Sparkled Beauty

I don't know about you but this week has been a really long one for me. I felt like I didn't get much stuff done and time just dragged on. Winter blues, you would say.

These are the swatches of the Maybelline Color Tattoo eyeshadows that a few of you wanted to see when I posted my Shoppers Redemption haul. I bet by now you have seen quite a few reviews of them or have owned some yourself. But here is what I think about them.

First row, from L-R: Audacious Asphalt, Bad to the Bronze, Tough as Taupe

Second row: Pomegranate Punk and Tenacious Teal.

All in all, I think I got a good bunch of colours. Not all among 10 shades available are pigmented, I'm glad I had seen swatches before deciding on the purchase.

Here they are again with the lids off. I love looking at them like this, all smooth and perfect in the pot and feel bad when I have to dig my brush into them.

The pots all came sealed with plastic wraps which is a total plus. Nothing grosser than a cream product with someone else's finger prints on top.

Just by the look, you can tell 4 of the pots are shimmery, only one is matte. We all agree that Maybelline should bring out more matte shades. Maybe they will, after the first 10 colours to test the market. But I gotta tell you it is one good matte shade we have!

On to the swatches, in the same order as the pics above.

This is the coverage I got with a synthetic brush - which is my preferable way to apply cream eyeshadows, 2 swipes each. I also have swatches with a finger below for comparison.

As expected, swatches with a brush bring a sheerer finish, better for a base. So use your fingers if you want to wear them as eyeshadoes, but you still need a brush to blend them out :)

Surprisingly, for a non-neutral kinda fan, my ultimate favorites are Audacious Asphalt and Tough as Taupe, great for both regular and smoky look. Bad to the Bronze is the very close second.

Pomegranate Punk is a really pretty plum shade too, but it takes a bit of getting used to. And needless to say, Tenacious Teal is a bright pretty aqua colour to bright up all eye colours.

Oh who am I kidding? I love them all already!

Here are the colours, applied with my index finger, light handed.

The thing with using fingers is that you can control the pressure, hence affect the pigmentation which is also easier to build up in this case.

This pic was taken with flash, and the one below was with natural light. The flash did bring out more of the shimmery sheen but not too much.

Now, in terms of wear, these Color Tattoos last longer on my lids as base than by themselves as eyeshadows, which I expected. I avoid any possible creasing for days I need them to stay on extra long (say evening plans after work) by using a powder eyeshadow or pigment on the crease, blending upward.

I don't use MAC paint pots as base very often, so I won't compare them together - other than pricing.

MAC paint pots are CAD21 for .17oz/ 5g, which comes out to CAD123.5 per oz or CAD4.2 per gram.

Maybelline Color Tattoos are CAD8.99 at Shoppers for .14oz/ 4g, i.e. CAD64.2 per oz or CAD2.25 per gram. As drugstore products, these would go on sale often, and I saw these at Walmart for CAD6.96, so you can tell who wins over my wallet.

I am not a hard core MAC fan, so I would go with the product that delivers great result with reasonable price. Now I hope Maybelline would release more colours, including mattes in the future.

It is supposed to be messy later today with a mix of snow and (freezing) rain, so stay safe my local readers and those who have similar or worst weather forecast.