When Tarte came out with mascara that says it lasts 4 days, this got StyleChick Lyn’s attention.  Here is what Lyn has to say about Tarte 4 Day Stay Lash Stain:

I recently tried Tarte 4 Day Stay Lash Stain, which Sephora says is “A stain that keeps lashes looking naturally full for four days without reapplying.”

Putting mascara on just twice a week sounded like a great time saver.  Imagine waking up in the morning with full, thick, ready to go lashes?  So I gave it a try and found for me there were pros and cons to the Tarte mascara.  

I did LOVE the way it looked when I first applied the mascara, and thought it was likely to replace my trusty mascara standbys of Imju Fiberwig or Shu Uemura Basic Black. While Shu Uemura Basic Black is a light to medium dull black the Tarte mascara is very VERY black and glossy. The word “stain” made me expect more of a stain liquid consistency to the mascara (maybe like Liptini has for lips? Ooh that would be AMAZING) but the consistency of Tarte 4 Day Lash Stain is not like a regular mascara or a stain, it has more of a liquefied vinyl feel to it. Even when I applied it very gingerly, it did have a bit of a vinyl look when it dried, this is more noticeable from the side view of the lashes then the head-on . This mascara was not coming off no matter what and my lashes looked a mile long. My lashes held their post-Paula Dorf eyelash curler curl after the mascara application, which is a plus. I hate when mascara is so heavy that it droops a good lash curl immediately.

The problem was even though the Tarte mascara did not run, it did come to look plastic-y vinyl like on my lashes, making them look a little fake, especially where I was not careful to comb out any clumps. It is NOT a rush and go sort of mascara that you can quickly apply, it requires time.

My biggest problem though was it irritated my eyes as the day wore on, so wearing it for four days was just not going to happen. The vinyl-like feel is also so heavy that I was reluctant to wear it overnight for fear of damaging or pulling out my lashes due to the weight of the applied product.

I really wanted Tarte 4 Day Stay Lash Stain to work and it did look absolutely great when first applied, sort of in an anime girl doe eye way,so I tried the mascara a few times, but each time my eyes got irritated and I got asked if I had been crying or if I was sick. I have never had a problem with a mascara before and I can tolerate most eye makeup and products well (and I have no problem suffering for beauty’s sake!) but Tarte 4 Day Lash Stain just irritated my eyes too much. It did not flake or run and the actual mascara stayed absolutely intact, so I am not sure of the source of the irritation. The lashes looked perfect even though my eyes looked red and bloodshot and itchy.

As a second beauty idea, I had also hoped the Tarte mascara could double as a grey hair root touch up in a pinch as it says it would last for four days, so I thought I might be able to cover a few pesky gray hairs that refuse to submit to hair dye. Now bear in mind Tarte makes no promises of the sort, but if you had the same idea that I did, I found it too thick and vinyl-like to actually apply to hair. There are some good temporary hair color pens just for this purpose now, I think I am going to just give in and try one of those.

But Tarte mascara looks so good when first applied, that if Tarte came out with a sensitive eye version, I would try it again in a heartbeat.

Tarte 4 Day Lash Stain is $18 at is available at Sephora.com and Beauty.com.