Maybelline Color Tattoo Nudes

So there has been a lot of hype about the Maybelline Color Tattoo Nudes, which, unfortunately, are limited edition (well, not so unfortunately in a couple of cases.)  Looking at Nouveau Cheap's sightings page, it looks like the collection has pretty good saturation at this point.

I had been keeping a sharp eye out for this collection and I finally found it at CVS (and I had a 20% off coupon, SCORE!)

I will say that as far as application and wear time, all of these shadows perform fantastically well - as do the bulk of the Color Tattoo line.  Pigmentation varies by color, but once they're on, these puppies aren't coming off.  All of the shades do have shimmer.

Pure Nude

Pure Nude

Pure Nude is, for better or for worse, exactly what it sounds like, pure nude.  Even on my incredibly pale skin, it is nothing but shimmer.  There is virtually no color to the base.  While the product looks a little champagne shimmer in the pot, on the skin it's a very cool, almost white shimmer.

Beige-ing Beauty

Beige-ing Beauty

Beige-ing Beauty is shockingly not at all beige, at least in my opinion.  This was the sheerest of the colors, even more sheer than Pure Nude.  Beige-ing Beauty is sparkle and nothing more.  The sparkle is warm, more gold than Pure Nude and also, less shimmery than Pure Nude.  This was the most underwhelming of the shades for me, with non-existent pigmentation and understated sparkle.

Nude Compliment

Nude Compliment

Nude Compliment is my favorite of the Nude shades.  It's a cool sort of antique gold color.  It reminds me a lot of MAC Patina.

Sleek & Spice

Sleek & Spice

Sleek & Spice is warmer than Nude Compliment.  It's a bit bronzy, but not terribly red.  There's still a bit of green there that keeps it from being too warm.

Caramel Cool

Caramel Cool

Caramel Cool is warm, warm, warm.  It's not even bronzy, it's pretty much straight up orange.  I didn't do comparison swatches, but it reminded me a lot of MAC Rubenesque paint pot, less of the duo chrome finish, but very much in that vein.

Like I said earlier, these shadows wear like a champ.  Even Pure Nude and Beige-ing Beauty which have lackluster pigmentation retain their lackluster pigmentation for a solid 12 hours.  These things do not budge and in my experience require an oil based remover.

Overall, I love this collection.  I'm not going to use Pure Nude or Beige-ing Beauty much, but if you're into sparkle, those are the shades for you.  I'm baffled as to why Maybelline has made this collection and the Matte collection limited edition.  These shades seem so much more wearable and useful than a number of shades in the permanent collection.

All Maybelline Color Tattoos contain 4 grams of product and retail anywhere from $4.50 to $7 each depending on where (IF) you can find them.  I picked mine up on sale at CVS.

Overall:  9/10

LE Maybelline Color Tattoo Mattes

I had been on the hunt for the limited edition Maybelline Color Tattoo mattes that launched with the Fall 2013 Gilded in Gold collection for, literally, months.  Of course, none of the stores near me ever received them (as far as I can tell), however, I was able to swap for three of them on MakeUp Alley.

This color tattoo collection, more than others, seems to be a pretty straightforward attempt to dupe some very popular MAC Paint Pots.  The three colors in the Maybelline collection are Matte Brown (often called a dupe for Groundwork, but in my opinion, it's darker than Groundwork), Just Beige (dupe for Soft Ochre, but again, seems to be significantly darker) and Nude Pink (dupe for Painterly, I will actually do a post comparing these two).

(L-R Just Beige, Nude Pink, Matte Brown)

Maybelline isn't kidding about these formulas being matte.  It may just be a quality control issue with the limited edition shades, but I have the permanent color tattoo matte in Tough as Taupe and it isn't anywhere near as dry as these shades.

The formula is incredibly stiff and despite their great pigmentation, they tended to look a little patchy, probably because the formula is so stiff.  I found the shades difficult to blend out and they did not sheer out particularly evenly.  

Once they set, they looked dry on my lids.  They didn't crease, but worn alone, they definitely don't do anything to improve the look of my lids.  They work well as bases as long as I apply shadows on top of them before they completely set.  These set quickly, so there isn't much wiggle room in my experience.

If you're looking for long wear, these are the shadows for you.  These things lasted a solid fourteen hours without budging an inch (I don't have oily eyelids, but they are hooded, so they can be tough on shadows).  I generally use an oil cleanser to remove my makeup, but even with an oil cleanser, it look a bit of work to completely remove these shadows.

Just Beige

Nude Pink

Matte Brown

As far as these being dupes for MAC paint pots, in my experience, they aren't.  The paint pots have so much more slip to them and they sheer out and cling to powder shadows so much better.  I have a MAC paintpot in Painterly that I've had for at least two years and it's still creamy (though it looks a little sketchy in the pot).  I haven't had these shadows long enough to know for sure, but my suspicion is that they will dry up and crack within the year.

The price point on the Maybelline Color Tattoos is, without a doubt, way more compelling than the MAC Paint Pots ($6 range, vs $20).

I know that Maybelline launched another Color Tattoo collection  - Dare to Go Nude - that contains a bunch of nude shades, though I don't think any of them are matte, so maybe they're re-formulating their mattes.

All in all, these shadows just aren't what I want them to be, especially considering how good most of the Color Tattoo range is, and considering how difficult it was for me to find them.

The LE Maybelline Color Tattoo mattes contain 4 grams of product and retail anywhere from $4.50 to $7 each depending on where (IF) you can find them.

Have any of you tried the LE Color Tattoo mattes?  If so, what did you think?

Overall:  5/10  

Maybelline Color Tattoo in Pomegranate Punk

Lately I have been in love with the Maybelline Color Tattoos.  On a whim a couple of months ago, I picked up Pomegranate Punk.  

In the pan it's a dark maroon color.  I had no idea what I would use this for, but it was so pretty I couldn't resist.

On the skin, it's less red, more brown and the sparkles are more evident.  It can be a little patchy, so I generally don't wear this color by itself.

I've been using this as a base under plummy eyeshadows and it's been fantastic.  It's not so red that I feel like it makes my eyes look tired, but it definitely makes a look more smoky.

The Maybelline Color Tattoo in Pomegranate Punk contains 4 grams of product and is available wherever Maybelline is sold.  I picked mine up for less than $4 at my local grocery store.

Overall:  8/10

Maybelline Color Tattoo in #15 Blue Paradise

I am not sure when the Maybelline Color Tattoo in Blue Paradise came out.  I just saw it a couple of weeks ago, but I saw YouTube videos from UK YouTubers ages ago using this shade, though I'm pretty sure it's called Light In Purple in the UK.  (See Shiv from LetzMakeup's tutorial HERE)

(daybulb)

(indirect sunlight)

Blue Paradise is a sheer light blue base with blue, silver and violet shimmer.  I think this shadow is just stunning.  It's a chameleon shade and definitely changes color depending on the light and angle.  I found it to be a little patchy, but since I think I would most likely wear this shade layered over a darker shade, I don't think that's necessarily a problem for me.

I found the texture of this shade to be much more similar to the recent Color Tattoo Metal line than to the other, standard Color Tattoos I've tried.

Wear time on this product was good.  I got a good six hours before I had any noticeable fading.  And unlike other glittery color tattoos that I've tried (*cough*BoldGold*cough*), it didn't leave glitter on my face.

The Maybelline Color Tattoo in Blue Paradise contains 4 grams of product and retails for around $6 wherever Maybelline is sold.  I got mine at Wal-Mart.

Overall: 8/10

Maybelline Color Tattoo Metals

These aren't new products but I have a big backlog of reviews, so I figured better late than never.  This review is on the Maybelline Color Tattoo Metals.  As far as I can tell, the Metals line launched for Spring 2013 with 5 shades.  The one shade that I did not pick up was Electric Blue because I know I would never wear it.  

So, on to the shades I did pick up ...

• 55 Inked In Pink - Warm, rosy pink.  The formula was very creamy and smooth.
• 60 Silver Strike - There didn't seem to be a whole lot of pigmentation to the base.  It mostly seems like silver glitter.  It has an okay texture and applied fairly evenly.
• 65 Gold Rush - Very orangy yellow gold.  This had the worst texture of the bunch.  It was incredibly patchy and uneven.
• 70 Barely Branded - Warm champagne beige.  Fantastic texture, creamiest of the bunch.  It stuck me as very similar to the Make Up For Ever Aqua Cream #13. (swatched below for comparison)

So if the regular Color Tattoo line is the MAC Paint Pot knockoff, the Tattoo Metals line is definitely the Make Up For Ever Aqua Cream knockoff.  

The Maybelline Color Tattoos have a fantastic price point.  I had great wear times with all these shades and no creasing (though I will admit that it is rare for me to have creasing with a cream eye product).

I am a little baffled by both Silver Strike and Gold Rush.  A metallic silver and a metallic gold should have been automatic home runs.  Just about every makeup line out there has some variation on these kinds of cream shadows or liners and yet, these two were just duds for me.  They were uneven, the gold was a brassy, brash unflattering gold.

I do think that Inked In Pink and Barely Branded are fantastic shades and really can go toe to toe with the MUFE Aqua Creams in terms of color payoff and wear time at about a quarter of the cost.

Maybelline Color Tattoo Metals contain 4 grams of product and retail for around $6.