I Tried The New Tarteist Clay Paint Liner In A Tube To Find Out If It’s As Hard To Apply As It Looks

I am nothing if not a sucker for an intense black liquid eyeliner. So ever since Tarte announced their newest product, the Tartiest Clay Paint Liner, on Instagram last week, I knew I had to have it. It promised precision and the richest shade of black, two of the holy grails of the perfect liquid liner. Not to mention I am a huge Tarte cosmetics fan as it is—I wear their Lipsurgence Matte Lip Tints almost every day. There was just one question: Liquid liner in a tube?

My standard black liquid liner is the glorious Stila All Day Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner, which is more like a marker than anything else. And after hearing rave reviews about the OCC Cosmetics Lip Tars, I found the whole “painting on” aspect of them to be frankly, unpleasant and frustrating. So I definitely had my doubts about this “liner in a tube” business. Want to see how it went? Come on, you know you do.

After taking in the sight of my eye-makeup-less peepers, please direct your attention to the Tarteist Clay Liner packaging and accompanying brush.

Not bad. I love that it comes with the brush and a nice angled bamboo one at that. So far so good. The next step is to squeeze out a bit of the liner onto the “blending stage.”

I tried to coat the brush evenly and without any globs, which wasn’t actually as easy as I had hoped.

Then I began applying.

Unfortunately, my line only reached halfway across my eyelid. I had severely underestimated the amount of “paint” I needed on the brush.

But once I dabbed some more paint onto my brush, the line went on very black and very smooth, as promised! This is my very first attempt:

It was not that difficult at all, and the line looked lovely if I do say so myself.

Click through to see what happens when I try to line my bottom lashes and how the liner lasts after five hours…

So I was pretty happy with my top lines, and though I don’t usually do this, I decided to attempt to line my bottom lashes. You know, for the sake of research. To say it didn’t go very well would be an understatement. The packaging instructs you to line both your top and bottom lashes, but I just don’t think the brush that comes with this liner is thin enough to tackle your bottom lashes unless you’re going for a big-time raccoon look. (If you are…don’t.) So I removed most of the unsightly bottom line, curled my lashes, added some mascara, and here’s what I came up with:

Even though I probably won’t ever be lining my bottom lashes, overall I’m pretty happy with the look. Here are some shots in outside lighting:

Yes, the bottom is wonky but the top is smooth as a baby’s butt. The creamy texture actually makes this product incredibly easy to apply, and it shows. The only small problem I had was that it doesn’t dry as quickly as the liner I’m used to, so I had to give in a few minutes before I went back in to touch up, curl my lashes, and add mascara.

What do you think??

Nice right?

But does it last?

Ah, the eternal question. Unfortunately, I am duty-bound to report that the Tarteist Clay Paint Liner left these marks on my lids after five hours, which I was not super excited about:

Other than that there were a few less intense spots, but overall I think the line held pretty firm and stayed very black.

The Verdict

The Tarteist Clay Paint Liner delivers on its promises of creaminess, intense black, and precision (at least on the top line). It is actually fairly easy to apply, especially if you’re going for a thicker line. Overall I think that this eyeliner is not an everyday liner, but it is absolutely perfect if you’re going for a dramatic night-out look. The applicator brush and texture of the makeup makes it super easy to paint on a thick, intense, cat-eye. Here’s the kind of dramatic look I’m talking about:

I must admit, I did feel like an artist while painting this.

What do you think? Will you be taking the Tarteist Clay Paint Liner for a spin?