Okay, so this is the review that I'm sure tons of people will find totally relevant. This is a review on the Maybelline Color Tattoo™ shadows! Everybody has been going CRAZY for these things and, honestly, this is one of the few products that I feel is pretty much worth the hype. I know, right? I am the most skeptic bastard when it comes to things w/ hype and I am also picky as all hell. If you've read previous reviews of mine, you know that price, while it does play a minimal part, is not the main thing I look for in a product. I am honestly a bit more skeptical of drugstore products because they tend to be a fairly high mark-up for what the product actually is (L'Oréal, I'm looking at you!)
I first spotted and purchased these products probably about two weeks before YT exploded w/ videos and I was in awe of the colors. These have some of the most amazing colors for drugstore cream shadows. I own a ton of the Revlon cream shadow quads, and while some of them are okay, the colors are pretty toned down. This line has the perfect mix of bright and edgy and also neutral and everyday and that is completely perfect. I also really like how there are several different types of finishes. From the drugstore, that is crazy cool. But I've rambled enough, and y'all probably wanna get on w/ the review, right?According to Maybelline's website:
Why You'll Love It
Dare to wear 24HR shadow.
• Ink technology creates 24HR wear shadow for our most intense, long-lasting color saturation
• Cream formula glides on without creasing and keeps color vibrant
• Ophthalmologist-tested. Safe for sensitive eyes and contact lens wearers
For Best Results
High impact look:
Illuminate. With fingertips, sweep all over eye from inner corner and work outwards. For added drama, darken as desired.
So...do I love these? YES. I think these are the winning products from Maybelline's new releases. These cream shadows are really bloody amazing. I do have issues w/ a few colors and textures but overall these are pretty smashing. They do lose color intensity over the day when worn alone, but they last for a good eight hours before seriously fading. I have monolids so creasing is pretty rare on me, but my double-lidded friends also report no creasing. These dry fairly quickly, much like the Urban Decay 24/7 Pencils so you don't have a lot of time to work w/ them but the shimmery ones can dry to a strange, chalky finish.
These work swell and their own and nice as shadow bases and I can honestly say that I am really geeked about these. That being said, I do have minor issues w/ some of the colors, which I'll get to in the closeup shots. But we'll do swatches first!
From L-R: "Painted Purple", "Edgy Emerald", "Tenacious Teal", "Fierce & Tangy", and "Pomegranate Punk".
"Painted Purple".
This is one of the first colors I got and I was pretty disappointed. It's a shimmery bluish-purple that makes an okay base but it's not so great on its own. The color goes on super patchy and streaky and it's hard to get this color to look even.
"Edgy Emerald".
This is the second color I got and it was also somewhat disappointing. It went on w/ a similar finish to the purple one - streaky and patchy. The color is gorgeous...a shimmery sea-green. But this one also had a chalky, drier texture that I wasn't fond of AT ALL.
"Tenacious Teal".
This is an awesome color but it's not original in the slightest. Both Urban Decay and NYX make jumbo pencils that are this exact same color - bright, shimmery teal/blue w/ silver glitter. This one has a much better texture than the first two and the color payoff is a lot more even, but the UD pencil has a more long-lasting finish and the NYX pencil has a creamier and easier texture to work w/. That being said, I still recommend this one over those two because UD's "Clash" is hard to work w/ and the NYX pencil isn't long-lasting in the slightest. I do wish that this didn't have the tacky silver glitter, but whatever.
"Fierce & Tangy".
This is one of my absolute favorite colors. This is one out of two shadows that have a matte finish and I REALLY wish there were more mattes in this. It is long-wearing, creamy, and incredibly pigmented. I can't talk enough about how amazing this shadow is. Plus, since it's a matte orange, you can actually use it under your eyes to help w/ blue under-eye circles, if you don't have access to a peach-toned concealer. I have been LOVING orange lately, and this shadow is no exception, haha.
"Pomegranate Punk".
I was super geeked about this particular color because I think burgundy and rust colors look nice w/ my eyes and coloring. This is a really lovely color and it goes on nicely as well. It does have that gross silver glitter in it, but it's the only other glitter cream shadow, so that's fantastic. And like the teal one, the color pigmentation is brilliant. This one works really well on its own. It also makes a good lid color and can be sheered out enough to look more "natural", if that's your thing.
From L-R: "Too Cool", "Audacious Asphalt", "Bold Gold", "Tough As Taupe", and "Bad To The Bronze".
"Too Cool".
This color is a blogger and YT-er favorite and I don't really get it. It's a nice enough...er, basic, boring shimmery white that pretty much every brand makes. I've been using it a ton as a shadow base but it's horrible to work w/. The color goes on incredibly streaky and chunky and the texture is just so damn chalky and dry...Again, when you work w/ it for a while, the color is nice, but it's not really worth the trouble, TBH. I'm not unhappy that I purchased but I definitely wouldn't repurchase or freak out too much about this color.
"Audacious Asphalt".
I don't really use silvers or grays too often but this color is nice and creamy. It's neither here nor there for me...I love the product and the texture, but the color is pretty...eh to me. I would have preferred if Maybelline had done more light neutrals or more bright colors, haha. This would make a great color base for the typical smokey eye though!
"Bold Gold".
This is my third favorite. OMFG, I love this color. It's incredibly similar to "Genuine Treasure", a LE MAC Paint Pot from the Posh Paradise Collection, except it is the lighter cousin. Whereas the MAC one is an antique gold, this one is more or less a true gold. It's more like finely milled glitter in a gold cream base - this color is beautiful on. I like using this as a lid color on its own and as a base color.
"Tough As Taupe".
This is my favorite color out of the bunch. It's the other one w/ a matte finish and it works for a wide variety of looks. It looks great on its own as a lid color and it also makes an excellent base for neutral shadows. Depending on what colors you use, it can look warm or cool. It can lean brown or gray. I love the texture - smooth and creamy, and I love that it is matte. "Satin Taupe" from MAC looks phenomenal over this one. I use this one the most out of all of them!
"Bad To The Bronze".
This is similar to the "Audacious Asphalt" in the sense of having a great texture but a meh sort of color. Don't get me wrong, this color is lovely. But I just don't use dark bronze colors on my lid often. This can be applied more sheer, but the pigmentation and finish on this is so nice that it seems like a waste to apply it lightly or to use it as a base. The texture is fantastic - smooth and creamy.
A lot of people who use MAC Paint Pots use colors like "Soft Ochre" or "Painterly", which are both flesh-toned. It would have been nice if Maybelline had included these kinds of shades. As it is, these are still a great deal. You can work w/ all ten of the colors - it just might take longer w/ some. I think that these are more long-lasting than the Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadow/Liners, but they're also less creamy and more dry of a texture. These set fairly quickly, like MAC PPs but the color selection, in terms of actual colors, is so much better.
Overall, I definitely recommend trying these out. The color range is amazing for a drugstore product and these are definitely long-wearing. They're more readily available than MAC Paint Pots and they're so much cheaper, haha. I think the Urban Decay 24/7 Pencils last so much longer, but they're a lot harder to work w/ and way more expensive. These work well on their own. They last w/o primer underneath. They make great bases. I really recommend "Tough As Taupe", "Bold Gold", and "Fierce & Tangy". I would skip "Painted Purple", "Edgy Emerald", and "Too Cool", unless you really want to try them out. The other four are nice, in terms of color and texture, but I don't think they're overwhelmingly original (except for "Pomegranate Punk"). That being said, I really like these and think they should be checked out! :)
Apologies that this stupid review took so long. I mean, these things are no longer relevant, haha. And I've owned all ten since they were released...laziness is a bitch! :/
