REVIEW: Maybelline Color Tattoo 24hr Eyeshadow in 23 Bad to the Bronze

I finally picked up one of these much talked about Maybelline Color Tattoo 24hr Eyeshadows. I went the totally boring route and picked a safe aka neutral colour - Bad to the Bronze.

It's been a long time since I've used a cream eyeshadow. I think my last one was one of those Revlon eyeshadow quads that came with a row of 4 round pans. Anyone remember those?

Anyway, while I liked the ease of application on those, they had horrible staying power. So since then I've stuck with pressed powder eyeshadows. I decided to give it another go after hearing all the hype surrounding these long lasting cream eyeshadows. Maybelline has Color Tattoo, Make Up Forever Aqua Creams, MAC Paint Pots, Stila Smudge Pots, Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadow/Liners, and well, you get the idea...

Although Maybelline is a drugstore line, it's been receiving great reviews on Makeupalley and various blogs. It's also been compared to its higher end counterparts, particularly MAC's Paint Pots, so I thought I'd start with it.

Bad to the Bronze is a metallic medium tan color. When I think Bronze, I think of something a little more golden. Temptalia has a swatch on her website where it seems very gold and shimmery, but I didn't find that to be the case. Reviewing my own swatch photo and those of other bloggers, it seems most see it as being more in the tan or taupe family. Also, while it is metallic, it's certainly nowhere near a chrome finish. The metallic is more of a satin with subtle shimmer. I would still categorize this in the "safe" - versatile, wear to work, everyday type of color.

I'm hesitant to make a blanket statement about the Color Tattoo in general as I've read reviews that the pigmentation/application is different depending on the shade. However, I can say that Bad to the Bronze in particular, has staying power. I was using Stila's Primer Pot in Taffy but this is just as good and unlike the primer pots, these can be used alone as eyeshadow. I would say this particular shade is similar to Stila's Smudge Pots in that they are long-lasting cream eyeshadows but the texture is closer to the Primer Pots - thicker, more opaque, budge proof.

I can also attest to its claim of lasting 24 hours. Yes, I applied it before work (around 9AM), went out after work, then prompty fell asleep when I got home until about 9AM the next day. I had what my husband calls "panda eyes" when I woke up, but my lids were still Bad to the Bronze'd up!

I'm currently using this eyeshadow as a base under Revlon's Luxurious Color eyeshadow single in Polished Bronze. The two colors are very similar (Polished Bronze is less metallic) but the Revlon has horrible staying power. Previously I used Stila's Primer Pot as the based but using a like-colored base means even longer staying power - as the powder shadow wears off, the color remains.

I am definitely purchasing more cream eyeshadows. I might pick up a couple more neutral shades from the Color Tattoo line. The rest of the colors are beautiful but not wearable for the office. I'm also going to venture out and try a few more, perhaps from MUFE, MAC, and Benefit.

Do you use cream eyeshadows? Any recommendations?

TOPBOX: February 2012

The February Topbox will be my third month subscribing to them. Unlike my box from last month, February brought two full-sized items. However, I'm still on the fence about continuing my subscription.

First, here's what I received:





1) Full sized C.Booth Anti-aging Handcream
2) Full sized Pari eyeshadow in a "personalized" color
3) 3ml sample tube of YSL Mascara
4) Postcard dab sample of YSL Touche Eclat Concealer
5) 2 3ml sample packets of LillyPilly lotions

A quick calculation shows that the YSL mascara is worth $16, 2 x LillyPilly creme is worth $0.88, full sized Pari eyeshadow is $11, full size C.Booth lotion is $16. I didn't include the YSL Touch Eclat dab sample as that can't be anything other than free...

So $16+$0.88+$11+$16=$43.88. Not bad! I do think it's overinflated as volume based calculation can be deceiving - the size of the YSL mascara and LillyPilly creme samples are the type you can get for free just by asking at a beauty counter or as part of a gift-with-purchase offer.

However, even at $27, you're definitely making your $11.30 (after tax) back...provided you will actually use the products.

Now that we've done the math, let's get on with the overview of February's box, shall we?

Note that I only receives these items Thursday night so this is just based on a couple uses of each



Full sized C.Booth Anti-aging Hand & Nail Treatment - Full Size 120ml for $16
This is a nice hand lotion that's not too greasy but still moisturizing. It doesn't blow me away. It's no holy grail. But I do appreciate the large size because I go through hand lotion like a bulldozer during the winter months.

I care about anti-aging but not so much my hands so honestly, I'm not really interested in this particular product but more so the type of product it is.

I have to say, I would have liked to received something more interesting to sample though. For me, these boxes are a way to try interesting new brands or types of products that would appeal to me but that I've never had the opportunity to try. It's not to receive products that I "need" because that's boring. That's like receiving a pair of functional nude undies from the significant other. Yeah, you need it but let's leave the boring necessities for self purchasing and the lacy racy number as a gift, am I right ladies?



Full sized Pari Eyeshadow in E54 - Full Size 2g for $11
According to their website, Pari does not test on animals. They are dedicated to color and "mineral" makeup. They also "try to use 100% recyclable packaging and the finest quality ingredients available.". Honestly? To me, that sounds like a load of B to the S. What does "try" really mean? Are your products 100% recyclable and using quality ingredients or only 50% or 25% or 1%...

It certainly doesn't sell me on the brand but since mineral makeup isn't a criteria for me, I'm still game to try it out.

In the pan, E54 reminds me of MAC Trax eyeshadow. It looks almost bronze or reddish in the packaging but after swiping, it definitely is a plummy purple with gold shimmer although less pearly/shimmery. It's a beautiful multidimensional color in the pan. Unfortunately, it does not perform anywhere near MAC when applied. The formula, like many mineral eyeshadows I've tried, is chalky. It has bad color payoff when applied to unprimed lids and is difficult to blend. Pari recommends priming the lid first but that doesn't say anything to the product quality itself as primer can pretty much make any horrible eyeshadow show up!

The price is higher than drugstore single pans but the quality is actually worse. This is not a line I'd be interested in based on this eyeshadow and also how they describe their environmental/ethical efforts.

2 sample packets of LillyPilly lotions - Full Size $22 for 150ml
Not a fan. It's not so bad I wouldn't use it in a pinch but this is no better than the other drugstore lotions. It's a light lotion and in a very short amount of time (literally 15 minutes or so!), I need to reapply. I would use something of this consistency in the summer but winter? It's pretty much useless. Last month we received the Tea Tree version and this month it's Kakadu Plum. Honestly, seems like only the scent is different. Will not repurchase the full price version.



Sample tube of YSL Volume Effect Faux Cils Mascara - Fill Size $36 for 6ml
First, the formula was really dry. It was more like a thick cream than a liquid. As I applied, little flakes/chunks attached to my lashes and also fell out of the tube. However, it is very dramatic. It provides a jet black matte coat to each lash, a very thick coat after only a couple swipes. Unfortunaetly, I have fine and somewhat sparse lashes so this just emphasized that. I think this mascara would be great for someone who wants that "kawaii" look with heavy doll like lashes or someone who has dense but fine lashes. It does not hold a curl but neither does it straighten your lashes like some mascara I've tried. However, it does smudge. I worn it to the gym for an hour long run as the sweat from that would be equivalent to a hot summer day. My undereye area was gray from the mascara.

The L'Oreal and Maybelline mascaras I purchase for around $5 on sale are way better than this. Over $40 after tax for a tube of mascara that doesn't perform as well and has to be thrown away in approx. 6 months? No thanks.

Postcard dab sample of YSL Touche Eclat Concealer - Full Size $50 for 3ml
According to Sephora, there's only 0.1z of this product in each tube. Which makes it $50 for just less than 3ml of product. The price itself is utterly ridiculous, IMO, even if the product works. This dab sample saddens me. What is the point of it?! There is too much product for a concealer that should be used very sparingly but you can't reseal it because as soon as the little dab tab is lifted, it's a goner.

Secondly, I received color #2 which would probably work for someone around the NC20-25 range. I'm around the NC35-37 and this made me look like Nicole Kidman in that infamous white undereye powder pic.

Lastly, you can request one of these sample cards pretty much anywhere so it honestly seemed like a filler product to me.

So overall, what do I think of February's box?

As you may recall, last month I received a sample of Benefit's Benetint and it was about 1/2 full. I checked other blogs and it was indeed an error because other photos showed full tubes. I decided not to use it since it seemed to have been opened already.

I posted the error on their facebook and was told I would receive another one in this month's box but I did not receive it.

As for this month's products? I have two pieces of constructive criticism:

1) Variety - I received two lotions in a row. Some people received two full sized lotions in a row. Perhaps if I indicated hand care as a priority, offer a lotion one month and a scrub the next. Both hand-related but different. But two large lotions in a row seems unimaginative and not a good way to really "sample" beauty products.

2) Sufficient amount of product - Dab samples like the ones you can pull out of a magazine have so little product it seems cheap to include them as part of a paid subscription box. It also doesn't provide enough product for the subscriber to really determine if its good enough to repurchase.

Full sized products are always a treat but if including them is taking away from Topbox's ability to provide a great variety of products? I would rather they nix full-sized items than go with cheap "freebie" sized samples.

So the conclusion is...I'm going to stay with Topbox for another month to see if they've improved on their offerings but if March doesn't blow me away, I might try out Glymm, Luxe Box, or the newly arrived GlossyBox instead.

Do you subscribe to Topbox or another one? What did you received? Were you pleased?

Makeup Notes to Self

I wanted to share some makeup 'tips and tricks' that I use when applying my makeup. Before I get on my soapbox, I just want to write a quick disclaimer. I am far from an expert at things beauty-related. In fact, I'm quiet useless at things like blending multiple eyeshadow colors together, applying false lashes, curling my hair, etc.

But with that in mind, I've come across a few tricks that make my life easier in the mornings. Either through trial and error or reading print media, these have become my tried and true methods:

1) Curl lashes from root to tip in 2-3 steps to create a natural curl instead of a crimp, then go back to the root to curl one last time. By the time I'm down to the tip of my lashes, they've drooped down a bit. My lashes fight against that curl, so the last step brings them back up before I set with mascara.

2) After applying mascara, use a felt-tip liquid eyeliner to dot between the lashes. I have very fine and sparse lashes. Dotting between the lashes makes them seem fuller without looking like I have eyeliner or false lashes on.

3) Use matte eyeshadow to fill in brows instead of or over eyebrow pencil. When you have sparse and light brows, it's very difficult to create a naturally full look unless you're a makeup guru (which I'm not). The shadow helps soften the edges and let's me get away with a less than steady/light hand.

4) Slant tip eyeliner brushes are your friend! I use this to fill my brows in the method above. I have a newer one with tighter bristles that I use to create a clean line and an older one with more splayed out bristles I use to blend the lines a little when they are too sharp. I also use this to line just above my upper lashes with some brown eyeshadow to hide mascara that may have dabbled onto my lids while applying it close to the roots. Much easier than trying to get a Q-tip in there with my lashes already curled up.

5) Use a lipstain under lipstick or gloss I love the type that looks like a marker. A lot of brands in various price points make these now including Josie Maran, Smashbox, Covergirl, and NYC. I particularly like the cheap NYC ones since I'm using these just as a base. I'm constantly eating so lipstick fades really fast. This keeps the color going before I have a chance to reapply. I always use a shade similar to the "topcoat".