Tarte Amazonian Clay Makeup- Waterproof/Meltproof for Summer!

Summertime is not my favorite, possibly because I am the sweatiest woman alive. This is not a good thing when I am actually expected to look presentable. My makeup skills are already sketchy but add in humidity and heat and you get something akin to Heath Ledger's Joker look in Batman. Not so pretty.

Then I heard about Tarte's summer offerings, which include quite a few waterproof options thanks to a proprietary blend of natural plant waxes. Their main component is Amazonian Clay, which is kind of nature's superstar since it reduces dryness and flakiness, removes surface oil and oil from inside and around clogged pores, improves skin's clarity, elasticity and texture and also removes dead skin layers, resulting in a general smoothing of the surface skin. And, of course, they won't smear all over your sweaty face.

NEW Summer 2011 waterproof products Amazonian clay waterproof eyeliner duo (March 2011 TSV: golden plum; May 27th: black, brown; July 2011: navy, turquoise; August 2011: bronze, plum, green) · retail price: $18, retail availability: QVC exclusive   Amazonian clay waterproof shadow pots (March 2011: beach bronze, moss,slate; April 2011: seashell pink; May 2011: shimmering plum) · retail price: $22, retail availability: QVC exclusive · emphasEYES™ Amazonian clay waterproof eyeliner pots (May 2011, updated components) · retail price: $22, retail availability: Sephora/Sephora.com,   Ulta/Ulta.com, QVC, beauty.com, tarte.com

I tried the Amazonian Clay Creamy Liner Pencil in brown, black and plum– they're the squiggly lines shown on the top row. The pigment is intense and the line lasts for a long time, so you could do crazy cat's eyes. The middle row is tarte Amazonian Clay Waterproof Cream Shadow in (l-r) moss, beach bronze, seashell pink, slate and shimmering plum. These come with pretty stinking nice brushes that make it easy for even the heaviest-handed makeup novice to use. Yes, even me! The last row is emphasEYES Amazonian clay waterproof liner in green, bronze, black, brown and plum. These come with a very nice double-ended brush that you can use to make a thin or thick line but are slightly trickier to use.

The color is rich and lasts all day, going on smooth and staying smooth without a primer. Even in sticky summer weather. Here's the evidence, my makeup after a particularly humid Final Friday gallery jaunt that earned me many blisters. The makeup is intact!

As further proof, here's the morning after. No, I didn't wash my makeup off before going to bed, mom…

I was impressed. I think you will be, too. I'm also lusting after the tarte for True Blood limited-edition cosmetics collection, which is probably less waterproof but then sweatiness kind of is a given for that show, isn't it?

In accordance to the FTC Guidelines and WOMMA Code of Ethics, I am disclosing that I received the items shown above to facilitate this review. All opinions are, as usual, strictly my own.