Review: Maybelline "Dare To Go Nude" Color Tattoos

I'm reviewing the limited edition Color Tattoo eyeshadows from Maybelline's "Dare To Go Nude" collection that was released about a month ago. This collection started popping up in early February for some people. I live in the Northern part of the West Coast and I didn't see it around here until mid-February. The rest of the USA didn't see it until March. I'm still seeing displays pop up around here, mostly in CVS stores. It seems like CVS was the last to get this collection and a lot of people were saying they found big end cap displays in Walgreens, but I never found any.

(Feel free to skip to the very bottom of the post to read the Final Verdict and skip the details.)

I personally found the entire collection untouched (lucky me, I know) at Rite Aid. I picked up all 6 limited edition Color Tattoo eyeshadows and I was lucky enough to score it on a week when it was Buy 1/Get 1 50% off. I also picked up 2 of the limited edition Lip Elixirs that I'll be reviewing later. I passed on the limited edition lipsticks and the limited edition eyeshadow quads; I'm not a fan of Maybelline's powder shadows and the only solid lipsticks I've enjoyed from them are the Vivid's collection.

The shades in the picture starting from left-to-right and from top-to-bottom are:

• #80 Pure Nude
• #85 Beige-ing Beauty
• #90 Nude Compliment
• #95 Sleek & Spice
• #100 Caramel Cool
• #105 Stroke of Midnight

Here are swatches for the first 3 shadows. From left-to-right:

• #80 "Pure Nude" -this is a shimmery light peachy pink color. My skin tone is a medium-to-tan shade and when I wear this it looks very light on me, almost more on the white side. My undertone also really brings out the peach in it. I only state of all of this, because most of the swatches I've seen on other blogs make it appear more pink, because the authors of those bloggers have a lighter skin tone than myself.
• #85 "Beige-ing Beauty" -this is a shimmery nude color with gold glitter in it. If you're not a fan of gold then you'll want to stay clear of this one, but the glitter is pretty subtle due to the colors complimenting each other well. This color almost blends into my skin. It applies very sheer and takes a few layers if you're trying to get am opaque look out of it.
• #90 "Nude Compliment" -this is a cool shimmery brown color. It's a tiny bit streaky when first applied, but is easy to work with and not hard to smooth out. You hardly notice the streaky part.

Here are the swatches of the last 3 colors. From left-to-right:

• #95 "Sleek & Spice" -this is a warm toned brown with a red tone. This is a metallic. I'm not sure if it was just my pot, because I've not heard anyone else mention this, but this is the smoothest Color Tattoo I've ever purchased. The formula of this shadow is so creamy and smooth, it's like butter. Hands down, the best Color Tattoo ever.
• #100 "Caramel Cool" -this is a metallic-frost orange-copper color. This was the most sought out color from what I read when this collection came out. I personally am not a huge fan of these kind of colors, but I will say this is a nice color and it applies, blends, and performs well.
• #105 "Stroke of Midnight" -this is a matte black with silver glitter. Again, if you're not a fan of glitter, you definitely want to stay away from this, as the glitter almost appears chunky because of the matte black contrast. This color was another highly sought color, until people saw swatches. It is true that this color is patchy and streaky. It's not smooth sailing when applied, but it's not something you can't work with for certain looks. I'm not sure if Maybelline intended for this to be more of a finishing shadow than one to be for an opaque look, but I would use it as a finish/top layer. I would also suggest putting it over a black liner too.

Here is a macro view of "Stroke of Midnight". You can see it's matte and the pieces you are seeing are the silver sparkles. It's quite pretty too look at in the pot.

Final Verdict

#80 "Pure Nude" - I give this shade a 9/10. This is a very nice color that performs well. It is smooth and creamy and lasts throughout the day. It blends so well and easy.

#85 "Beige-ing Beauty" - I give this a 8/10. This color looks good blended with others. The glitter might turn some people away, but I personally feel the gold glitter compliments the base color. It's a bit on the sheer side, but that's nothing an additional layer or 2 cannot help. It's not a color to be used on its own.

#90 "Nude Compliment" - I give this a 9/10. This shade performs well and blends nicely. The only reason I took a point away is because at first it is a bit streaky/chunky, but it levels out well.

#95 "Sleek And Spice" - I give this a 10/10. This particular shadow is rated more on the formula than the actual color. As I stated before, I have never purchased a Color Tattoo that has formula that feels so smooth and creamy as this one does. This is like butter for the eyes! Still great color payoff and amazing staying power!

#100 "Caramel Cool" - I give this a 10/10. Another great performing shade that blends like a dream and gives great color payoff! The saying power is also amazing! Nothing to complain about here.

#105 "Stroke Of Midnight" - I give this a 6/10. This shade is streaky and patchy. Since Maybelline has not stated this was just a finishing/top coat shadow, I have to grade it based on a regular eyeshadow. While pretty in the pot, it is not that easy to make opaque and it takes a lot of work and effort to get even and a smooth layer by itself. It does work well over other colors and liner.

Spotted: Almay Shadow Softies

I literally just bought all the items I'm about to share. I had to go to Rite Aid real quick to replace my peeling nail file and while I was there, I of course, checked out the displays of cosmetics. 

I was lucky enough to find an untouched display of the new Shadow Softies from Almay. I was really interested about these from the time I first heard about them, because most of Almay's eye shadows are neutrals. I have never really been a fan of Almay products. Growing up, when I had an emergency and I needed something for a recital or competition/performance, my mom would buy Almay or Max Factor -outside of those situations, I never found myself reaching for this brand.

It was a little tempting to grab about half of these colors, but on the chance that they were bad quality I only bought 2 to try. There are 6 matte shades and 6 metallic shades. From the look of the colors on display, the metallic shades looked more like shimmers. Also, Kate Hudson, is wearing 2 of the shades on the display and both looked very soft in color, which is why I was hesitant to buy more than 2.

Almay boasts that the shadows are "whipped to perfection" and "lightweight, crease-free pure color". If you look closely at the display, on the right, there was a shadow you could sample/try before buying.

The 2 shades I bought from left to right: "#160 Midnight Sky" and "#115 Seafoam". I bought coordinating shades so I could use them together.

Here are swatches of the colors. When you first feel the texture of these shadows you most likely will be surprised. They feel ultra smooth and almost silky. They are not powder, but they're not creme either. It's not a mousse by any means though. It's more like a hybrid of a creme and powder, I suppose. It almost has a bouncy like texture to it, similar to the Bouncy Blushes by Maybelline. - The picture is of a few swipes across my hand without primer. The "metallic" shade (which is the lighter one) is definitely more of a frosty shimmer than metallic, in my opinion.  At first notice, I feel these will not stand well on their own if I want the color payoff that I normally wear. If you're someone who likes sheer and light eye make-up then you'll be fine. I'll let you all know more about these later when I get around to actually using them!

On a side note: I also picked up 2 SinfulColors polishes. Thanks to, Nouveau Cheap, I read about a sale going on right now at Rite Aid- buy any SinfulColors polishes  at $1.99 and get $1.99 back in rewards, limit 2. The color on the left is "#841 Daddy's Girl" and is a purple glitter with pink in it. The other color is "#1379 Silver Belle" and is new for this years holiday collection. #841 rang up as .99 cents, so I'm guessing it's being clearanced, even though I did not see it over by the other polishes that were on clearance. I still received the $1.99 reward with the clearance polish!

If you have a review of the Shadow Softies or a post about the current deals going on then link me your blog in the comment and I'll check it out!

Drugstore Nail Polish Haul #1

I picked up a bunch of nail polish this week and thought I'd share what I bought. Everything is drug store! The top row is the limited edition Crystal Crush collection by Sinful Colors. I thought I had missed this collection all together. I saw it posted on Nouveau Cheap almost a month ago and had seen no sight of it anywhere around here, thus leaving me to believe that somehow I just missed it all together and the whole collection had exited my mind by now. I was so excited when I saw it at Rite Aid this week and even more delighted when I realized the display had been completely untouched! There was no price on the display and I wasn't sure if these polishes were going to be more than the regular $1.99, so I went and asked the sales associate and she told me they were $1.99. I was so excited, I picked up 6 of the 8 shades, which is what you see in the picture above! However, when they rang up $2.99 at the register I was really disappointed. The cashier was so nice that once she confirmed that the sales associate had messed up, she called a manager to make sure I could have them for $1.99 and so I got a lucky break on that collection.

Colors from left to right: 

• #1370 Purple Gleam
• #1367 Treasure Chest
• #1365 Ruby Mine
• #1368 Emerald Envy
• #1366 Face The Facets
• #1364 Got A Blush On You

There are 2 more colors in the collection; one is an orange shade and the other is a blue shade with purple sparkle in it. I was not interested in either of them and decided to skip them, even though the hoarder in me told me to take them anyway to complete the collection. -I over came the urge! If you're still trying to get your hands on this collection then I say don't give up just yet! Like I said, I just spotted this at my Rite Aid this week and I know they were also available at Walgreens and I have yet to see them at the Walgreens around my home, so there's still hope! The funny thing is that I was so excited to move out to the West Coast, because they always seemed to get things first. It seemed for the most part, the West Coast spotted things first, followed by the East Coast and then it all just sort of trickled inward from the bottom. Now that I'm out here, I'm finding that most collections come out quite late around here.

The second row in the picture is from the the limited edition Wet N Wild Fergie Heavy Metal collection for the holiday season this year. I found this display at CVS, also untouched! How lucky, right?! I scanned my card at the kiosk when I entered and not only did I get a coupon for $4 off a $12 beauty purchase, but I also had a 30% off all regular priced items coupon! There was no sale on Wet N Wild this week, so I basically bought 4 polishes and received 2 free. Pretty good deal.

Colors from left to right:

• #34269 Titanium Crush
• #34268 Mountain High
• #34267 Emerald Rock City
• #34266 Mazel Toy Madness

There were 2 other colors on the display I was not interested in. One was a bronze color and the other was a clear polish with silver sparkle pieces. I felt neither of those were unique or anything I didn't already have/couldn't buy on a regular basis.