I have been looking at the Tarte Lock & Roll eyeshadows for a while now, ever since watching a video by Blair Fowler (aka Juicystar07, on YouTube) where she raved about their quality. I had thought, and still do think that the concept is actually a great idea – a cream shadow layered under a powder shadow of the same colour – the cream acts as a colour base, and the powder sets it, literally locking the colour onto your lids.
Well, I wandered into my local Sephora about a month ago, and I picked up two different shades of these interesting little shadows – The first in Quartz (a kind of dusty metallic pink) and the second in Rose Gold (literally, it’s Rose Gold - the colour is almost exact, and it is also metallic).
(Photo courtesy of Tarte Cosmetics Website)
According to the Sephora website, these shadows are formulated without Parabens (which can cause cancer, apparently – although, the bronze shade in these shadows does include Parabens, so I’d avoid that one like the plague!), sulfates, synthetic fragrances or dyes, petro-chemicals, and Phthalates. I have no idea how to pronounce that last one, let alone its “function” in cosmetics. Generally, if I can’t pronounce it, I try not to eat it, or slather it all over my face, so I am totally okay with that not being included in the list of ingredients. What they do include, are naturally-occurring ingredients, and good-for-you things like Mineral pigments and vitamin E. Personally, I would be more than happy if all of my makeup included only naturally-occurring substances, and lacked anything that could seriously hurt me. I don’t think I’m alone in that sentiment. This doesn’t mean I’m going to stop using makeup by any stretch of the imagination (the prospect of me not wearing makeup actually makes me laugh, it’s just so silly!)
Anyway, getting back to topic, if you look at the product photograph on the Sephora website (like I did), and you zoom into the brush applicator of the cream side of the product, you will notice that it looks like there is just a bit of chunky glitter on that brush. The product itself does not look chunky. For me to say that the “Cream” aspect of this shadow was not chunky would be an outright lie. The product comes out in clumps, and tends to cling all the way up the length of the brush. This actually looks kind of gross as the product clumps up on the brush – I was a bit shocked when I first tested it out and found this.
The directions for use are listed on the Tarte website, and read as follows:
“Step 1: Brush a sheer wash of the Vitamin E-enriched cream shadow on lids—wait about 10 seconds for it to dry.
Step 2: Tap roller ball to actuate product, then roll the matching loose mineral-based shadow directly on top—the binding agents in the cream shadow will lock with the powder, creating a crease-free, budgeproof finish.”
Step 2: Tap roller ball to actuate product, then roll the matching loose mineral-based shadow directly on top—the binding agents in the cream shadow will lock with the powder, creating a crease-free, budgeproof finish.”
To be frank, if you follow these directions, what you will have on your eyelids is a mess. This look is not going to be a good one – if you follow step 1 literally and use the brush to kind of paint your lids with the cream shadow, it will be fairly thick, not to mention chunky! I tried this once, and took it off again, it was way too much product all at once. What I do instead, and what I recommend, is to follow the following steps to achieve the best result overall.
Step 1: Prime your lids with your favourite eyeshadow primer (I suggest Urban Decay’s Primer Potion)
Step 2: Dot some of the cream shadow on your lids using the brush.
Step 3: Pat the product to spread it over your whole lid using your ring finger.
Step 4: Wait a few seconds, until the product starts to feel tacky or sticky.
Step 5: Roll the powder shadow over the tacky cream base.
Step 6: Wait until completely dry, and then finish makeup as normal.
It actually takes me a full 6 steps to use these shadows, not the 2 recommended by the company. I also recommend putting a primer on before the cream base, only to ensure that the shadow really will not crease. I’ve never tried using this shadow without a primer, simply because I’m a major fan of primer, and I have oily lids, which will cause anything to crease and slip all over the place. It wouldn’t be a fair review if I hadn’t used the primer, basically. I have biased lids, haha.
These shadows, once properly applied to the lids, are extremely pigmented. I can see the metallic nature of the shadows being an issue for older eyes, or for people who don’t like a ton of sheen to their shadow. Because these shadows are so pigmented, and are really the definition of metallic, their application must be done carefully, and with a steady hand. It is really easy to apply them quickly, once you have practiced, and know what you're doing. Trust me, as good as I am about makeup, and being careful, my first application of these was a nightmare. I managed to get the sticky cream shadow base almost all over my eye area - even out toward my temples. It also got in my eyelashes, and was rather difficult to get off. Once the cream shadow turns tacky, it is no longer blendable, so you're either stuck with your mess, or you have to wipe the whole works off using makeup remover and try it again.
Now, once the shadow is on my lids, over the primer, it does not move! It’s been really hot where I live lately, and in the heat of the sun, it didn’t move. It didn’t move when I actually managed to get sweat in my eyes, and it didn’t move when I got caught in a torrential downpour (complete with thunder and lightning!)! This stuff does what it says it’ll do – it lasts FOREVER.
That said, the staying power of the shadow itself does not mean that it’s hard to get off once you put it on. I just use a “Yes to Cucumbers” makeup wipe, and as normal, gently press it onto my lids, and hold it there for about a minute, and the product just wipes away. It actually comes off slightly easier than my Benefit creasless cream shadow/liners, but not as easily as a simple powder shadow. I think it has something to do with the fact that the cream initially dries a bit tacky, so it sticks right to my lid.
Overall, the only kind of “negative” point I could find about the concept was the chunkiness of the cream product. Once you pat the shadow onto your lids with your finger, the chunks kind of break up/dissolve/spread out/stop being chunky, and the whole product becomes smooth. The wear on these is as advertised. I don't find that they crease, and they don't slide down your face as the day goes on. I think, if I were going to grade these (a la Temptalia, or my teacher-alter-ego), I would give them a B, simply because of the chunk factor, which is more gross than anything else, and because they can be a pain in the behind to apply. I would recommend these to my girls who are on the go - they are a time-saver, and they stop you having to re-apply throughout the day. They are also very portable, because they are about the same size (length-wise) as a mechanical pencil, and about the same width around as a regular pencil.
I hope you enjoyed this post - or at least found it informative.
Talk soon.
Love,
Ally.
xo
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