Is this the forth post in a row where I’m reviewing blush? Yes it is. And more will be coming. Addictions aside, my review of Tarte’s 2021 holiday blush set has been one of my most viewed posts, which tells me people are still very much interested in this formula. The Precious Gems cheek palette is last holiday’s palette and it is still available and currently on sale, so a review feels very apropos.
There are five blushes and one bronzer in this palette:
- polished – a matte, rusty peach
- refined – a bright, warm, mid tone pink (also matte)
- facet – a bright, midtone matte berry
- gemstone – a light, peachy coral with shimmer (looks a lot more shimmery in the pan than it actually is)
- luxe – a matte, neutral, peachy beige
- park ave princess – a light, warm bronzer with a strong gold sheen
Similarly to last year’s edition, this blushes are soft and smooth, easy to blend and have buildable pigmentation. Just like last year, they are a bit powdery, but nothing too excessive – I’m getting the impression that Tarte is consistent across collections and limited editions when it comes to their Amazonian Clay blush line (I don’t hear the same about their eyeshadow formula though).
The bronzer performs very similarly to the blushes. It’s pigmented but buildable, and very easy to blend on the skin. There was no patchiness.
Lasting power was about the same for all the shades. The pigment was still going strong at the 9 hour mark (with no setting spray).
The one fault about this palette I’d like to point out is something that I’ve noticed last year too: there is not a lot of colour variation. On my skintone, after blending out, the shades Refined and Facet look the same, and Polished and Gemstone look pretty close too. I think we could have seen a wider variation of finishes, even if the shades stayed the same – because Gemstone is the only shimmery shade and that shimmer looks a lot less evident in the swatch or the cheek than it does in the pan. They are wearable, and I guess that’s why Tarte makes them this way, but in a palette of 5 shades you end up with just a pink, a peach and a peachy-beige.
The packaging is a reflective pink compact with a 3D triangule pattern on the lid, a big mirror in the inside, and decent pan sizes where you can easily fit a regular sized blush or bronzer brush.
Each pan has 1,5 grams of product, making this a total of 9 grams. Currently it’s on sale on Tarte’s website for less than the price of a discounted full sized Tarte Amazonian Clay blush, which contains 5,6 grams. The deal is there, particularly if you don’t have a lot of blushes or want to try this formula. And even though I don’t fit in any of those categories, I still don’t regret buying it. This is a solid product at a great price (even if not all that versatile).
