Tarte Amazonian Clay Full Coverage Powder Foundation review, swatches, FOTD

Full coverage matte loose powder foundation for oily skin.

Since my face produces enough oil to make me a prime target for greedy, aspiring oil barons, I prefer powder foundation over liquid, especially when my acne is relatively subdued. First of all, powder foundation is quicker in the mornings; no need to bother with setting powder. Secondly, touch-ups are going to be powder anyway, so might as well avoid the liquid part to begin with. Finally, powder masks oil better than liquid on my face and keeps me matte for longer. This way, I can avoid being identified - and therefore, apprehended/exterminated/abducted - by bounty-hunters appointed by said oil barons and oil-mad governments.
Full coverage, airbrush and powder/matte finish are magic words to me, so I just had to get the Tarte Amazonian Clay Full Coverage Airbrush Powder Foundation, which promised a flawless, wrinkle-free and lasting finish.

Check out my review, swatches and results with the Tarte Amazonian Clay Full Coverage Airbrush Powder Foundation.

Packaging of the Tarte Amazonian Clay Full Coverage Airbrush Powder Foundation

The Tarte Amazonian Clay Full Coverage Airbrush Powder Foundation comes in a round 7gm pot. I love the faux wooden finish of the lid. Inside, you have a round mesh sifter which keeps the powder in place. Don't you hate loose powder in pots without a sifter, where the powder goes everywhere?

Formula and pigmentation of the Tarte Amazonian Clay Full Coverage Airbrush Powder Foundation

This foundation contains Amazonian clay, tourmaline, pearl powder, camellia leaf extract and mineral pigments. It is paraben-free. The powder is silky and well pigmented. The last thing you expect from loose powder is full coverage and staying power; this foundation does both. At first, I thought the swatches looked shimmery, but it is matte on my face.
The powder does a great job with most of my acne pigmentation and scars but does not hide my gazillion pores. Staying power is about four hours for me, and then I need to touch up. It does not settle in fine lines, but during the day, once my T-zone becomes oily, it does get into my pores. A little goes a long way, so a jar should last for a good while.
I don't think this will work too well on dry skin, considering how matte the powder appears.

Application of the Tarte Amazonian Clay Full Coverage Airbrush Powder Foundation

While I swear by the Original Beautyblender for both powder and liquid foundations, this is the first loose powder foundation I tried and the SA recommended the Tarte Airbuki Bamboo Powder Foundation Brush along with this.

Having tried other buffing brushes, I find that the Tarte Airbuki is the best way of applying this foundation. One touch to the sifter will pick up enough to cover half the face - the quantity shown below.

The powder is easy to buff in and blend, but it can be a tad time-consuming to get even coverage all over the face. I am just too used to a few bounces with the Beautyblender.
The brush does not work well with liquid foundations. I'm keeping it exclusively for the Tarte powders.

Shades and swatches of the Tarte Amazonian Clay Full Coverage Airbrush Powder Foundation

I was first matched to Medium Neutral, which is described as "medium skin with yellow and pink undertones". I wasn't too happy with that after a couple of uses - I thought it was too light and too pink, so I got matched to Medium Tan Sand, which is "medium to tan skin with yellow undertones". The latter is incredibly yellow. Think mustard-face.
These were the only two that suited my skintone; everything else was too dark or too pale. I would have loved something with this intensity but with neutral undertones. 

Here are the swatches. In direct sunlight first, followed by natural light. No primer; swatched with fingers.  The swatch on top is Medium Tan Sand while the one below is Medium Neutral. On my arm, I prefer Medium Neutral.

Here they are, blended.

Full-face results with the Tarte Amazonian Clay Full Coverage Airbrush Powder Foundation

My skin has the weird habit of turning yellow when Auntie Flo visits. I have seriously yellow undertones anyway but it becomes super-pronounced during that time. Virulent mustard yellow. So the whole point of foundation is to counter this effect and I try to apply something a tad pinkish at the time.
Medium Tan Sand appears even yellower on my skin. When I wear it, my friends think it is that time of the month. Does this foundation contain bilirubin or something that makes me look jaundiced? It is more yellow than my yellow undertones. If I wore this foundation at that time of the month, I bet my face could create traffic problems. While Medium Neutral is more pink-toned.

Here are full-face photos, both in natural light, in the same location with the same background and time of the day. So it wasn't the lighting's fault.
I am wearing Medium Tan Sand in the first photo (to the left) and Medium Neutral in the second photo. Both are full-coverage - ignore the oiliness beginning to seep through on the nose - and have been applied over Porefessional primer, without blush/bronzer/setting powder/finishing spray.

I am wearing Jane from the NARS Audacious lipsticks, reviewed here, and Nectar and Cool Gray from the Lorac Pro 2 palette to go with the mustard effect, in the first photo. Any yellower and they'll quarantine me for jaundice.
In the second photo, I've opted for Charcoal and Cool Gray from Lorac pro 2 and Rimmel Provocalips in I'll Call You. This, on the other hand, looks "powdered", if you get my drift.
Yes, I have tried mixing both shades and the result isn't pretty.

Verdict

This foundation gives full coverage, mattifies oily skin, hides my acne marks, has reasonably good staying power and blends well with the Airbuki brush, BUT be very careful about finding an exact shade match.
I've struggled despite the variety, and I'm usually easy to match. A number of shades in this range have evident yellow or pink undertones. I wanted something neutral for my skin but did not find one.
Also, I do not get airbrushed finish, as I do with, say, Shiseido Sheer Mattifying Powder Foundation. But I have a feeling that is because I apply other foundations with a damp Beautyblender. This foundation comes in 16 shades - check them out here.

Which is the better match for me, Medium Tan Sand or Medium Neutral? What are your thoughts? Which foundation looks better on me? Tell me in the Disqus comments widget below.  

 

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This post is my submission to the Best of Beauty link-ups for this week.

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