TikTok Moms Swear This Tarte Trio Is the Secret to Looking Well-Rested, So I Put it to the Test

Sleep? What is sleep? I’m not one to glorify a lack of it; I’m someone—like many parents—desperately seeking it and failing at it. At this point, I’m fine faking it ‘til I make (up for) it, so you can imagine how quickly I was lured into TikTok after TikTok espousing the wonders of the Tarte Trio.

Dubbed a “favorite mom beauty hack,” the Trio is essentially three simple beauty products (a lip-plumping balm, nude eyeliner and tubing mascara) designed to make you you appear awake and alert, even if you were up soothing a screaming baby as he threw up all over you and your bedsheets every two hours. These TikTok’ers were speaking to my soul—particularly my I-don’t-really-wear-makeup-so-I-need-something-easy tendencies. No contouring or blending? No actual beauty skills required? Sign me up.

I rushed to try out the set—which contains the Maracuja Juicy Lip Plumping Gloss, Tartelette Tubing Mascara and Fake Awake Eye Highlight—all conveniently sold together at Ulta for $29. (The lip plump and mascara are travel-size at that price, FYI.) Even though a nagging part of me wondered, but are these moms hawking this for the affiliate commission they’ll receive? (Tarte has been an industry leader in utilizing TikTok Shop for sales, seeing triple-digit growth in demand for the products featured there.) And also: What about the commenters who swear they don’t work as well as people rave?

Candace Davison

Curiosity got the best of me, and soon, I was tearing open the packaging. How do the three products hold up?

While I evaluated them as a whole for the PureWow100 score, I’ve included a breakdown of each product, since some wowed me more than others.

1. Tarte Maracuja Juicy Lip Plumping Gloss

Tarte’s lip-plumping gloss is revered for its ability to revive dry, chapped lips—a 30-person clinical study found that everyone reported better hydration after using it, in addition to a fuller pout—and I can concur. I love the subtle color and glossy sheen of the Mixed Berry shade, and how easily it glides on, without veering waxy or tacky, like some balms and glosses.

There’s immediately a tingly sensation that’s almost minty, and while I didn’t notice much of a plumping effect in a Kylie Jenner-like sense, I was grateful for that. My fine lines filled in a bit more; really, I was in it to give my corpse-like lips some color and shine. Mission accomplished.

2. Tarte Fake Awake Eye Highlight

Ah, the crown jewel of the trio—and the most controversial. I saw the most TikToks and replies over this Eye Highlight, which is essentially a nude eyeliner people apply to their waterline to make their eyes seem more open. (Turns out, most of the negative commentary stems from confusion over how to use the tool, which has a smudge brush tip on one side, for blending, and the eye highlighter on the other. Due to its design, some thought the smudge brush contained the makeup and complained it wasn’t doing anything…because it wasn’t.)

It’s basically a more subtle riff on the classic technique of lining your inner eye with white liner, and while I get the appeal, I found I almost rubbed it off while blending it in—otherwise it tended to be too jarring of a contrast to my very dark undereye circles (which remain pretty distinct, no matter how much concealer I use). I’ve been using it more as a highlight for the inner corners of my eyes than anything else.

3. Tartelette Tubing Mascara

While Fake Awake gets all the hype on TikTok, Tartelette Tubing Mascara was the MVP for me. It replaced the three other mascaras on my beauty counter as my new go-to for everything, simply because it’s a one-coat wonder: It immediately creates a fan of lashes. I had sworn off tubing mascaras because they often clump and flake into my eyes, and I’d rather look squinty-eyed and go makeup-free than deal with irritated, watery orbitals. This made me a believer.

While it didn’t seem to have the 24-hour staypower that was reported in the brand’s clinical testing, it did last most of the day. Even mid-heat dome sweatathon. And, as my lashes reverted to their pre-fairy-godmother-Cinderella status, I didn’t notice smudges—nor did I have to pick flecks of mascara out of my eyes.

The Bottom Line:

If you try only one product in this line, make it the tubing mascara. Wide lashes are the fastest shortcut to looking wide-eyed, in my experience. If you try two, give yourself the gift of glossy, chap-free lips. And if you go for all three, you won’t be disappointed. It won’t turn you into a whole new person, but you will be a slightly glowier, “Did you actually get to sleep for more than four hours?” person. Maybe not pre-kids you, but still. Every little bit helps, am I right?

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