Have We Met Before?: Maybelline Color Tattoo Metal Review and Comparison

Today's post is courtesy of morbid curiosity and a sale at Walgreen's. For some time now, I've been intrigued by Maybelline's Color Tattoo series; not so much because I thought they were new and exciting, but more for the sheer fact that they weren't. I already own the Benefit Creaseless Cream Eye Shadow that's almost exactly like it, and both of those products seem ridiculously similar to MAC's Paint Pots. The curiosity stems from the fact that I paid a heck of a lot more for my Benefit. Well, actually, no I didn't, come to think about it. I have three colors, and one was free, one was bought cheap from a third party, and the other...oh, yeah, I did pay full price for that one! Well, there you go.

Anyway, I have been really hesitant to buy any of the Color Tattoos because the only shades that really interested me were shades I already owned. I mean, I have silver, gold, and pewter bases from Benefit. Urban Decay also has a gold, along with Eden's yellow-y flesh-tone and Sin's champagne pink. Plus, I've got shadow pencils from UD and NYX, so, really, I'm good. This is not said to brag about my extensive collection (ha! It fits in a drawer with a few extra things in a case. It's not anything to brag about. I don't "collect". I buy stuff that I'm actually going to use on a day to day basis), but to show you that this is not a new thing. It's just new to the drugstore. I'd have tried them out a long time ago if I'd been able to justify the purchase, but I couldn't. Honestly, I still can't, but my curiosity got the better of me; I had to know if this was the same thing. If so, I could let you guys know, and also save myself a few bucks when my higher-end bases run out. The "Inked in Pink" shade from the new Metal line looked incredibly pretty, so I snapped up one and took it home to try out.

Dear God, my countertops don't look anywhere near that filthy in person! I just cleaned that bathroom Monday!

The color is a beautiful, shimmering rose. I can say from experience, now, that it looks stunning with gold, but I think it would be equally pretty with cooler tones, as well. It's just a good, neutral shade. The packaging is also gorgeous. The product comes packed in a heavy glass jar, with a black plastic lid. It looks very sleek, and very high-end. In fact...



...they're twins!! Benefit's Creaseless Cream Eye Shadow comes in the exact same packaging. The only differences between the two are the design of sticker on the lid, and the Benefit holds half a gram more product. That's it.

Here are the Maybelline and Benefit swatched together. Obviously, the colors are not the same, but the consistency and pigmentation are on par with one another.

While I was at it, I thought I'd check out how the Maybelline compared to UD Sin Primer Potion. There's really no comparison. The UD is a very pale champagne color, where the Maybelline is a truer pink. The UD is also very dry, while the Maybelline has a wetter formula. As a final test of all three products, I washed my hands. See, when I first opened up the Maybelline, I swatched the color on the back of my hand, just to see what it looked like, then washed my hands with soap to clean it off. It didn't budge. Period. I eventually had to use makeup remover. This time, I used a lot more soap, water as hot as I could stand it, and scrubbed. The first to go was the Benefit, in a laughably short amount of time. The Maybelline did come off, but it took some work. The winner was actually the Primer Potion, with a little left on my hand even after I gave up and dried off.

This is a shot of the Color Tattoo alone on my eye. The shade is very pale, so it blends into my NW15 skin, but you can definitely see the shine. My lids look wet! This does dry quickly, so if you want to blend it into another product, you have to work pretty fast. Just FYI, I tried it with Benefit Sippin' and Dippin' (that's the product I've compared it with in this post), and the effect was just beautiful. Plus, they blended together very easily, so if you own some cream products and just want to add to your stash, these should work well with the stuff you already have.

Here, you can see the finished eye look, with the Color Tattoo used as a base for powder shadows. I used Sin all over the lid, Virgin on the inner corner, Naked in the crease (all from the Urban Decay Naked palette), Faint on the outer corner and W.O.S. as brow highlight (both from the Urban Decay Naked Basics palette). UD 24/7 Shadow Pencil in Rehab works as lower lash liner, and UD 24/7 Glide-On Pencil in Zero lines the upper lashes. Mascara is Buxom Lash. After almost four hours, there's absolutely no creasing or fading.

Bottom line, this is a fantastic product. It looks beautiful both on your eyes and on your counter, and is every bit as good (if not better) than its higher-end counterpart. And it's a third of the price. Did I mention that? A Color Tattoo will run around $6.99, and that's without a coupon or sale. Benefit runs $19. I didn't have a MAC Paint Pot to compare in this post, but I've used them, and they're the same thing. One of them will set you back $18.50. If you're looking for a good shadow base, and like the colors that Maybelline offers (and there are fourteen to choose from), you can't beat this.

Final Verdict: 10 out of 10. This is an absolute gem.

NYX Crimson Amulet/Dark Shadows Part II: In-Depth Review and Look

Sit back, relax, maybe go get a snack, 'cause this is a long one, folks! A few weeks ago, Ulta gave away little $5 off coupons that would be good this week. I used mine yesterday to purchase the NYX Crimson Amulet Palette, inspired by the movie Dark Shadows. Let me tell you, I am so excited I could spit. Here is an in-depth look at the palette, along with my review and a look (told you this would be long). Spoiler Alert: I like the palette. A lot. You should run and get one. Now. Like, yesterday. Go.

Outer packaging (Not terribly important, but here it is)

Closed palette. Looks kind of like a fancy DVD case with a snap button closure. It's heavy cardboard, and can definitely stand up to travel and some wear and tear.

Inside, you have 24 shadows and a large mirror. I've not tried using the mirror, and am not entirely sure how to best hold the palette to do so, but it sure beats nothing.

Here's a close up of the shadows. There's a nice variety of satin, shimmer, glitter, and matte finishes. The top twelve are colors, and the bottom are neutrals. Just go ahead and toss the applicators.

Flipping over the mirror, here's the other side. The inspiration looks aren't super helpful. I'd rather have had another mirror, or even just a cool graphic. Here you see an HD shadow primer, black eyeliner, five blushes (some matte, some shimmer), a highlighter, and four glosses.

Close-up of the products.

Top twelve shadows.

  

Top Row



Middle Row



Bottom Row

Bottom twelve shadows.

Top Row

Middle Row

Bottom Row

Reminder of blush/gloss side.

Highlighter and Blushes

Glosses

Primer and Liner

I love this palette. Love, love, love it. It's one of--no, it's the most complete palette I've ever seen. Honestly, all you need is a little foundation, powder, and mascara and you're good to go. You could fancy it up with bronzer and a brow kit, but they're not necessary. On top of that, everything's good. There's not a clunker product in the bunch. The shadows are all creamy and well-pigmented. Sure, the mattes are a little dry at first, but once you get through the top layer, they're lovely (mattes can be like that sometimes). The blushes are varied and gorgeous, and I'm dying to figure out how to wear that unbelievable red. The primer has held my glittery eyeshadow in place with no fallout, and the liner is a surprisingly easy to work with jet black. I say surprisingly easy because I suck at liquid liner. Absolutely suck at it. I blink, my hand shakes...it's not pretty. I still can't get a straight line, but I was able to get it straighter than usual, then finished cleaning it up with a little black shadow. The glosses are a little stiff at first, but once you get in there, they're opaque and have plenty of color payoff. The one thing that other reviewers have complained the most about is the highlighter, and I have to say, I don't get that. I mean, it's not the most remarkable highlighter I've ever used, but it's more than serviceable. It actually reminds me a lot of one that came in a Sephora palette I took on the road with me for Beauty & the Beast, only I like this one better. Go figure.

I needed another palette like a hole in the head. I have an entire bathroom drawer full of them, and those are only the ones I use regularly. However, I do, on occasion, find myself doing someone else's makeup. I'm not a professional makeup artist, and don't pretend to be, but sometimes my Mom will have something fancy to go to and wants a little help. Maybe a friend's getting married and needs someone to help a younger bridesmaid with her makeup. Those sorts of things come up from time to time, and this is a terrific almost-all-in-one palette to grab.*

So, here's the look I came up with. I did this running out the door this morning, so please bear that in mind. You can do cool stuff very quickly with this palette because it's all there. You don't even have to think. I love that. I'm not very good at thinking in the mornings.

Poorly photographed look. I really need to get someone else to take these pictures. A cameraphone aimed by looking in the mirror really isn't cutting it. I'll list all the products used below.

Primer: Included HD Eyeshadow Primer. Lid/All Over Color: Champagne found on top row, second over. Blending Color: Lavender on second row, first shade. Crease and Lower Lash Line: Royal Blue Glitter on second row, last shade. Liner: Included black liner, cleaned up with Black found on top row, first shade. Blush is the largest blush in the palette, with Highlighter dusted over the tops of cheekbones.

I just can't take a picture when my brows are cleaned up, can I?
Other Products Used:
Too Faced Beauty Balm in Vanilla Glow
E.L.F. Brow Kit in Medium
Benefit Boi-ing Concealer in Light
Urban Decay Razor Sharp HD Powder
Victoria's Secret Beauty Rush Mascara (I really don't care for this. See the flakes?)
Benefit Hoola Bronzer
  

Seriously, that's it. That's a heckuva lot easier to toss into a travel bag than my usual stash. I hope this has been helpful, and I can't recommend this enough.

Final Verdict: 10 out of 10. It's just plain awesomesauce, and a steal at under $25.

*Obviously, if you're doing someone else's makeup, you'll need to use a different eyeliner (one that's never been used, or one belonging to the person who's makeup you're doing). You'll also want to make sure that you've never double-dipped into the lipgloss. Safety first, guys. 

Do Vampires Need Illuminating Powder? Dark Shadows-Inspired NYX Palette

***Read my full review here!***

One of the last times I played around in Ulta (because, really, how is that shopping? It's like a grown-up girl playground in there), I ran across this palette from NYX that even made Thomas stop and say, "Oh, that's cool!"

Photo Credit: Musings of a Muse

It's the NYX Crimson Amulet palette, inspired by the upcoming Tim Burton/Johnny Depp movie, Dark Shadows, and it is stunning.

***Please Note: This is not a review. I don't own this, and my entire experience with it was while standing around in a store. This is more of a heads up that this exists, just in case you want to check it out further yourself. ***

Okay, disclaimer's out of the way, so here are my initial thoughts:

The shadow colors I was able to swatch (and not photograph. Sorry) were very soft, creamy, and pigmented. NYX is known for having quality makeup, so I wasn't surprised. There's also a nice variety of hues to choose from.

The packaging is cute, if a little confusing. I'm not keen on the mirror's placement (you can't see it in this picture, but it, along with a "get the look" card, is placed between the shadow side and the blush/lip color side). I can only see it getting very dirty and difficult to use. The cardboard palette does seem sturdy, though. I think it'd be fine in an organized makeup bag.

I love that this comes with a eyelid primer and liner. Really, all you need is some foundation, powder, mascara and concealer, and you are completely set. It's one of the most complete palettes I've seen, and would be great for travel. In fact, if you prefer using shadow for liner, you could pop a deluxe sample size of mascara in the liner section.

All in all, I like it, and would recommend checking it out in person at your local Ulta. It's $24.99, and contains 24 shadows, 5 blushes, 4 glosses, 1 illuminating powder, 1 eyeliner, and 1 HD eyelid primer. I'd say that  has the potential to be a phenomenal deal.