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

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

Illamasqua Cream Pigment in Hollow

Hi!

Long time no post.  Sorry.  Festivus is upon us and I hope you're all having a wonderful holiday season!

Now, on to the review ....

Illamasqua cream pigment in Hollow is a very cool toned light brown.  It's been all over YouTube for the last couple of months and the people who love it seem to REALLY love it.

Sadly, I'm not one of them.

\

Being on the pasty side of pale, I'm always looking for something that I can use to contour that isn't too orange or too dark.  I was particularly interested in this product both because it's a cream (with my super dry skin, I will almost always prefer a cream product over a powder) and because it can do double duty as an all over lid color.

On the whole, I've been very impressed with Illamasqua products.  Their nail polishes are phenomenal and their blushes are fantastic.  While I love the way the packaging on this product looks (it's not too fussy and the shape lends itself well to storage - unlike MAC paint pots), I think that the packaging actually ends up working against the product.

My Illamasqua cream blush has very similar packaging, but the cream blush formula is more emollient.  I haven't noticed any issues with the blush drying out.

With the cream pigment, however, the large amount of surface area relative to the total amount of product in the container means it dries out.  I haven't had any issue with it pulling away from the sides of the container or cracking (though I suspect it's only a matter of time), but it does seem to get almost a film on top of the product.  If it hasn't been used recently, I sort of have to scrub off the top layer in order to get to the emollient product.

The color is nice for contouring.  I, personally, didn't have much luck using it as an all over lid eye color.  It looked phenomenal on other people, but only succeeded in making me look tired.  It did, however, wear well, both as a contour and as a lid color, no creasing.

Initially I had also wanted to pick up the cream pigment in Delerium, but after how poorly Hollow has performed, I took it off my wishlist :(  I am curious to see if other colors perform better, but not curious enough to plunk down another chunk of money for it.  Overall, I don't hate this product, but I also don't love it.  I think MAC paint pots and Maybelline Color Tattoos perform better (if only I could find the LE Mattes!!).

The Illamasqua Cream Pigment in Hollow contains 8 grams of product.  It retails for $26.  I purchased mine at Sephora.

Overall:  5/10

Hard Candy Eye Def Metallic Eyeshadow in #426 Golden Earth

Yes, my Hard Candy kick continues with the Hard Candy Eye Def Metallic Eyeshadow in #426 Golden Earth.  I was super impressed with the other Hard Candy cream eyeshadows I've tried, so I didn't hesitate to pick up the metallic cream eyeshadow.

(The Eye Def range also includes Glitter shadows, which I have not tried.)

This definitely is metallic, but sheered out (as you can see above on the right), it's very wearable.  Applied heavily it is a full on metallic bronze.  Sheered out it is much warmer, redder and softer, not as metallic.  

The eyeshadow has a thick cream texture that is easily applied with the doe foot applicator.  The packaging itself is underwhelming.  It's a super long plastic tube with an equally long applicator wand.  I suspect that you would waste a lot of product because of the packaging, but since there's virtually no danger of me ever running out of any of my color cosmetics, it's not something I'm going to worry about, especially at this price point.

It sheers out easily and it dries down quickly.  It's perhaps not quite as quick to set as the Hard Candy liquid eyeshadow, but it is set in less than a minute and I didn't find it prone to creasing as it dried.  I did not leave my eyes closed while it set, though you certainly could if you're worried about it.  It does dry quickly enough that I would recommend applying it to one eye at a time.  Once it is set, it is very budge proof and not at all tacky.  It does need to be removed with an oil cleanser or oil based makeup remover.

The Hard Candy Eye Def Metallic Eyeshadow contains 12.6 grams of product and comes in 9 shades.

It retails exclusively at Wal-Mart for $6.

Overall:  8/10

Hard Candy Shadow Dancers Liquid to Powder Eyeshadow in Head to Toe

Hard Candy isn't a brand I've ever really been too interested in, but lately I have to say, I think they've been putting out some really nice products at great price points.  I was particularly impressed with their All Lid Up Cream Shadows, which are really similar to the MAKE UP FOR EVER Aqua Creams at a fraction of the price.

So when I saw their Shadow Dancers Liquid to Powder Eyeshadow, I had to give it a try.  These launched with Hard Candy's Spring 2013 collection.  I picked up #578, Head to Toe.  This contains two liquid eyeshadows, one is a bronzy brown and the other is a shimmery peachy nude.  The silver part in the middle of the tube contains a dual ended doe foot applicator and the two ends containing the product screw onto it.

Both colors contain a good bit of glitter, but they can be sheered out fairly easily.  So depending on how many layers you apply, you can get anything from a light wash of color to very metallic.  Despite being called a liquid, this product isn't really runny at all.  It's very creamy.  

The product goes on tacky, but dries down quickly and sets in under thirty seconds.  It's called a "liquid to powder", but I have several other liquid to powder products and this really doesn't have a powder finish to me.  It certainly sets, but it doesn't feel powdery at all.  It's pretty budge proof and I didn't have any issues with it creasing - even without a primer.  After six hours there was some wear, but it wasn't looking bad.  I did need to use an oil cleanser to remove the product.

The packaging isn't the most elegant, but at this price point, I'm willing to deal with it.

Hard Candy Shadow Dancers Liquid to Powder Eyeshadow contains 5.9 grams of product and retails for $6 at Wal-Mart.

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

Revlon ColorStay Smoky Shadow Stick in 201 Torch

I love cream shadows, but I really love cream shadows for summer.  They're just super quick and easy to throw on and you can apply and/or blend with fingers so you don't need to dirty up any extra brushes.  

I love the Urban Decay shadow pencils and the Make Up For Ever Aqua Creams, but I'm always looking for something more budget friendly (other than the Milani ShadowEyez which are fantastic).  So, I picked up the Revlon ColorStay Smoky Shadow Stick in #201, Torch.

This is a dual ended cream shadow pencil.  The lighter color has a rounded end and is a really light, iridescent champagne pink color.  It doesn't pack a big color punch, but it definitely brightens things up.

The darker end is pointed, I guess for more precision application.  It's really not pointed enough to use as a liner.  The darker color swatches fantastically well.  It is a gorgeous dark bronzy chocolate color.  I have to say that on the eye once blended out, it's considerably less impressive.  You just get a generic dark smudgy brown.

The first time I tried these shadows, I applied them directly on the lid and I ended up with creasing.  They didn't crease immediately, but it did happen.  The second time, I applied them over Too Faced Shadow Insurance and they didn't budge at all.

The Revlon ColorStay Smoky Shadow Sticks contain .07oz of product and retail for between $7 and $10 wherever Revlon is sold.  I got mine at Target.

Overall: 5/10

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.

Flower Beauty Color Play Creme Eyeshadow in Wild Geranium

A couple of weeks ago, I picked up another item from Flower Beauty.  It's the Color Play Creme Eyeshadow in CP3, Wild Geranium.  

The online swatches look like a pale pink, which this color most certainly is not.  The line comes in a dozen shades.  If you want to pick some up, I would recommend either doing it in person or if you have to order online, make sure to check out blogger swatches first, because the online swatches, in my experience, do not line up to what you get in the little pots.

Wild Geranium is a warm peachy copper.  The color applies very true to pan with excellent pigmentation.  The texture of the cream shadow is very light and whipped.  It applied evenly and smoothly for me.  I didn't find it to be patchy at all.  The color is buildable, but you need to let it dry down a bit between coats.

The color does "set".  It doesn't have a powder finish and remains slightly tacky, but not enough that I found it objectionable.

I know that some people had problems with the Flower cream eyeshadows creasing.  I did not personally have any problems with this shadow creasing.  I wore it for a good 8 hours with no primer underneath and it didn't crease.  That said, this is a pretty forgiving color.  If it had creased, I don't think it would be very apparent.  And my eyelids aren't particularly oily.  Your mileage may vary.

Surprisingly, while this cream shadow stayed put during the day, it removed without a problem at the end of the day.  Just using my normal cream cleanser, it removed completely without having to fight it.  I didn't experience any eyelid staining from this color.

The Flower creme eyshadows contain 3.5 grams of product and are available exclusively at Wal-Mart for $7.98 each.

Overall:  10/10

MAKE UP FOR EVER Aqua Cream #13

I have a couple of Make Up For Ever products that I received as 500 point perks from Sephora (Smoky Lash mascara, HD powder, Lab Shine lip gloss), but the Make Up For Ever Aqua Cream in number 13 is the first MUFE product I've purchased outright.

MUFE describes number 13 as "warm beige" - Sephora describes it as "warm beige - champaigne shimmer" which is probably more apt.  This particular color is formulated for eyes and cheeks (as opposed to lips and cheeks).

As you can see from the swatch on my skintone this shade is mostly shimmer/highlight.  The formula is very long wearing and is waterproof - and even an oil based makeup remover took some doing to completely get rid of it.

The effect is similar to the Urban Decay 24/7 shadow pencil in Sin or the Milani ShadowEyez pencil in Champagne Toast though both of those colors are decidedly pink where this is solidly beige.

I really adore products like this.  They are easy to apply and have great wear times.  The colors are subtle, but the sheen really gives it a dramatic pop.  I wore this all day with no creasing and minimal fading.

MUFE Aqua Creams contain 6 grams of product and retail for $23.

Overall:  10/10