Tarte tubing mascara wraps each lash in tiny tubes that come off with warm water instead of smudging. Here it is with the XL version, the primer and liner, Tarte's other mascaras and the Shape Tape concealers.
Tarte Tubing Mascara and the Brand That Began With a Cheek Stain
Maureen Kelly left a clinical psychology PhD program at Columbia and started Tarte in 1999 from her one-bedroom apartment in New York, and the first product was a cheek stain. She has said she started the brand because of her own cystic acne, wanting makeup that was good for skin and still worked, and that idea runs through the whole line. Tarte tubing mascara is the Tartelette formula, and it works differently from a regular mascara. Instead of painting lashes with pigment, it wraps each one in tiny tubes that do not smudge or flake, then slide off in pieces with warm water. The Sephora listing says it is clinically shown to visibly volumize, lengthen and curl. The XL version has tubes built for extra length and lift. The tubing primer goes on first to build volume, and the quick stick liner is the same idea for your lash line, a flexible liquid liner that also removes in tubes. If your eyes water or you tend to rub them, tubing is the kind of mascara I would try first.
The volume row
The second row is for anyone who wants more drama than tubing gives. Lights, Camera, Lashes is the four-in-one, vegan, lengthening, curling, volumizing and conditioning at once, and it is the easiest of the three. Big Ego is ultra-black and lifts lashes for up to 16 hours, and Maneater is the most dramatic, with massive volume and curl. Opening Act lash primer goes on first and adds volume before the mascara does. Tarte has been at Sephora since 2003 and at Ulta since 2010, and the mascaras are the easiest place to start with the brand.
Shape Tape, and what to skip
Shape Tape launched in 2016, and it is still the product I think of first when someone says Tarte. The matte formula is a full coverage concealer that smooths and brightens, the blurring stick is a waterproof hybrid of concealer and foundation, and the hydrating version has eye cream built in, which is the one I would use under the eyes. Face Tape is the foundation, transfer-proof, waterproof and sweatproof, good for long days. What I would skip is the matte Shape Tape on dry under-eyes. It settles into lines, and the hydrating one does the same job more kindly. Set any of them with a light dusting of powder.
A simple Tarte routine
Hydrating Shape Tape under the eyes, Face Tape where you need it, then the tubing primer and Tartelette on lashes. At night, press a warm washcloth over your lashes for a few seconds and the tubes slide off. Kelly started with one cheek stain in 1999, and the line still feels like it was built by someone who wears it. Keep the mascara tube closed tight so the formula stays fresh. If you want to keep browsing, I also put together Tarte Shape Tape Creamy Concealer and Tarte Concealer Belongs to a Founder Who Walked Away From a PhD.
