REVIEW: Maybelline Color Tattoo Leather Collection

by - July 15, 2014

Let's be honest... Seems like everyone and their dog is pretty much obsessed with the Maybelline Color Tattoos... And for good reason, I say. My collection of Color Tattoos has been steadily growing since I bought the last one. I have a few limited edition ones and basically all of the neutral colours from the regular collection, since I'm a neutral kind of a girl. I love these a lot, I really do. They make a great base for a lot of different eye looks, but they're also good for a wash of colour when you just don't want to do too much. I'm sure that there are about a zillion people who know exactly what I mean. I was really bummed when the 3 limited edition matte shades never came to Canada, so I was excited when I first heard about the leathers collection. Matte and permanent? Sign me up!

Well, not exactly. Keep reading for more!

Like I do with most things that seem to take forever to get to Canada, I checked out a lot of info online before I managed to track these down at my local Target. I had heard that there were 3 winners and 2 duds in the 5 piece collection. Unfortunately, the one that I had been most excited about got the worst reviews of them all, which is why I didn't pick up Vintage Plum even though they had it on the shelf. I did, however, pick up two of the three that I heard were clear winners in this collection - 95 Chocolate Suede and 80 Creamy Beige.

Packaging: I do really like the packaging of the Color Tattoos. They come in a small, round glass jar with a black plastic lid. They're incredibly similar in packaging to the MAC Paint Pots, but the paint pots contain 5g of product while the Color Tattoos only contain 4g of product. I don't think I could ever make it through 4g of product before it dried out, so that really makes no difference to me. I like that the bottoms of the pots are clear so that you can see the colour because they store nicely if you place them with the glass side up and are easy to choose from in the drawer.


80 Creamy Beige: This was the shade that I was most excited about once I learned that Vintage Plum was a dud. It's a beautiful neutral midtoned brown that reminds me a lot of the shades that I use in the crease when I'm creating an everyday look. The formula of this one is smooth and creamy and it glides on easily and sets to a budge proof finish. Though this shade looks like a true matte in the pot, it actually has a fine rose gold shimmer in it. It's definitely not a shimmer shade, don't get me wrong, but it does contain that shimmer - which I will come back to a little bit later.


95 Chocolate Suede: When I thought that this was going to be a matte collection, this was a shade that I didn't understand. At a glance, it actually seems like a kind of boring shimmery coffee colour... but looks are deceiving on this one. This too is a beautifully opaque, creamy formula that smooths on really easily and sets to a budge proof finish.  What I think is really special about this shade is that it isn't the silver or gold shimmer that might be typical for a shade like this. The shimmer in this shadow is distinctly pink, which gives it a kind of unique dimension that I wasn't expecting.


Finish: Okay, I admit that I made assumptions about this collection that didn't pan out... but I'm actually glad that it isn't what I expected. When you look at the swatches of these shadows in person, they really do have a finish that reminds me a lot of a vintage leather jacket. They do set to a matte finish, but the shimmers in the formula give a dimension that isn't quite glitter or sheen. They're really interesting and undoubtedly unlike anything else at the drugstore. Also, I feel like the matte finish makes them very wearable, but the shimmer keeps them from being too heavy - if that makes sense. 

Overall: These actually win pretty hard. I'm really excited to do a little more playing with these and see what kinds of looks I can create. Part of me is tempted to pick up the other three, even the one that I hear sucks. Maybe it just takes a little working with? I'm willing to try.

Go out and get these. Just do it. They're wonderful. Get all the Color Tattoos. Dance in a field of cream shadow wonder. 

XO.

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