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I’ve seen young women swipe on this tarte smolderEYES shadow liner, and it looks gorgeous on them. tarte sent it to me to try, and since I’m 48, I wanted to see what it does on me. Sometimes I forget that my eyes are different now.
So I let this one pencil do my whole eye look, and I liked it more than I expected to.
Quick Verdict
- Buy it if: you want shadow and liner from one pencil on busy mornings
- Skip it if: you only wear matte looks or like to wipe off and redo as you go
- My favorite feature: eyes done in about 20 seconds, then just mascara
- Would I buy again? Maybe
One pencil that lines and smudges
My eyes usually take two steps, a shadow and then a liner. This pencil handles both. The tip draws the line, and the other end has a small smudger that pushes it up and out into a soft shadow.
After that, I didn’t need anything else. Some days I might add another shadow on top, but it doesn’t need it.
tarte smolderEYES Waterproof Shadow Liner Pencil
A waterproof pencil with a smudger on the other end. I tried Obsession, a metallic smoky taupe.
smolderEYES finishes, formula and the shade I tried
- Shade I tried: Obsession, one of the metallic shades
- Finishes: matte, shimmer and metallic
- Shades: 17 on tarte’s site
- Ends: pencil tip on one side, smudger on the other
- Formula: waterproof, made with Amazonian clay, mineral pigments and carnauba wax
- Testing: ophthalmologist tested and safe for contact lens wearers, per tarte
- Made without: parabens, mineral oil, phthalates, triclosan and gluten
- Also: vegan and cruelty-free
Who is the smolderEYES shadow liner good for?
It’s a good fit if you skip doing your eyes because it takes too long, or if you’re past 40 and wondering whether you can still pull off a smoky eye. I think it looked okay on me.
If you get ready on the road, the FUNTOUCH travel makeup mirror my sister Shelley packs for hotels and Airbnbs helps with the bad lighting. And if puffy under-eyes are your bigger worry, I tried the Good Molecules yerba mate eye gel for my eye bags.
Lining, smudging and finishing my eyes at 48
I put it on like eyeliner first. It glides on smooth, but it pulled at my eyelid a little, because there’s a lot of loose skin there now.
I’d put a lot on, so I went back in with the smudger end and pushed it up toward my brow. I went heavier than I meant to in the outer crease. Then a little under my lower lashes, some mascara, and I was done, with no other eyeshadow at all. It was about a 20 second job.
Does smolderEYES bother sensitive eyes?
My eyes are really sensitive, and most things I put on them make them burn. This one didn’t bother them at all. No burning, nothing.
That’s just how it went for me, not a promise. Everyone’s eyes are different, so yours could react in their own way.
What stood out once it was on
- It smudges but doesn’t smear: I swatched it on my hand with a heavy press, went over it with the smudger, then rubbed a finger over it. Hardly anything came off. Smudgy products usually make me nervous that I’ll touch my face and spread it everywhere. This one stayed where I put it.
- The sparkle is soft: I’ve stayed away from shimmer as I’ve gotten older. This one has some, but it isn’t crazy, especially when you’re not right up in someone’s face. I don’t feel too old for it.
Little things I liked
- No brush or palette to dig out of the drawer
- A taupe that looks soft, not dark or harsh
Before you swipe it on
- Go light in the crease. Once it’s on, it doesn’t wipe off easily, and I overdid my outer corner.
- Loose lids may tug. The pencil glides, but my eyelid skin still pulled a little as I lined.
- The one I tried is metallic, not matte. If you want flat color, tempt, heat and tease are the matte shades.
smolderEYES questions people ask
Does the smolderEYES shadow liner twist up?
No. It’s a pencil you sharpen for a fresh tip, and there’s no sharpener built into the pencil itself.
Can you wear smolderEYES with contact lenses?
Yes. It’s ophthalmologist tested and made to be safe for people who wear contacts.
Which smolderEYES shades look good with green eyes?
tarte points green eyes toward smolder, a plum berry shimmer, and sultry, a bronze shimmer.
Can you layer more than one smolderEYES shade?
Yes. tarte’s own how-to stacks three: a light shade on the lid, a medium one in the crease and a deep one at the lash line and outer corner. I only had Obsession, so I haven’t tried layering shades myself.
Other shadow sticks to compare
- Laura Mercier Caviar Stick Eye Shadow: a cream shadow stick with hyaluronic acid, which Laura Mercier says hydrates the lid. There’s no smudger on it, so you blend with your fingers or a brush.
- Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Cream Shadow Stick: a waterproof cream stick in matte and shimmer shades that can prime, define or highlight. It doesn’t have a smudger end either.
- Maybelline Color Tattoo Eye Stix: works as shadow, liner and primer, and it comes with a built-in sharpener, which the tarte pencil doesn’t have.
Where it fits in my makeup bag now
It’s a sometimes pencil for me. On the days I want real eye makeup in a hurry, it’s the one I grab, and I’d think about buying it again. I’d love to try a matte shade next.
Where To Buy
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