My recent shopping spree at Tarte Cosmetics Online Store was wrapped up by buying what I went to the site for in the first place, Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes! Mascara.

This mascara is very good - not quite as good as the photo on the website makes it out to be - but close. It ranks up there with my favorites.

Tarte Says …

This is from www.tartecosmetics.com.

What girl hasn't dreamed of being a starlet - one of those pouty bombshells who can melt a guy's heart with just a flutter of her sultry lashes? For all the girls who oughta be in pictures - finally, a mascara worthy of a freeze frame!

The Packaging

Like most Tarte products, this comes boxed in their famous lilac and purple hued box. The mascara is about six inches tall and covered completely with deep purple snakeskin leatherette. It's a bit bulky for a mascara tube but, come on, purple pleather is worth it. It actually looks like it could slide on and off the tube (sort of like a pretty tube cover to be used on different mascaras) but it is firmly stuck to the mascara tube. I hate that. Now I will have to throw it away when I am done with the mascara rather than reuse the cool looking covering.

Anyway, the mascara, which comes in black only, is .23 ounce. It looks like so much more with all the trappings of the tube.

The top swivels off and the brush is quite lush. It is straight with no curve to it and has very fine, short fibers. It tapers off at the end to get even the tiny lashes in the corners of your eye.

My Experience

I have tried so many mascaras and have been disappointed. Even the most expensive ones clump or don't give me the volume and length I crave. I gave up completely on any mascara curling my lashes. I have fairly long but very straight lashes and I don't use an eye lash curler because the last time I did, my lashes broke off right at the area I was squeezing them. That was terrible so I endure straight lashes because I don't want to talk around with one eyelid with just stubble on it for a few weeks until my lashes grow back ever again.

The minute I applied this mascara, I knew I found a winner. The first coat visibly lengthened and added a ton of volume. And - get this - it somehow lifted my lashes and made them look much less straight. I wouldn't say it curled them per se, but they definitely were lifted up and made my eyes "pop".

The second application took my lashes to voom to va va va voom. It did some serious lengthening and volumnizing without even a hint of a clump.

Better, it separated my lashes and gave them a fringy look with going all Liza Minnelli on me. I even, for experimental reasons, tried a third coat long after the first two had dried. No problem, no clumps, no flaking. This is very buildable mascara.

The test came when I went out for the day in about a billion degree weather with a zillion percent humidity. I had noted that the anchorwoman on my local news channel had mascara streaming down her face as she reported a story outside so I was excepting the same. This mascara is not waterproof.

To my surprise, Lights, Camera, Lashes! held up just fine. There was no flaking, clumping, or streaking at all. I was very impressed when I got home to see that my lashes looked every bit as good as they did when I first applied the mascara.

Another plus is that it doesn't feel heavy. Some mascaras make you very aware that you are wearing them but not this one. Although it is bold and thick, my lashes weren't weighed down or heavy.

If you like just a sweep of natural color, this mascara may not be for you. I like dramatic lashes and love the length and volume a good mascara can give to me. This one is great for nighttime wear for those of you who like a more subdued look during the day. For me, this is everyday mascara. It does it all - lengthens, builds volume, lifts, separates, and stays put until you take it off. It is build able so you can go from va to va va to va va va voom depending on your preference.

The mascara washes off cleanly with my cleanser, Philosophy's Purity Made Simple. I don't need eye make up remover to get the stuff off but it stays on until I want it off.

Because this isn't waterproof, I wouldn't swim in it or otherwise immerse my face in water. However, humidity didn't make it budge so it isn't one of those mascaras that streak whenever there is a touch of dampness around the eyes.

The pro and con of this mascara is the case. You will either love the rich looking purple faux leather or find that it is somewhat bulking in a small handbag. I obviously love it because I love deep purple and I think it looks rich and different. But it isn't a little thin tube that hardly takes up any room in an evening bag. It's a hefty tube both lengthwise and in diameter.

Ingredients

ingredients: water, black iron oxide, oryza sativa/rice bran wax, carnauba/carnauba wax, hydrogenated stearyl olive esters, stearic acid, candelilla cera/candelilla wax, acacia/acacia senegal, triethanolamine, polyvinyl alcohol, hydroxyethylcellulose, phenoxyethanol, ampd, propylene glycol, panthenol, propylparaben, isobutylparaben, methylparaben, ethylparaben.

Buying Info

After all the years of buying Tarte cosmetics, I still don't know where they are sold offline. I have always purchased my Tarte cosmetics online. I imagine this mascara is available offline wherever Tarte is sold. Online, you can get it on the Tarte Cosmetics website or at a number or beauty websites. The price is $18.00 everywhere.

Conclusion

Take a look at the picture on the Tarte website of both the tube and the two eyes (before and after). The picture of the tube is just about exactly the same size as the real tube (at least on my monitor) and the "after eye" is pretty close to what your lashes will look like. Although not quite as dramatic as that photo, my lashes definitely showed an increase in length and volume and had some lift. No clumps, no flaking, no streaking, and no "unilash" syndrome with this mascara.

Naturally, I like the deep purple snakeskin like pleather tube but you may find it is bulkier than other sleek mascaras with no bling on the outside. I wouldn't decide against buying this mascara based solely on the fact that you think the tube is bulky though. You won't need to carry it with you anyway. The mascara lasts until you take it off so touch ups are unnecessary.

I am really liking this mascara. I just ordered one from Philosophy that promises all sorts of miracles and I am most eager to compare the two.

I have to give this one 5 stars. It's very dramatic and very unique.

If you like drama without the $18.00 price tag, I suggest you try Cover Girl LashExact Mascara. This is a winner for me in the drugstore mascara category. I use both that one and Lights, Camera, Lashes! and have tossed several of my older just average ones away.

Thanks to Shantel575 for adding this product into the database for me to review.

A couple other good buys from Tarte:

Tarte Mineral Powder Bronzer

Tarte Cheek Stain For Cheeks, Tipsy

Recommended: Yes