Maybelline Color Tattoo Collection - Swatches & Review

If you're a fan of cream eyeshadows like I am, you probably also have some Maybelline Color Tattoos... the problem is that they are addictive. Maybelline is always releasing Limited Edition shades and I find myself picking up one or two, until I've reached a collection of 18 strong! So I decided to do a post where I compare the shades that I own, you won't see much color overlap because I try to purchase only colors which are unique to my collection.

Too Cool, Barely Branded (Metal), Creamy Beige (Leather), Caremel Cool (LE, Dare to go Nude),  Nude Compliment (LE, Dare to go Nude)

Here you can see that the first 5 make great base eyeshadows, I prefer to layer these with eyeshadows of a similar shade to improve the color payoff.

• Too Cool is probably the one which is hardest to blend, being that the consistency is a little bit poorer than the rest. 
• Caramel Cool and Nude Compliment are from the Summer 2013 Limited Edition "Dare to go Nude" collection. 
• Creamy Beige is my dupe for the MAC Paint Pot in Bare Study (it works as an amazing universal base shade).

Inked in Pink (Metal), Vintage Plum (Leather), Deep Forest (Leather), Chocolate Suede (Leather)

• By far my favorite from this lot is Inked in Pink (from the now discontinued Metal collection) because I find it to be the most wearable shade of all of the color tattoos, it's a nice light pink shade with fine shimmer. 
• Chocolate Suede is another one I would recommend, it's part of the current permanent Leather collection, it goes on buttery smooth and has good color payoff. 
• Vintage Plum and Deep Forest are slightly more patchy (probably because they are mattes) but they are also richly pigmented (you're only seeing 1 swipe in the swatches). 

Silver Strike (Metal), Seashore Frosts (LE, Summer 2013), Electric Blue (Metal), Stroke of Midnight (LE, Dare to go Nude), Dramatic Black (Leather)

• Seashore Frosts (Limited Edition, Summer 2013 collection) is the most unique color of this bunch, it's a sheer wash of blue with golden iridescence - this isn't exactly a shade that can be worn alone and it requires some building up to get that golden pop to come out. 
• Electric Blue and Silver Strike are straight-forward metallic shades (from the Metal collection) 
• Electric Blue has a particularly great color payoff 
• Stroke of Midnight was the biggest disappointment of all the color tattoos I own because it has poor color payoff, applies patchy and looks more like a charcoal soot with glitter than a black. I wouldn't even use this color for a base because it's not pigmented enough to cover the color my skin for a smokey eye. 
• Dramatic Black (current Leather collection) was a complete redemption from Maybelline, it is a fully opaque black that can even be used as an eyeliner on your upper lash line (I've tried this and it results in very little smudging).

Gold Rush (Metal), Edgy Emerald, Lavish Lavender (LE, Summer 2013), Pomegranate Punk

• Gold Rush (Metal collection, now discontinued) is a bright yellow gold with sparkle, I really like this one for doing bright eyeshadow looks including neon greens and yellows.
• Edgy Emerald is a great emerald green shade with a satin finish that will help make green eyeshadows more vibrant when worn as a base.
• Lavish Lavender (LE, Summer 2013) is a violet purple with pink shimmer - this makes for a very unique lavender color which I love wearing with Urban Decay's Grifter eyeshadow
• Pomegranate Punk is a deep burgundy, wonderful for fall looks, it has a creamy consistency and performs well as either a standalone shade or in conjunction with eyeshadows - I highly recommend this one.

And there you have it, that's my whole collection from the past few years since these have been introduced. I have been storing them upside down, I'm told this helps them last longer and prevents drying out.

What are your favorites?

Maybelline Color Tattoo Leather Collection

I was finally able to get my hands on the entire collection of the Maybelline Color Tattoo Leather Collection!! I'm so excited to bring you a look at the whole collection. All of these color tattoos are matte except for the color Chocolate Suede (which many have compared to Bad to the Bronze, but it is less metallic and more of a deep brown color) that has micro-glitter. As other reviewers have noted, the texture of these new color tattoos (which to my understanding are part of the permanent collection) is more smooth, buttery and applies more evenly.

The black in this collection is an absolute dream, it is everything and more than I ever originally hoped to see in a black when Stroke of Midnight (from the Dare To Go Nude collection) was released. I highly recommend picking up Dramatic Black as I have even been able to use it as a gel eyeliner for all day wear (I did notice a little bit of transferring after 8 hours of wear in the sun). My critique of this collection is that if you do not supplement with other shades, there isn't a light enough shade to be a highlight or which can be layered for a more ethereal look. 

Creamy Beige - Matte medium beige which is slightly taupe leaning

Vintage Plum - Matte smokey lavender with a grey tint (slightly patchy application)

Deep Forest - Matte sheer forest green and olive mix (patchy application)

Chocolate Suede - Medium brown with bronze micro-glitter 

Dramatic Black - Matte true black

I highly recommend picking up at least the Creamy Beige, Chocolate Suede and  Dramatic Black from this collection, you won't be disappointed! I am a huge color lover and I was even very happy with the Deep Forest and Vintage Plum shades even though their application wasn't as smooth (slightly patchy) as the others. 

Sneak Peek: Maybelline Fall Matte Color Tattoo Collection (2014)

Photo from Beautezine's instagram: http://www.intagme.com/beautezine/734219344452265565_8519872/

There was a sneak peek of the new line of Maybelline Color Tattoos coming out this fall and they're all matte, folks! Yep, Maybelline is doing it again by releasing these colors in a totally matte formulation. I'm super excited, the colors are very fall-esque, with what appears to be dark maroon, brown, copper, black and a plum leaning gray.

I can't wait until we have more info on these but I just wanted to give you all a quick heads up, I know I got super giddy when I found out!

Huge sales! 40% OFF Physician's Formula at Rite Aid!

Rite Aid is having some amazing deals right now. 

All Physicians Formula Products are 40% off. Specifically the display states Foundation, Powder, Concealer, Blush or Bronzers but most of their products can double as eyeshadows or are meant to be used more than one way (even if the display doesn't say you can apply the discount to something you want just go up to the cashier and they will make anything from the brand 40% off for you). 

Maybelline is $2 off *any* purchase! 

AND Wet 'N Wild is BOGO (buy 1 get 1 free). 

The great thing about these sales is that they apply to anything that isn't on clearance (and in my local store, none of the items were on clearance)

For myself I picked up the Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips All-in-1 Custom Nude Palette (in Warm Nude), Physicians Formula Nude Wear Glowing Nude Blush (in Rose) and a Maybelline Color Tattoo (in Pomegranate Punk). I was very happy that my grand total was under $20.

I'll have swatches and reviews on these products for you very soon! So far I can tell that the powder products are extremely smooth and buttery and I'm excited to put them to the test.

Lorac Pro Palette - Eyes of the Day

The Lorac Pro Palette has long been a cult favorite and beauty bloggers/vloggers rave about it day in and out. This is for good reason, the palette features 16 different shades in 2 finishes - half of the shades are a shimmery pearl finish and the rest are matte finish. You can get so many different neutral looks from this palette, it's definitely a no-brainer for a working girl on the go.

Here's a look at what I used to achieve this mauve-garnet eye look. I tend to be inspired more by the darker colors of the palette which remind me of autumn leaves (they're not so offensively dark that they can't be worn during the day).

• Eyelids primed with 70 Barely Branded Maybelline Color Tattoo (part of permanent Metal collection)
• Browbone highlight is the matte Cream shade
• Mauve applied all over crease in sweeping motion
• Deep Purple applied all over lid
• Inner corner accentuated with Gold to draw the light in and make eye appear bigger
• Middle 1/3rd of the eyelid warmed up with Garnet and blended out

• liquid eyeliner applied to moving part of the eyelid and flicked out into a small wing - Kat Von D saint eye liner in Trooper
• Inner 1/3rd of waterline highlighted with Chella Ivory Lace Highlighter
• Urban Decay 24/7 Eye Pencil in Empire used on outer 2/3rd's of waterline
• Eyebrows filled in with elf Eyebrow Kit in medium
• Mascara applied: Tarte Lights Camera Flashes

E.L.F. (EyesLipsFace) Smudge Pot Review & Swatches

I'm so excited to bring you this new review of the ELF Smudge Pots! These are an ELF dupe of the Maybelline Color Tattoos and they offer a wide variety of colors (I hope they add more to this) and the website sales apply to this product (recently they had a 50% off new products sale which I took advantage of to pick up the entire line for $9!). These smudge pots used to retail for $2 but were recently increased to $3 (thanks to reader Renate for this info), which makes them a very affordable alternative for cream eyeshadow, seeing as the Color Tattoos retail for $6.99-8.99.

Look created with ELF Smudge Pots

This is a look I was able to create with the following:

• Cruisin Chic all over the lid
• Poppin Party in the crease
• Pearls of Wisdom as browbone highlight
• Gotta Glow in the inner corner of the lid
• Ocean Bound as lower lash liner
• Ain't That Sweet? on the inner corner of lower lash line
• Supplemental products: Jordana Best Lash Extreme Mascara (black), Chella Indigo Blue liquid liner, and Jordana Fabubrow eyebrow pencil (02 medium brown)

The formula of the lightest three of these shades (Pearls of Wisdom, Ain't That Sweet? and Gotta Glow) is thicker and you have to warm the product up with your finger to get decent color payoff - these are definitely the most sheer shades. The rest have a more mousse-like consistency, softer than Maybelline Color Tattoos and the darker shades have the best color payoff.

ELF Smudge Pot Swatches natural lighting

 Hit the Town looks like a medium gray in the pot but really comes across in swatches as a mixture between gray and brown, more wearable than just a straight-up gray. Pearls of Wisdom, Ain't That Sweet and Gotta Glow work best as highlight colors or can be used in looks that require just a slight wash of color, and also make fabulous eyeshadow bases.

ELF Smudge Pot Swatches indoor lighting

 Gotta Glow would make a nice highlight for a look featuring Back to Basics, Cruisin Chic or Brownie Points. Cruisin' Chic is a taupe, Brownie Points is essentially a copper, and Back to Basics is a true wearable gold.

ELF Smudge Pot Swatches with Flash

Poppin Party appears fairly scary in the pot, but when swatched it is a beautiful and easily work and blended out eggplant color (it's definitely not a saturated clownish purple). The same goes for Ocean Bound, which is more of a smokey blue than a true bright electric blue. 

I highly recommend these, especially if you can purchase them for 50% off on sale. If you have multiple color tattoos then you will definitely see similarities between these shades and the ones you already have. Maybelline's Caramel Cool is very similar to Brownie Points (they are a few shades apart with Brownie Points being slightly darker), Gotta Glow  is a more gold version of Barely Branded, and Pearls of Wisdom is a more sheer and less metallic version of Too Cool. You will find similarities but you will not have exact dupes of colors, so I think it's safe to say you can add these to your collection! Happy shopping!

Maybelline Color Tattoo Limited Edition Collection "Dare To Go Nude" Swatches

Maybelline Dare To Go Nude Color Tattoo Collection. Credit: nouveaucheap.blogspot.com

The beloved Color Tattoos by Maybelline are getting new shades! For a limited time only, these exclusive shades from the "Dare To Go Nude" Collection will be available at Walgreens, Duane Reade, and CVS (I can only confirm these retail locations for now).

I checked out the shade range and was expecting to see some new colors, I was a little bit disappointed because I only thought the shades "Caramel Cool" and "Stroke of Midnight" were unique from the line-up. Swatches of the entire line-up can be seen below:

Maybelline Dare To Go Nude Color Tattoo Collection Swatches. Credit: nouveaucheap.blogspot.com

I was so excited about this collection in its entirety until I saw it in my local Duane Reade. When I compared the first two lightest shades ("Pure Nude" and "Beige-ing Beauty") they looked so incredibly similar to "Barely Branded" from the premanent Metal collection. I already have the whole Metal collection so there was no reason for me to pick up 2 more colors which looked identical to the naked eye (especially once they're blended out or used as a base). The next colors, "Nude Complement" and "Sleek & Spice" were very close to "Tough as Taupe" and "Bad to the Bronze", respectively. I'm just not thrilled about those shades so I didn't pick them up, either. That really, unfortunately, only left me with "Caramel Cool" and "Stroke of Midnight" by default!

Maybelline Dare To Go Nude Color Tattoo Collection - Caramel Cool and Stroke of Midnight

 I was most excited by "Caramel Cool" as it is an absolutely beautiful crease and transition color, especially for fair skin. "Stroke of Midnight" is a little bit patchy, as you can see from the swatches below, but it is definitely workable and I would only consider using it as a base to make colorful eyeshadows pop and transform shades.

Caramel Cool and Stroke of Midnight -  Natural Light

Caramel Cool and Stroke of Midnight - with Flash

 Maybelline releases at least a few Limited Edition collections a year and with my already absurd stash of these, I reserved myself to buying only the ones which were unique to my collection. There's a good amount of product inside of these pots so unless you exclusively use these (and you know I sure don't with my vast collection of makeup!). Let me know if you guys picked any up and what you think of the collection!

Retailer Review: All Cosmetics Wholesale (ACW.com)

Order from http://allcosmeticswholesale.com/

UPDATE 7/21/2014

Since this is a very popular post on my blog, I felt obligated to tell you guys new information I have discovered. On various forums I have read complaints that numerous consumers have received fake cosmetics from the ACW website. Now I don't know if this is true but I encourage everyone to double check their batch numbers received (this is a code that must be printed on all cosmetics either via a label or stamp) by using this website: http://checkcosmetic.net/. Your safety is more important than any deal, even if you got something on massive discount, if it was not manufactured and stamped/labeled properly then it is a liability and unsafe to use. Cosmetics expire, if you use them past their expiry date they can have adverse effects on your skin and eyes.

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ORIGINAL POST 2/26/2014

About a month or so ago I placed an order with All Cosmetics Wholesale (or http://allcosmeticswholesale.com/) and the order total was $23. The breakdown is that all of these products were on discount for a total of $15 but then shipping was a whopping $7 and the rest was taxes. I also used the coupon code SALE30 for 30% off all sale items.

I had some issues with my order because the United States Postal Service did not forward it to my new address and it got re-sent to ACW. Unfortunately, since they're an online-only company they have strict policies and no customer support help line. So my only other option was to pay the shipping fee AGAIN (which this time ended up being $7.50 EXTRA) or to pay a re-stocking fee to get *some* of my money refunded. Long story short, my whole order was definitely over $30 with having to pay shipping twice. The customer service was kind of a nightmare.

That being said, I went to this website because I wanted to get the limited edition, discontinued Maybelline Color Tattoos from Summer 2013 (I got Lavish Lavender and Seashore Frosts) and this was the only place I found them at a reasonable cost (I believe they were $3.49 each). These showed up sealed and they were creamy and in perfect condition - they did not look tampered with at all.

Maybelline Color Tattoo in Seashore Frosts and Lavish Lavender

 I also purchased the Pixi Energy Blush in Pretty Petal #1 - this showed up without the brush it's supposed to arrive with in the pull out drawer underneath and it also wasn't sealed. It did not appear swatched but on the bottom it is clearly labelled to be a tester (so if you're buying from this website to give items as presents, beware that items are not listed as testers on the website but what you are receiving may actually be a tester). I was disappointed with how powdery and cakey this product from Pixi was and I was sure glad I didn't pay more than a dollar or two for this - it really can only be used as a highlighter as it is very poorly pigmented (the swatches on my hand were about a dozen passes through). This is a discontinued item.

Pixi Energy Blush in Pretty Petal #1

 I've never really given L'Oreal products a try since I was never drawn to them but I decided to give them a shot by purchasing this L'Oreal Blush Delice All Over Glow Illuminateur in Shimmer of Hope. I really liked the color payoff on this quad and it can be used as a blush, contour and highlight so it really is an all-in-one product. This product has been discontinued for at least a couple of seasons and is not part of their regular product line.

I also purchased this  L'Oreal Illuminating Blush in Luminous Peach and this is definitely not the softest or most buttery product. These colors are nice and easy to work with, especially on a lighter complexion but they do require some building up and some warming up with your brush.  I think this one had much worse color payoff than the Shimmer of Hope quad. Similarly, it is also discontinued.

The Stila Eye Shadow Duo in Fandango was on sale for $0.99 and 30% off so this was a great deal. It's the real product and it came packaged well. The color payoff is what you would expect from Stila and I have others of these so I can definitely confirm these were legitimate but again, they are a discontinued product that you can no longer find on Stila's website.

Stila Eye Shadow Duo in Fandango

If you're looking for powder products and you live in the US, I would give this website a shot but I would never spend a large sum of money here. I can guarantee that the items *I received* were authentic but I assume they get their products from eBay lots and wherever else they may find them on extreme sale. I have more courage purchasing items from eBay as, if something goes wrong with your order, you can always get your money back, but I have found that other websites do not have this star quality customer service. You should also expect that these items will most likely be testers and all will probably be discontinued. It's a good way to try out products you wouldn't want to spend a lot of money on, but I really do think the shipping costs were excessive, even though it arrived in 2 days and was well packed.