Tarte's Amazonian Clay Collection

Tarte's Amazonian Clay collection contains some of the most healthy cosmetics you could possibly put on your skin. The Amazon River winds over 4000 miles from the highlands of Ecuador and Brazil to its delta at the Atlantic Ocean; as it flows, it picks up plant material along the way. This plant material is deposited in the delta as rich clay material. The clay is collected by Tarte, dried, then milled to a very fine powder for use in Tarte's clay collection.

Among the products you'll find is the "Smooth Operator" Amazonian clay foundation. This water-based foundation in four shades will blend into your skin like a moisturizer, and the clay acts to diffuse the appearance of pores and fine lines. Because of the clay and Tarte's proprietary 15 super-fruit anti-oxidant and nourishing complex, this not only makes your skin look good, it actually makes it healthier, too.

The Amazonian Clay Waterproof Brow Mousse is another new product. Available in three shades, and coming with the perfect brush to use it, it was developed to slide onto your brows for a natural look, and to balance your skin, whether it's dry or oily. It will keep your brows in place and looking lovely regardless of weather or stress.

The waterproof cream eyeshadow in the Amazonian Clay line come in individual pots with an applicator brush, or in duos or trios. There are currently four natural shades available. This goes on like silk and thanks to plant proteins, it stays put for hours without creasing like some cream shadows. The neutral colors are perfect for any skin tone. There is also a clay eyeshadow base (the packaging makes it look like a lip gloss, but it's not) to balance out oily or dry skin and keep your shadow where you put it.

Finish off your eye look with Tarte's Amazonian Clay Waterproof Pot eyeliner with brush. It is available in 6 shades, including basic black as well as some "jewels of the Amazon." Like all the Amazonian clay products, it nourishes your skin, even the fragile skin of your eyelids. It also goes on in a defined line which you can easily smudge for a night time look.

Tarte's Amazonian Clay long-wear cheek tint (with brush) now comes in three shades so you can find one to suit your skin tone and your color preference. It comes with a brush, but feel free to use your fingers to apply this healthy treat of color to your cheeks. It's a cheek stain, so will stay put all day.

You can find this healthy make-up at Tarte counters in fine department stores, at the Tarte website ( www.tarte.com), at Sephora stores or Sephora on-line, some Ulta stores, and QVC. Prices range from $22 to $36 per product.

(Sources: http://tartecosmetics.com/amazonian-clay.php , www.qvc.com , Tarte High Performance Naturals booklet by Maureen Kelly, Tarte founder and CEO, from QVC)