Tarte lights, camera, lashes™ 4-in-1 mascara Review

Tarte is the only beauty brand I follow on Instagram. Well, the only big one anyway. I’m not sure why. I don’t remember why I followed them, but after seeing post after post I decided to check their website, and I came across the most beautiful tube – it was holographic!! Inside housed mascara. Unfortunately I wasn’t willing to pay $38 dollars for it, so I settled for a kit and got a mini of it instead in the regular packaging.

For something called ‘Lights, Camera, Lashes’ I honestly thought the packaging would be more… extravagant? That’s why I was so drawn to the shiny holo one, but this is their regular packaging so it must work for them. The tube is a very dark purple, almost black. In gold writing is the name and brand. The tube is textured, I guess it’s supposed to look like reptile skin – I haven’t looked much into it. It also has an outer ‘shell’, I guess you’d call it, that does nothing but hinder the tube from sitting up straight. It’s almost like the tube was wrapped in plastic and then they applied heat causing the plastic to shrink, then just cut a few mm around the edge.

Thankfully this mascara is a normal twist tube and the wand comes out with that satisfying suction noise. The mascara is black, I’m not entirely sure they have other colors available. The brush is quite thick, I think it’s the thickest brush in their mascara range. It’s got lots of bristles which is right up my alley as I quite enjoy the thicker wands as I’m less likely to poke my eyes out, and that’s true for this brush as I’m yet to stab myself!

The formula is I think what I like most. It’s not overly wet, and it’s not Sahara desert dry. It’s the perfect in between, like it’s been dried out for you. And everyone knows mascaras work better a few months later when they’ve had time to ‘air’ out. This one, you don’t have to wait for. It’s perfect already. One coat takes less than 5 minutes to dry, which is excellent. I can usually get a second or third coat on very easily. One coat is enough to make your lashes there but I think two coats is always best.

This mascara claims to be a 4 in 1 – and I think that’s to add curl, volumize, condition and lengthen. I could be wrong, but that’s four things listed on their site so I guess that’s it. The amount of curl you get is basically what you get with any mascara – it doesn’t magically pull out an eyelash curler and set to work before you apply. It’s just normal, I guess. It does volumize, but again, what mascara doesn’t? My lashes do look a wee bit thicker, but not so thick that they stick to their neighbour and become 4 large prongs. It also adds a bit of length, but I think that’s down to the fact that it’s being lifted slightly upwards, as well as giving off the appearance of being thicker. And as for conditioning, well this I think it does well – my lashes do look to be in really good condition and they feel softer too.

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I got this mascara as a reward on a makeup brush website. I was pleasantly surprised at how great it was as a day to day mascara. I often struggle with transfer onto my eyelids as the day goes on, however had no issues with this. The only negative about this product is it’s availability....only being able to purchase online isn’t ideal

I love this mascara, it is great for separating your lashes and giving your eyes some volume and length. I love this on days when im not wearing much makeup. The brush is big and fluffy which i prefer.

This has to be my new favorite mascara to use. I received 2 deluxe sizes in the wee sets I purchased when they had their new year sale.

I'm always a little hesitant about using a new mascara because I struggle to find one that actually says it'll do what it advertises. When I use one I like it to give my lashes volume and won't go clumpy.

This is exactly what this does annnnd it gives the elusion I've curled my lashes when I in fact I haven't. They look longer and really dark which I love also. I'd love to say it doesn't go clumpy but if you are like me and add more than one layer you will find it goes a little clumpy (naturslly) watch do is use my old wands and brushes my lashes out and it takes the clumps straight off.

I'm coming to the end of my first deluxe sample and I know without a doubt I'll be buying the full size when I run out. Who wouldn't want amazing looking lashes with minimal effort??

Purchased the travel size as I was unsure if I would like it or not, but omg this mascara is so good! Makes your eyelashes look so long! Will definitely repurchase once I run out!

Love the formula of this mascara and it is the first time I have used a mascara to the bitter end. It is ideal for those who like the false lash look but don't have time to put false lashes on.

Recently received this as a gift as i'd heard such good things about it. First off I love the packaging!! and name. But with this mascara I always get it in my eye - every time I use it without fail. Its an okay mascara and works like a mascara should but It doesn't do much that a $5 essence mascara wouldn't do for a fraction of the price, Also dries out really quickly!

I don't currently have a lot of experience with mascaras, but what I like about this mascara is the formula isn't super wet and goopy. It's a drier formula that's easy to apply multiple coats. I also like that it comes in a travel size because I never use up a full sized mascara before I have to toss it. I like that it has conditioning ingredients in and that my lashes don't feel stiff and crunchy when I wear this. Now the brush is big for my tiny monolid eyes but not as big as some other brushes on the market. I don't get a lot of volume but then I have the sparsest, tiny stumpy lashes so even most volumizing and lengthening mascaras just add definition. Now as far as not flaking, smudging or transferring this transfers to my under eyes in less than a hour but then most mascaras do. Finally I like the packaging, the crocodile textured on the tube makes it easy to grip and twist plus it looks nice.

I own this mascara in a mini. It is a vegan formula, which claims to lengthen, curl, volumize and condition lashes.

The mascara comes in a solid plastic bottle which has a scaly texture. There is an indent at each end of the tube, on the bottle and the wand, which I think is supposed to make it look like a mermaid’s tail. The shade I have is black. The brush itself is quite bristly, which is not a shape I usually go for, but I was willing to give it a try.

After using this mascara for the past month or so, I have decided that I really, really like it. The formula is not too wet, so the mascara does not budge at all. After years of preferring rubber wands with prongs, I have found the bristly wand of this mascara to be very effective. It fans out my lashes beautifully, with hardly any clumping, and it is easy to coat and separate my lashes. As for the four claims: lashes do look longer as the mascara allows you to coat your lashes all the way to the end; I didn’t notice any particular curl to my lashes, or increase in volume either, beyond what other mascara brands can do, but the condition of my lashes looks good.

Still, even without meeting all four of its claims, I am very impressed with this mascara’s brush and formula. I think it may be my new favourite mascara.

The packaging is very on-brand for tarte, with it's cute, functional and unique packaging for this mascara. I find the brush to be perfect for my lashes, easily coating from base to end - as well as being a build-able formula. The only issue I have found with it, is it can be a bit on the flaky side when not spread super evenly, which seems to be more a user issue rather than a formula one. It's also vegan and more natural than most, which is always a bonus.