Review: Tarte EmphasEYES Waterproof Clay Shadow / Liner

Hot on the tails of the new year and the good old, "Out with the old, in with the [new] makeup" -- I noticed that my staple L'Oreal HiP Studio Secrets Professional Color Truth Cream Eyeliner had dried up a bit and rather than trying to perform resuscitation on it (whether by microwave or adding glycerin), I decided to use the other eyeliner that I had in my stash. 

Back in 2011, I almost missed picking up the Tarte Shining Stars holiday collection but luckily I found it at an Ulta. I didn't get around to using any of the pieces that I had picked up because at the time I was already using a full sized version of the mascara and my L'Oreal cream eyeliner was still on full duty. So now, I finally had the chance to try it out.

In comparison to the cream eyeliner or any of my e.l.f. liners, the Tarte comes off much lighter (on my face as you'll see in the swatches below, it appears almost as pigmented as anything else I have in my eyeliner bag). It came off almost like a dark gray on me and my assumption is because of my undertones. After applying it, I had to go over it with my NYX eyeliner in order to really get that black to pop out. I'm definitely not discounting the abilities of the Tarte liner though. It glides on smoothly -- application was great and it was quite easy to get the cat eye I was looking for (albeit not in the colour I wanted). The lasting power was great and while there was minimal bleeding, it wasn't anything that couldn't be fixed quickly.

If you take a look at the image on the left, I swatched it against some of the other ones I have in my bag. From left to right:

• Tarte EmphasEYES Waterproof Clay Shadow / Liner
• e.l.f. Essential Liquid Eyeliner
• NYX Retractable Eye Liner
• Stila Convertible Eye Colour
• Sephora Nano Eyeliner
• Sephora Smoky Kohl Eyeliner

While these are all different in nature (ranging from creams to liquids and pencils in between), I figured it would be useful to compare strokes and pigmentation. The clay eyeliner (Tarte) was applied with the brush while the others were a bit more controlled with the exception of the kohl (which I haven't gotten the hang of just yet).

Overall, I like it -- it can't replace the pure black pigments that the L'Oreal one does, but it's good on it's own (probably because it's formulated without parabens, mineral oil, phthalates, sodium lauryl sulfate, synthetic fragrance, and triclosan which is a trade I'm willing to take (well, especially when I have so many other eyeliners that can help reinforce it).

If you take a look at the image, I started with Tarte, did a quick layer of NYX along the top and the bottom, then finished with the Tarte again. The edges of the cat eye were pretty faded before the night was up, but still, I like it because it's formulated without the bad stuff which is a trade-off that I'm okay with. Plus I have a lot of other eyeliners to makeup for the reduction of longevity in another.

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Product: Tarte EmphasEYES Waterproof Clay Shadow / Liner
Price: While it's retailing at $24, I got this one through the Shining Stars Holiday Collection (2011) which retailed for $30 for the whole set.
Would Recommend? It's going to depend on you (see the notes below).
Takeaway: It's not as pigmented as others that I've found, but pairing it with other eyeliners will help it out. Since it's a more eco-friendly product than other competitors, it comes down to preference.