Monday, April 30, 2012

Maybelline Color Tattoo Review

Hello, everyone! Today, I'm going to review a couple of the Maybelline Color Tattoos in Bad to the Bronze and Bold Gold.  I hesitated on picking these up at first because the appeal of an eye "tattoo" didn't draw me in. I assumed it meant "long wearing," but I just wasn't a fan of the look of the ads:
Model is wearing Tenacious Teal. From Maybelline's Site
The color of "Tenacious Teal" is bright, bold, and gorgeous, but I'm just not partial to a harsh crease with bold colors (I prefer a more blended look). This made me think these that the color tattoos might not blend well.

Maybelline's Claims
  • "Long-lasting, 24-hour wear"
  • "Ink technology creates super-saturated color"
  • "Cream gel smoothes on for vibrant color that does not fade"
My hesitation with cream eyeshadows has a lot to do with the fact that a lot of cream eyeshadows out there really are NOT great. So many crease so fast, especially with oily lids.

These surprised me since they are AWESOME!

I've heard these are a lot like MAC's paint pots. While I have not tried these out, I've heard paint pots have smooth texture, are long-lasting, crease-resistant, and make a great eyeshadow base.
MAC Paint Pots. From MAC's site.
Maybelline's color tattoos are very similar, but in bolder colors (MAC's paint pots in the permanent line seem to only be in natural, mostly skin-toned neutral shades). 

Pros:
  • Very smooth! Easy to blend in. I just use my finger. Claim accomplished!
  • The color is quite pigmented! However, I believe the color saturation varies by color. Claim almost accomplished.
  • These are VERY long-lasting, but not quite 24 hrs. I really wish companies would stop putting an exact number on the wear time of these type of products, especially since it's almost always grossly exaggerated! The wear time, however, is worth the hype. Claim ALMOST accomplished.
    • By itself: No creasing at 8 hours. Color still strong. Started to fade and [almost] crease by hour 16, but keep in mind I was in a warm, environment and sweating quite a bit. 16 hours for a cream eyeshadow is still pretty darn amazing!
    • With eye primer (I used Urban Decay Primer Potion in original): Didn't notice much improvement with staying power. I think it made the shadow last longer overall, but I rather not waste primer on a product that does just fine on it's own.
    • As a base w/ shadow on top: Staying power was also excellent by hour 12.  I wore Bold Gold in heat & humidity all the way through hour 16 with no creasing and minimal fading!  My favorite way to wear the color "tattoo" is all over the lid, with a matte color in the crease. Staying power is improved with shadow on top, but I don't find it necessary to wear all over the lid.
  • Price: About $6 to $8 dollars, depending on where you go. I'd go to Ulta or a drugstore, where you can get do a "buy one, get one 50% off" deal. Ulta tends to have deals on Maybelline products rather frequently.  About $6-$8 is great for 4 g of product (versus $17.50 for 5g of a MAC paint pot).
Cons:
  • Color range has plenty of bold colors, but not enough neutrals. (Hint, hint! Maybelline, you should make more neutrals!)
  • Pigmentation varies. For example, Bad to the Bronze is more pigmented than Bold Gold.  Also, I've heard that "Painted Purple" (bright grape purple) has poor pigmentation/texture than the rest of the color tattoos.
  • Texture varies. From what I've heard "Tough as Taupe" (matte taupe) is harder to work with. 
  • These don't work well together. For example, it's hard to use one shade on the lid and another on the crease. Your best bet is to use one as an all-over lid color and use a powder eyeshadow as a crease color.
Now for pictures and reviews of the individual colors I've purchased:


Bold Gold on left, Bad to the Bronze on the right
Bad to the Bronze
Bad to the Bronze is a gorgeous, bronzy, taupey (this isn't a real word, but it's very taupe, so you get the point!) metallic brown.  The color is absolutely amazing. One or two swipes across your lid and you're good to go for the day!  It has a great shimmer, is very opaque, and works well all over the lid. It's a great neutral for every day and I highly recommend Bad to the Bronze the most, especially if you're in the market to purchase only one.

Bold Gold
Bold Gold is a shimmery, metallic, brassy true gold.  Like Bad to the Bronze, it also has a great texture, wearability, color, and works great as an all-over lid color. I'd also like to try this as an eyeliner, but haven't yet. The color isn't as opaque, however, but can be built up with more layers. 
Bad to the Bronze on top (2 swipes of my finger to make swatch), Bold Gold on bottom (4 swipes) .
Bad to the Bronze on right, Bold Gold on left
Beauty Breakdown:
  • Brand: Maybelline
  • Product: Long-wearing, crease-resistant creme eye shadow
  • Shades: Bad to the Bronze and Bold Gold
  • Price: $6-8 each
  • Where to get: Drugstores, Target, Ulta
  • Package Quality (out of 5 stars): ***** (Sturdy case. Very nice!) 
  • Overall Rating (out of 5 stars): ***** (Worth it!)
  • Recommend: Yes!
  • Repurchase: I would repurchase if I ran out. Especially Bad to the Bronze. I'm eager to try out new shades, especially of Maybelline makes more colors!
  • Side Note: My viewpoint on creme shadows has changed! 
  • Grade: A+
Here's a look I came up with using Bad to the Bronze & Bold Gold:

Products Used:

  • Bad to the Bronze-all over the lid
  • Bold Gold-as lower lash eyeliner
  • Nyx Golden Amber eyeshadow-in the crease
  • Nyx Vanilla Sky eyeshadow-as the brow bone highlighter 
  • Nyx Black eyeshadow-to deepen & smudge the eyeliner wing
  • Tarte "emphasEYES"Amazonian Clay Waterproof Liner in Black-upper lash line eyeliner
  • Physician's Formula Eye Enhancing Eyeliner in Black (from the Blue Eyes Trio)-lower lash line
  • Nyx Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk-in inner corner & in the waterline 
  • Stila Kitten Eyeshadow-in inner corner
  • Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes Mascara
I apologize for the overload of pictures, I'm just simply testing out 3 different cameras to see what works best. Hope you are having a great day!

Disclosure: These products were purchased by me for review purposes. I was not paid or compensated in any way. All opinions are my own.

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