Tarte emphasEYES Waterproof Amazonian Clay Cream Eyeshadow & Brush

There are days when I can barely contain my excitement. The day these four Tarte emphasEYES Waterproof Amazonian Clay Cream Eyeshadow & Brushes ($22.80) arrived was one of them. They are only available at QVC, but I received mine from Tarte. I am one lucky lady! Perhaps my love for cream shadows - and Tarte - has become legendary. These are among the best cream shadows I'm wearing. They are every bit as exciting as some of the makeup that's been getting all the attention in the last two weeks.

I've been using these rave-worthy shimmering treats on my eyes for a couple of weeks. The five shades were launched over a two-month period. I didn't understand how they escaped my notice at Tarte and Sephora until I discovered they were exclusive to QVC. Note to self: Read e-mails.

We'll have to chat with QVC because the little swatch photos do not do these beauties justice. They look dark and a little imposing. You have to click on the little square shade representations to flip the large photo to one that shows the colors in the pot in a more flattering light. Look at Seashell Pink. It looks brown in the little square at this link. Click on it, and you see the "real-life" look at right.

Each of the four colors I've been wearing is an everyday delight. I got a pretty decent full-sun photo of the shades before I dug into them. They are shown with Slate at top left, Moss at top right, Beach Bronze at bottom right, and Seashell Pink at lower left. Every one of these shades falls into my "love zone." They have exquisite shimmering color without being too conspicuous. I couldn't be happier with them!

For my arm photos, all taken in full sun, I used Tarte's fabulous cream shadow brush - the one that accompanies each emphasEYES Waterproof Amazonian Clay Cream Eyeshadow - and swatched in this order, top to bottom: Seashell Pink, Slate, Moss, and Beach Bronze. I applied them heavily so that I would get adequate colors for the photos. On my lids. I apply them with less oomph.

Seashell Pink has a tiny blue hue in it. It's a complex shade. Slate is hard for me to describe. Despite its name, which implies a blue-grey shade, I think it's a gorgeous taupe. Moss is moss green (or khaki), one of my favorite shades for eye shadow or clothing. Beach Bronze is bronze and beautiful.

These pigmented shadows stay put forever. Naturally, they sport some of Tarte's good-for-you signature ingredients. Micronized Amazonian clay intensifies the color pigments, while working to nourish skin, reduce surface oil, and improve overall texture for a beautiful application. Thanks to a botanical blend of natural plant waxes, the shadow glides on smoothly and forms an impermeable layer that protects against sweat, tears, and creasing for hours of wear time (up to 18 for me). I love their non-creasing quality. The colors do not migrate into the crease, as some well-regarded creams do.

Not only is this cream shadow super long-wearing, it works to infuse our delicate eyelids with Amazonian clay, aloe leaf extract, beeswax, and vitamins A and E. Because they are Tarte, the shadows are formulated without parabens, sodium laurel sulfate, mineral oil, petrolatum, synthetic fragrance, or phthalates.

Tarte has a special event coming up at QVC. On July 2, in four time periods (Midnight-1:00 am, Noon-1:00 pm, 5:00-6:00 pm, and 9:00 to 10:00 pm ET, there will be features on Tarte's high-performance naturals. With all of those times available Saturday, you should be able to tune in, if not on your television, then online as I do.

In the meantime, pop over to QVC to see these fabulous cream shadows. If you buy more than one, which I would find easy to do, you get a $3.00 discount on each additional shade - and save on shipping and handling. Wish you could tell them Best Things in Beauty sent you!

Photos at top courtesy of QVC; other photos by Best Things in Beauty