I'm sorry I've had a tough time keeping up this month! I've just been SO tired from work and with my limited time to actually test products well, it's been tough to keep up! And this week, lucky me, a wisdom tooth seems to be emerging and is SO painful. While it's been rare that I've worn any makeup at all, fortunately, I've been keeping notes! I bought one Maybelline Color Tattoo a few months back (January or February?) and earlier this month I decided to pick up the other two shades during a BOGO50% off sale at Ulta with one of their $3.50 off coupons. (I was pretty excited since it only ended up being $7.63 for two!!)
The shades I have are the most neutral ones - Tough as Taupe, Bad to the Bronze, and Audacious Asphalt. For some reason, Audacious Asphalt has a green-ish tinge in these photos - not sure why?? Also, the packaging has a nice weight to them but why did the "Color Tattoo" label have to be placed on crooked on my newer ones? It just seems silly to me.
(Clockwise - Tough as Taupe, Bad to the Bronze, Audacious Asphalt) I'm sorry I had already tried Tough as Taupe long before I took these photos!
Tough as Taupe is a gray-taupe shade with a bit of pink in it that could make a great base for nearly any skintone. On me, it also works as subtle definition on my lid. I love that this shade is matte, and I hope that Maybelline will release more matte neutral shades!
Bad to the Bronze, while it appears very warm in the jar, is definitely not as bronze or metallic as I thought it would be. (Wohoo!) I thought it might be too shimmery, but the shade is tame enough for everyday wear.
Audacious Asphalt is a pretty gray silver. I think in some lights or on some skintones it will have that greenish tinge I mentioned before. I know when I was swatching it definitely looked that way in some lights!
(Swatches, top to bottom - Tough as Taupe, Bad to the Bronze, Audacious Asphalt) Sorry the shot is not super crisp... :(
I tested these shades without primer on each occasion. I hoped that they would be very long wearing, but I do have very oily lids. My favorite primer is Nars Smudgeproof Eyeshadow Base, and with it I can definitely get many superb formulas to last 24 hours. Other products such as the Stila Smudge Crayon and L'Oreal Infallible (and a few others I can't seem to think of at the moment) can last at least 10-14 hours on my lids without a primer, so this is a bit of a disappointment for me. The product does claim to be 24hr, after all.
When I tested, I managed to wear one shade for about 7 hours before noticeable creasing occurred. The color began to fade at this point as well. The space near my lashline (where I have a small crease/fold) is the most oily, and at this point the color in that area completely disappeared. I also wore this shadow into the shower one day, and it essentially melted off in the warm water without me doing anything. (I waited 30-45 minutes before showering) Based on these results, don't imagine these would be waterproof.
While the product is pigmented, I needed a few swipes of color to get even application. (I apply these and the L'Oreal Infallible shadows with my finger unless I am using them as liner.)
All in all, I like the texture, application, and shade range of L'Oreal Infallible Eyeshadows much better. However, these are quite good for drugstore cream eyeshadows, and they do have very smooth, creamy textures. (I find that some cream eyeshadows can be quite hard unless you really warm them up, including mid-range ones like Benefit...) If Maybelline releases more everyday shades, I will definitely pick them up for some quick & easy eyeshadow options.
How about you? Did you run to pick up Maybelline Color Tattoo eyeshadows? If you have some, how do you like them?