Putting the Tarte Maneater Mascara to the Test!

The new Tarte Maneater Mascara is catching a lot of buzz. I hit my local Ulta and gave it a go. Just how did it work out? The answer might surprise you!

When it comes to makeup, it’s no doubt that Tarte is among my favorite brands. Their cruelty-free and often vegan-friendly products are on heavy rotation in my makeup routine, with no sign of slowing down. And, being such a BIG fan of the Tarte Tarteiest Lash Paint mascara, you just know I had to get my greedy hands on their latest launch: the Ulta exclusive Maneater Mascara!

After chuckling my way through Fifty Shades Darker, my sister and I took a trip to Ulta – where I picked up the new Tarte Maneater Mascara. Going into it, I had very high hopes of voluminous long lashes and couldn’t wait to put it to the test. Fortunately for me, I was born with relatively long and curly lashes – but I always appreciate an added boost from a good mascara. Who doesn’t, right?

Putting the Tarte Maneater Mascara to Work

For the next week, I used this mascara literally every single day to truly test it out. What I found was the Maneater mascara definitely has some pros and cons. Depending what you’re looking for from a mascara, it might be your new best friend – or foe.

Tarte Maneater Mascara – The Pros

The Wand: I’m a fan of a plastic applicator and I rather like the design of the wand. The design will help you easily build up the Maneater mascara without having to worry about too much clumping.
The Cost: For a “higher end” mascara, $23 is a pretty reasonable price. Counterparts from YSL and Dior fall somewhere in the $35 range.
Cruelty-Free and Vegan-Friendly: Of course, I have to mention Tarte’s commitment to cruelty-free products that don’t harm animals.
Does Not Clump: The formula is very smooth and the design of the applicator makes for swift application that doesn’t clump up or get messy, even when building coat after coat.
Does Not Flake or Smudge: To be fair, I rarely have a problem with any mascara flaking or smudging. That said, I had absolutely zero problem with the Maneater Mascara traveling off my lashes onto my face.

Tarte Maneater Mascara Review - Dream in Lace — Tarte Maneater Mascara ($23)

Tarte Maneater Mascara – the Cons

Doesn’t Have Much “Oomph”: If you’re looking for a very dramatic mascara, I don’t think the Tarte Maneater Mascara will be winning a lot of points with you. Instead, I found it to deliver a much more natural approach.
Only Available at Ulta: I know “Sephora Exclusive”, “Ulta Exclusive” and the like make brands happy, but as a consumer who doesn’t visit Ulta that much, it’s kind of a drag. I wish it was available at more retailers.
Good for Everyday Use, Not for a Special Occasion: This falls in tune with the lack of “oomph”, but I thought it was worth repeating. I think as a routine mascara, you might like this. But, I don’t think you’ll be reaching for this on special occasions or when you’re hoping for serious drama.
Doesn’t Live Up to Its Claims: Tarte claims that the Maneater mascara will bring you lots of volume, length and curl. Instead, I found it just nicely coated the natural state of my lashes to add more definition. I didn’t notice any tremendous boost to length or volume.

So you can see the Tarte Maneater Mascara in action, I took the liberty of posing for some very awkward before and after photos. You’re welcome!

Overall Thoughts

As you can see, the Tarte Maneater Mascara definitely did bring definition to my lashes that helps to open my eyes. However, the results were merely average – at least in my experiences with mascara. You know when you’re so happy with a mascara that you can’t help but catch yourself in the mirror to admire it? Well, that wasn’t happening with Maneater mascara.

That said, I still absolutely LOVE Tarte. If you want a recommendation for a mascara from them that I absolutely do adore Tarteiest mascara, here, definitely check out my review.