Tarte Cheek Stains

Oh Tarte.  You do create some of the most beautiful make-up, don’t you? Yet unlike a lot of other brands, Tarte products are not only beautiful to look at, they are fantastic at performing too!  Last year we FINALLY saw the arrival of Tarte in the UK at QVC, but only a select edit makes it across the water so there are still many, many Tarte products we have to admire from afar, such as these stunning cheek stains…but fear not, as there are ways around it!

I’m very fortunate to have in my possession three shades of the eight Tarte Cheek Stains.  The shades I have are Flush – a pinky berry shade; Fearless – a pinky coral shade and Tipsy – a light peach colour.  To apply you can either rub your fingers across the balm and tap it into your cheeks, or do what I do which is apply direct to the skin and rub it in.  It’s a sheer, buildable formula so you’d struggle to apply too much and as it blends down so well, it’s no biggy if you did somehow manage to over-apply.

Tarte Cheek Stains are solid, gel blushers that apply sheer and have an extremely glossy finish that is immensely flattering and natural.  Tarte are very good at creating products that enhance rather than cover, which is exemplified in these stains as they add a glowy warmth to skin and are especially handy for no make-up days for creating a quick and easy cheek flush.

It’s tricky to describe the texture and finish without physically showing you, but as a frame of reference, years ago the Bobbi Brown used to do a Sheer Colour Cheek Tint before replacing it with their current cream blushers and it was amazing and one of the few products I used right until the last smudge.  These are very much like those, although these deliver a slightly glossier finish.

I’ve said “glossy” a couple of times but don’t be afraid of the term as it’s more of a dewiness with a hit of sheer colour. Obviously if you want a glossy finish then these can be built-up to a high-shine finish which looks particular good over a tinted moisturiser with a quick slick of mascara and lip balm if you only want to put a couple of minutes into your make-up.

I will also say that these are phenomenal value for money as 0.5oz which will last you for ages; I’ve read a few posts from people who’ve said they’ve had theirs for years and never had to replace them (although, for hygiene reasons I’d recommend against that approach…) and I can see that being more than possible.  Read more about them on the Tarte site here – link.  Now on to availability: as I said at the beginning, these aren’t available in the UK yet, but they are available at Sephora who recently started delivering to the UK.  I know Sephora are a bit strange in their rules of what they will and will not send over to us, but fingers crossed Tarte Cheek Stains are good to go – you can find them here – link.  They’re $30 each which, at the time of writing, converts to £18.63.

*PR Samples