I received the Tarte Energy Skintuitive Cheek Stain at the same time as I received the Josie Maran Argan Infinity Duo – and I was just as skeptical about this as I was about them. In fact, I may have been moreso.
Rather than a cream formula, Tarte’s cheek stains are gel-based in a stick form. Tarte Energy Skintuitive Cheek Stain, specifically, is a translucent, colorless stick. Once you haphazardly smear it onto your face (well, your skin), a color develops.
You see, Tarte Energy Skintuitive Cheek Stain is kind of one of those, “slap it on and develops into a color that suits you,” type thing. Mood ring voodoo. Novel, yes, but not something I’m slapping on and wearing out without any idea of what I’m getting into. So of course, I swatched it:
Going on, it kind of feels like one of those clear sunscreen sticks…or what I imagine a glue stick feels like. But that’s what the color looks like on me. Not really my most flattering shade; cool tones aren’t my best bet for blush.
I wasn’t sure what the best way to apply it initially was. You aren’t just going to press it against your face and draw a stripe, after all. I tried the same approach as the Josie Maran Argan Infinity Duo – smear onto the back of my hand, pick up with a beautyblender, and pat on. That is not, I repeat: not an effective way to apply Tarte Energy Skintuitive Cheek Stain.
Rather than waste a ton of it, I looked it up. It seems like the popular method is to dot it on the apples of your cheeks and then blend where you want it.
If you’ve been reading a while, you know I prefer to use tools rather than fingers. On top of being more sanitary, you also get more consistent results; and if I’m rubbing a gel-based blush all over my cheeks with my fingers, the odds of smearing the foundation under it is pretty high. Broken-up foundation is not a good look for anyone. I flush easily, so I don’t bother with blush if I’m not wearing foundation, so this is unfortunately useless for me.
Product Celebrations:
- Sheer, pretty color. Probably hard to overdo in terms of opacity.
- Novel, “fun,” product. Might be good for youngsters who like to play with cosmetics.
Pain Points:
- Product, “format,” is not user-friendly. No one ever went, “You know, I really wish they made blush the same way they make glue sticks…”
- All-but-requiring finger application is a big nope for me. A brush won’t pick this up well, a beautyblender doesn’t, so that pretty much leaves fingers. Nope.
- What looks to be a nice, quick-fix, easy-to-use product, REALLY requires effort to blend.
- Novel and unique doesn’t always mean good or useful. The shade you end up with is not necessarily going to flatter you.
Tarte Energy Skintuitive Cheek Stain
Bottom Line?
Leave the, “mood,” and color-changing-depending-on-pH products for the lips – they work there, and are more fun there.
Have you tried any mood- or color-changing products? How did they work out for you?