauty (shade changed in 2014 muted strawberry red>rosy red)

Frisky (shimmering bright coral)

Exposed (nude/nude pink)

Achiote (honeysuckle)

Tipsy (coral)

Blissful ( shimmering warm peach)

Peacful (soft nude peach)

Elevated (medium rose from the Be Mattenificent palette)

Glisten (shimmering peach pink)

Flush  (shade changed in 2014 deep berry> pinkish berry) 

Fearless  (coral pink) 

Dollface  (light pink) 

Amused  (light vibrant-blue pink) 

Adored  ( shimmering light pink) 

Blushing Bride (Shade changed in 2014 plummy rose>rosy pink with no shimmer)

Buff (shimmering nude)

Crave (pink peach)

Darling (nude melon)

Dazzled (soft rose)

True Love  (reddish pink/watermelon) 

Unleashed  (Rainforest After Dark palette- nude rose) 

Captivating  (warm peach) 

Empowered  (apricot pink) 

Wonder

Passion

Tickled

Angelic  (Fantastic Foursome- shimmering champagne) 

Fantastic  (     Fantastic Foursome- soft fuchsia)

Magic   (Fantastic Foursome- pink coral)  

Stellar   (Fantastic Foursome- shimmering nude)  

Memorable-

Thankful-   (golden pink)  

Imagined   (candy pink)  

Honored   (nude rose)  

Treasured   (melon pink)  

Meaningful   (rosy pink)  

Splendor   (peachy pink)  

Glory

Starlet

Free

Savvy

Spontaneous

Ambitious

Lighthearted

Adventurous

Am I missing any??

And now for some fun history, thanks to the Internet Archive Wayback Machine!

Tarte Cosmetics started building their website in 2001-2002, and the company was started by Mauren Kelly (CEO) in 1999 out of her apartment. Here's a fun quote from an interview with the CEO:

A month in, with an apartment overflowing with inventory, and her Amex bill due, Kelly contacted the buyer at her favorite store, Henri Bendel, and bluffed her way in, saying she had a commitment from Bergdorf Goodman. The lie landed her first order, for $15,700, and a week later she caught the attention of beauty writers at a breakfast hosted by the department store. The products landed on the beauty pages, yielding the kind of advertising money can’t buy and Tarte quickly gained entry into other stores (including Bergdorf Goodman).

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One of their most famous products were the cheek stains.





Tarte's original cheek stains, available from the early days (2001 (?) and to today).

In 2004, Tarte added pressed powder blushes to their cheek offerings (previously, only the well known tube stains were made), but they didn't come in the same compact and from the sound of it weren't the same formula as the ones we know today. They had 7 shades, three of which were called 'hottie', 'moxy' and 'verve'. The brand seemed very similar to Urban Decay when it was in its early days.



Tarte's original pressed powder blushes, available from 2004-2008 (I think).

CONTINUED BELOW (Sorry for the multiple posts, but it wouldn't let me make this all in one post due to the amount of photos.)

The blushes we know and love today weren't offered until 2011! (And it appears it might not have been until October, with the 2011 Holiday releases!)

Here's a blurb from the website on October 7, 2011:

For those who want an alternative blush to tarte's award-winning gel and cream cheek stains, we're now offering Amazonian clay 12-hour blush in 8 shades. Inspired by our best-selling cheek and lip stains, shades range from soft pink (dollface) to deep berry (flush). Used alone or with our best-selling natural cheek stains, this blush is sure to give you that natural glow.

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It's so hard for me to believe that these weren't on the market unil 2011! They gaind some serious momentum and acclaim fast!!!  The original shades offered were (images, names, and color descriptions from the 2011 Tarte Website, courtesy of Wayback Machine:

Flush: deep berry

Blushing Bride: plummy rose

Natural Beauty: Red

Dollface: Light Pink

Blissful: Warm Peack

Amused: Bright Pink

Tipsy: Coral

Exposed: Nude

They were $25 for 0.2 oz when they were first released.

(By the way, Exposed went out of stock FAST! Even at its inception it was a favorite!!!)

The average rating on the site was 4.8 stars, and 100% of reviewers said they would purchase again.

The same colors were offered on the Tarte website through September 2012.

It appears Tarte added a bunch of new colors in the Fall/Winter of 2013. They all seem to be quite shimmery, due to the popularity of Blushing Bride, no doubt. You will also notice a lot of them seem to be more wearable colors, in more nude shades.

Charisma: warm golden apricot

Peaceful: soft nude peach

Dazzled: soft rose

Adored: shimmering light pink

Glisten: shimmering peachy pink

Buff:  shimmering nude

Frisky: shimmering bright coral

(They also offered the same colors as previously, including Flush, Blushing Bride, Natural Beauty, Dollface, Blissful, Amused, Tipsy, and Exposed.)

In the Spring of 2013, Achiote was a newly offered shade:

Achiote: (No description of the color at that time, now described as a honeysuckle.)

The Spring 2014 Collection had a revamp. Some shades were changed (Flush, Blushing Bride, Natural Beauty) and there were some new shades added. Also, there were some packaging updates- insted of the embossed plastic design on the front of the compact, there was now a gold-emblemed logo.

Changed Shades of 2014:

OLD : NEW

: Flush (Definite change to light blue-toned pink)

: Blushing Bride (Definite change and no sparkle)

: Natural Beauty (Definite change to more pink)

More possible shade changes in 2014:

OLD : NEW

: Dollface (may just be due to the photo)

: Blissful (may just be due to the photo)

: Tipsy (may just be due to the photo)

: Exposed (may just be due to the photo)

New Shades for 2014:

Captivating: warm peach

Fearless: pink coral

True Love: watermelon

The shade Fearless also went through some shade changes- it was first released by QVC and looked like this (TOP) and then was released elsewhere and looked way brigther (BOTTOM):

    

It's possible that there are many more of these shade changes than we know of- some perceptible, some not. There are just so many shades, it's hard to follow!

Now for some special sets/holiday sets!!!

2011



Tarte Soft and Smokey with Wonder (bright peachy pink) blush. September 2011.



Tarte 8th Wonder of the World June 2011 edition. Tickled blush.



Tarte 8th Wonder of the World October 2011 edition. Passion blush.

2012

This one below is called the 'Starlet Limited Edition Makeup Vanity' which had some new blush colors.



R to L: park avenue princess mineral powder bronzer, Glory blush (shimmering peach), Starlet blush (shimmering rose), and provocateur Amazonian clay shimmering powder in rose (a gorgeous soft petal pink).



Tarte Fantastic Foursome (Angelic- shimmering champagne, Fantastic- soft fuchsia, Magic- pink coral, Stellar -shimmering nude). Holiday 2012.



Tarte Carried Away with Adventurous blush (shimmering rose.) Holiday 2012.



Sephora Favorites 2012: In the Glow Tarte blush in 'Splendor'.

2013 Special/Holiday Sets



Amazonian Escape blush colors from R to L: Free, Exposed

In the Summer of 2013, Tarte did a collaboration with the Aqualilies and their Charisma blush was released with their eye, face, and cheek palette.



Blush shade: Charisma

Moving from Summer to Fall, we have some ( AKA A LOTTTT of) 2013 holiday sets!!



Thoughtful Treasures with new shade: Thankful (golden pink)



Leave Her Blushing Set top to bottom: Imagined (candy pink), Honored (nude rose), Treasured (melon pink). 0.05 oz.

Tarte Gorgeous Getaways (Savvy, Spontaneous, Ambitious, Lighthearted blushes). Holiday 2013.



Tarte Off the Cuff (Crave, Dazzled, Darling, Dollface, Park Ave. Princess) Holiday 2013.



Tarte Royal Flush Treasured, Honored, Imamgined, Meaningful. Holiday 2013, QVC.



The Tarte of Giving with Memorable blush (mix of soft plum, mauve, and pink). Holiday 2013.

2014 Special Sets/Palettes:

Be Mattenificent



Be Mattenificent Elevated blush.



Rainforest After Dark: Unleashed blush

2014 Holiday Sets are not yet revealed, but I'm super excited about any new blush colors they may release!!!

Did I miss any shades? I count a total of 46 released shades.

If anyone wants to add anything, swatches, info, etc.... anything, please do! I want to learn more about these awesome blushes!!!

I also have a feeling a lot of these are very similar to other shades, so it's probably not imperative to own all of them, nor would I be able to afford it!

Wow, this topic would be perfect to be put into the brand new MUT Product Review Center that we are about to launch.

OOPS Cat's out of the bag B)

Sounds like a fun new area! Will it be for product reviews, or brand overviews? Or maybe both!!

Ok, I was hoping to generate some discussion, anyone want to squee over Tarte blushes with me?

Which ones do you have?

I have 5- blushing bride (old, sparkly version) , flush (new pink version), glisten, adored, and elevated in my Be Mattenificent palette. My least favorite is the elevated because it's pressed so hard that it's difficult to get on the brush and isn't as buttery as the single pans. Also, I think maybe blushing bride is one I don't reach for very often because it's really dark, but maybe that'll change in the fall and winter.

Right now my favorite is glisten.

@@eastofthesun  Wow! I loved looking at all the blush photos.  Here's a list of my current Tarte blushes that I own:

Treasured - in the small size (not full size) 

Magic - also small size (Interesting note:  Magic says 0.10 oz & Treasured says 0.053 oz - I always assumed these were the same size. Weird.)

Unleashed - in the Rainforest after Dark palette - I haven't used this yet.  For some reason I have decided to save it for fall. 

Energy -  this is the mini cheek stain 

I tried Dollface on a sample card from Sephora & really liked it too.  I think I would buy Dollface next, but I am a total sucker for sets and will probably just wait for the seasonal sets to come out later this year.  

Glisten looks really pretty too.  Wouldn't it be great to just have them all!

Also, there is the Cheek Stain Collector's Vault:





I personally don't like the stains as much, but I don't hate them either.  I do think the packaging with the drawers on the cheek stain vault is so cute!

WOW what an amazing thread! I admitt I don't hold any of these blushes, but after this thread....  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

I've loved and used Tarte' products when they were not well known at all.The staying power was always there. /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

I recently picked up an amazing Tarte' special edition set from Sephora. Sephora.com does many LE sets which may ( not sure) have some special shades and combos. I have a few eye shadow quads that have shades I haven't seen here.. my favorite is a very bold and summery quad with teal, gold, bronze, and an ivory.. Also, Sephora.com distributes tons of Tarte' Amazonian Clay bronzer/ liquid bronzer products.

My favorite Amazonian Clay compact blush with the peacock is the new Flush-- although mine is definitely more orchid toned than it appears in photos. It looks great with true violet- colored contact lens. 

I only have one Amazonian blush so far, in blissful. I got it in a swap, and I like it, but I don't love it - I think a lot of the other shades, especially the shimmery ones, appeal to me more. I'll probably buy some other shades in the future, but I'm trying to slow my makeup accumulation right now.

I'm sad that blushing bride was changed. I really liked how the old one looked.

LuckyMoon said:

@@eastofthesun  Wow! I loved looking at all the blush photos.  Here's a list of my current Tarte blushes that I own:

Treasured - in the small size (not full size) 

Magic - also small size (Interesting note:  Magic says 0.10 oz & Treasured says 0.053 oz - I always assumed these were the same size. Weird.)

Unleashed - in the Rainforest after Dark palette - I haven't used this yet.  For some reason I have decided to save it for fall. 

Energy -  this is the mini cheek stain 

I tried Dollface on a sample card from Sephora & really liked it too.  I think I would buy Dollface next, but I am a total sucker for sets and will probably just wait for the seasonal sets to come out later this year.  

Glisten looks really pretty too.  Wouldn't it be great to just have them all!

Also, there is the Cheek Stain Collector's Vault:

I personally don't like the stains as much, but I don't hate them either.  I do think the packaging with the drawers on the cheek stain vault is so cute!

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I love the design of the cheek stain vault, it makes me want them all, but I'm just not good at applying them. I feel like they look bad when I test them out. Heh.

That *is* really weird about the size difference in the Tarte minis. I really want 'honored' and 'splendor' but I think it would be really difficult to get them. I just hope Tarte comes out with an awesome holiday set of blushes.

Let me know what you think of 'unleashed'! I think it's very pretty-looking in pan. Is it matte or shimmery?

Best Beauty Shops said:

WOW what an amazing thread! I admitt I don't hold any of these blushes, but after this thread....  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

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Hehe, yeah, I didn't own any until.... earlier this year and I really love them!

GirlyGirlie said:

I've loved and used Tarte' products when they were not well known at all.The staying power was always there. /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

I recently picked up an amazing Tarte' special edition set from Sephora. Sephora.com does many LE sets which may ( not sure) have some special shades and combos. I have a few eye shadow quads that have shades I haven't seen here.. my favorite is a very bold and summery quad with teal, gold, bronze, and an ivory.. Also, Sephora.com distributes tons of Tarte' Amazonian Clay bronzer/ liquid bronzer products.

My favorite Amazonian Clay compact blush with the peacock is the new Flush-- although mine is definitely more orchid toned than it appears in photos. It looks great with true violet- colored contact lens. 

Click to expand...

I agree- the staying power of these blushes  is amazing!

kyxli said:

I only have one Amazonian blush so far, in blissful. I got it in a swap, and I like it, but I don't love it - I think a lot of the other shades, especially the shimmery ones, appeal to me more. I'll probably buy some other shades in the future, but I'm trying to slow my makeup accumulation right now.

I'm sad that blushing bride was changed. I really liked how the old one looked.

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I got my blushing bride on ebay- I checked to make sure it was the original version. Yeah, it's sad about the changes... kind of weird that they didn't mention it or give it a different name or something. What if someone buys it after seeing it on a blog, then BAM it's the total wrong color?

I bet you'd like glisten- it's like a shimmery, prettier version of Blissful. I think I like the shimmery ones better too. That surprised me, because I have never used a shimmery blush before and I thought it would make me look like a disco ball, but it's soooo pretty!

Hey guys! Time for an update!!!

We have a lot of shades to cover from the holidays as well as a new permanent shade for 2015, to celebrate Tarte's 15 year anniversary!!

Also, I believe Buff, Frisky, and Adored are being discontinued as they were on clearance at Sephora and on Tarte.com. I can't confirm this, and Frisky is back on the Tarte website at full price, so it could be that they just wanted to get rid of some of Frisky?

Ok let's get into this! Tarte's holiday theme in 2014 was 'Sweet Dreams'.



Tarte's deluxe set of blushes

Chic to Cheek Deluxe Amazonian Clay Blush Set ($35.00)

• Amour candy pink
• Classic soft apricot pink
• Prim plum nude
• Daydream rosy pink

Pin-Up Girl 2014 Holiday Blush palette

These brand new shades include: breathless (pinky beige), embraced (plummy rose), whimsy (light pink), bashful (rosy peach) and irreplaceable (mauve rose).



Away Oui Go Holiday 2014 palette

Irresistible (soft melon),

Envisioned (sheer coral),

Limitless (peach rose),

Intrigue (rose petal)

And finally, the new permanent shade for 2015 is Called 'Celebrated' and it comes in a box with 'Tartlette' written on it, which is the cute name Tarte gives to its fans. Tarte's description of the shade is quoted below. It's described as a warm, pink nude.



Celebrated

Product Performance: 15 years later – you never looked so good! To honor the natural beauty of tartelettes everywhere, tarte is introducing the newest shade to join its best-selling, long-wearing powder blushes – a gorgeously warm pink nude called “celebrated.” This nutrient-rich blush utilizes tarte’s iconic Amazonian clay-infused formula to balance and replenish the skin for up to 12 hours of fade-free, flawless wear. Perfectly packaged in a collector’s edition confetti compact and box just in time for tarte’s 15th birthday, this perfect every day shade will stick around long after the birthday celebrations are over!

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Let me know if I've missed any!

Thanks!