Maybelline Color Tattoo Concentrated Crayon Review & Swatches
Maybelline Eyestudio Color Tattoo Concentrated Crayon ($6.99 or Buy 1, Get 1 50% at Ulta.com) are a new high intensity cream eyeshadow pencil or crayon with an “Up to 24 Hour” wear that launched with the Maybelline Spring 2016 Collection in 10 permanent shades.
As a Color Tattoo Eyeshadow lover I thought for sure these new Maybelline Color Tattoo Concentrated Crayon would be a hit for me especially considering the packaging is a heck of a lot better than the pots that the original Tattoos come in. As much as I love Color Tattoo Eyeshadow I’m learning now that over time they do dry out sadly. Since their introduction Color Tattoo Eyeshadow has released in a variety of shades and formula like Color Tattoo Leather and Color Tattoo Metals and even come in a loose powder with the introduction of Maybelline Eye Studio Color Tattoo Pure Pigment Eyeshadow.
I guess at this point the only place to go was with a new packaging and design right? So pencils or crayons are the order of business this year for the Color Tattoo family and there are 10 of ’em to choose from.
Here’s my thoughts on them!
Maybelline Color Tattoo Concentrated Crayon aren’t really a new concept by any means. A host of different brands do a variety of different eyeshadow pencils however, since these have the “Color Tattoo” name they will garner interest from fans of the potted formula. I, like many of you, have collected so many of the original Color Tattoos and loved on many of them so when I noticed that Maybelline was launched a crayon in this formula I was all aboard to try them.
We have such a market saturated with different eyeshadow pencils as I said. NYX Jumbo Eye Pencils, Rimmel Scandaleyes Shadow Sticks, the newer L’Oreal Infallible Eye Crayons, Milani Shadow Eyez Eyeshadow Pencils and many, many others. You’ll have ask yourself what exactly sets Maybelline Color Tattoo Concentrated Crayons apart with such a vast variety of cream eyeshadow pencils that are already on the market.
I’ll tell you one main difference between Maybelline’s new pencils and others. COLOR! I have to admit I’m slightly shocked by the lack of color in this release. There are no aquas, no blues, no oranges, or bronzes, there’s a kinda green shade but no olive greens or forest greens…so in fact brands like L’Oreal, NYX, and Rimmel bring the normal round up of neutral, natural bronzes, golds, browns, and taupes but they also bring vibrant shades of aqua, blues, greens, oranges, etc….
Maybelline’s Color Tattoo Concentrated Crayons are sorely lacking in vibrant shade selections sadly. I’m positive they’ll redeem this and we’ll start seeing these crayons pop up in limited edition shades but right now, the main core collection is a little limited.
These are twist up design that are 0.08 oz in size for $6.99 a shade. These aren’t the cheapest option available nor the biggest considering NYX Jumbo Pencils are 0.18 oz in size and $4.49 and Rimmel’s are 0.11 oz for $4.49 as well but with so many sales at the drugstore you’ll likely never pay full price. Just a note about packaging, these tops are very loosely. You have to make sure to press them in tightly and listen for a small clicking sound so you know they are sealed shut.
Another difference between Maybelline’s Color Tattoo Concentrated Crayons and the vast amount of other options out there would be the formula. These are a lot slicker compared to Milani, Rimmel, L’Oreal, and NYX’s pencils. They are super soft, very thin in consistency, and have a smooth, easy slick glide across lids. This slickness is a little built of a downfall for the formula as you have to build a lot to get an intense color pay off. I find the thinner consistency means color wears away as you blend with a finger tip. You can glide on color directly from the pencil but you need a finger to blend it out. I find as it blends the color sheers away and I have to go back and go over the color with the pencil a few times to built it up. This isn’t a big deal but it can be a little annoying if I am in a hurry. The original Color Tattoo has a thicker formula compared the the crayons. This thickness means the color applies more evenly and doesn’t blend out into oblivion. It also wears a lot longer compared to the crayons that tend to crease within an six hour period. I can get eight hours out of them with eyeshadow primer in place. These aren’t a formula that oily eyelids will love and they likely will disappear very, very quickly if you have oily skin.
Pigmentation, as you can see from my photos below, is quite gorgeous however, I spent a lot of time building to get this intensity. Sure, on a simple swipe you can get intense color but as I mentioned they sheer out and away as you blend. This means you have to go back in and apply at least four layers of eyeshadow to get the intensity you see below.
There are many drugstore brands that already have excellent, solid performing eyeshadow pencils that are a bit cheaper and formulated a lot better with a variety of shades. Maybelline Color Tattoo Concentrated Crayon are a miss for me sadly. The thin formula proves cranky and irritating to work with when I’m in a rush and just want to swipe a shade on, blend out, and go! I also think they’ll prove a nightmare for oily lids. I like the idea, I just think the formula doesn’t live up to the original Color Tattoo name.
Maybelline Color Tattoo Concentrated Crayon are available now at Ulta.com and launching at all drugstores.
Tried them already?
Do share your thoughts!