Entries for Tuesday January 31
Maybelline Color Tattoo 24 Hour Cream Gel Shadow collection
- Manufacturer: Maybelline (owned by L'Oréal)
- Availability: available beginning winter 2012 at drugstores, all-in-one stores (Fred Meyer, Kohl's, Target, et cetera), etailers
- Contains: ten cream gel eyeshadow pots
- Cost/Amount: USD$10.95 for .14 ounces / 4 grams
- Would you purchase again: yes
For those wondering about the manufacturer: I listed both companies because L’Oreal has owned Maybelline since 1996, when they purchased the brand to get access to the mass cosmetics market (interesting, since these days I see L’Oreal sold in the same stores, alongside Maybelline…but no matter.) These Color Tattoos have been compared favorably to MAC’s Paint Pots in terms of formula, consistency, and longevity. And since these are $10.95 for .14 ounces ($78.21 per ounce) while MAC’s paint pots are $18 for .17 ounces ($105.88 per ounce)...the Color Tattoos are a highly similar product with a more diverse range of colors, and a better value.
Shiro Cosmetics’ My Nerdy Valentine collection
- Manufacturer: Shiro Cosmetics
- Availability: beginning late January 2012 from the webstore
- Contains: 3 eye colors, 2 blushes, 2 lip colors
- Cost/Amount: USD$5.00 for 2 gram shadows, $8 for & gram blushes, $6.50 for 5.5 gram lip tints
- Would you purchase again: yes
Originally released for Valentine’s Day 2012, this collection was later simply dissolved, as its new eyecolors were all renamed and moved to the Super Effective collection. I picked up the three eyecolors when they first came out, and was wavering on the blushes…but the blushes didn’t get folded into the regular collection. The lip colors likewise also disappeared.
Entries for Monday January 30
Scaredy Cat Cosmetics’ Rose Gold
- Manufacturer: Scaredy Cat Cosmetics
- Availability: part of the regular line
- Color Range: bronzed dusty rose shimmer
- Staying Power: 3 out of 4 stars
- Cost/Amount: $5 for 1.2 grams
- Would you purchase again: yes
- Similar shades:
I got a color named Rose Gold from Bare Escentuals, but it’s much more gold than rose. Since actual rose (or red, or pink) gold used in jewelry is an alloy of gold and bronze, and the color does vary according to the ratios used in the alloy, neither of the colors is necessarily misnamed. I just like this one from Scaredy Cat Cosmetics a bit better. It has more of a pink base, and looks better on folks with cool coloring. The color applies a little lighter than it appears in the pot, but has no bald spots or patchy application. Color payoff is excellent, and the wet application appears a bit smoother than the dry application - otherwise, I wasn’t seeing any discernable difference. As with almost all other eyeshadows, if I don’t wear a primer this will start to migrate fairly quickly; but the primer lets even my super-oily lids hold onto eyeshadows for an entire work day (9 hours, counting commute time.)
Pure Luxe’s Ultraviolet
- Manufacturer: Pure Luxe Cosmetics
- Availability: from their webstore as part of their Liner Ultimates
- Color Range: periwinkle-lilac shimmer
- Staying Power: 3 out of 4 stars
- Cost/Amount: full 10-gram jar with sifter for $9.50
- Would you purchase again: yes
- Similar shades:
I snagged this color because of the shade, because it was part of the Liner Ultimates collection (and therefore likely to have a decent color payoff), and because it was on sale because it’s being discontinued. This is right on the border between blue-purple and purple-blue - it seems to change sides of that line, depending on the lighting. The adhesion is about average for loose powder mineral makeup, the color payoff is solid, and at its discounted price it was a fairly good value. I’ll be able to use this as an accent color and an all-over shade. There isn’t really enough depth to use it easily as a crease or contour shade.
Meow Cosmetics’ Sourpuss
- Manufacturer: Meow Cosmetics
- Availability: available as part of the IdealEyes collection
- Color Range: silver-greyed lilac-green shimmer
- Staying Power: 3 out of 4 stars
- Cost/Amount: USD$8 for 1.2 grams
- Would you purchase again: yes
- Similar shades: Bare Escentuals' Festive, Concrete Minerals' Harlequin
A dusty deep olive with a lilac duochrome tone that only really shows up when this color is foiled…along with the gilded finish. This looks vaguely like an eyeshadow version of Wet n Wild’s Grey’s Anatomy, but muted. Looking at the manufacturer’s image and description you’d never get the impression that this color has the duochrome that it does. “Olive green” yes, “bronze shimmer”...I’m not seeing that so much, but there’s no mention of the lilac tones whatsoever! I think that this shade looks really good with my blue eyes - both the khaki-olive and the lilac are excellent for my coloring.
Color payoff is decent, what ends up on your lids is almost exactly what you see in the pot. The finish is a slight pearl when applied dry, and more of a shimmer when applied wet. (Most of the IdealEyes shades I’ve purchased are this way.) The opacity is good, with no semisheer areas or “bald spots.” The color also reminds me of Bare Escentuals’ Festive, but with far better color payoff.
Entries for Sunday January 29
Zoya’s Cynthia
- Manufacturer: Zoya/Art of Beauty
- Availability: part of Zoya's Smoke collection
- Color Range: smokey dark teal creme
- Staying Power: 4 out of 4 stars
- Cost/Amount: USD$8 for 14 ml / .5 fl oz
- Would you purchase again: no - the color is darker than I had anticipated
- Similar shades: OPI's Light My Sapphire
So dark a blue it’s almost a blackened teal. Similar to Light My Sapphire, in that they’re both almost indistinguishable from black nail polish…except in full sun. It’s a little bit disappointing, because I was hoping for a dark teal, not a teal-toned near-black! I suppose I could try two lighter coats of this over a light polish like Shay (or even Minka! I may have found a use for that! Woo!!!), and see if that gives me more of the teal color I’d hoped for. If that doesn’t work, this polish is a little on the thicker side, so I’m sure I could use it for nail stamping.
Zoya’s Noel
- Manufacturer: Zoya/Art of Beauty
- Availability: part of the Gems and Jewels collection
- Color Range: metallic sapphire-blue shimmer
- Staying Power: 4 out of 4 stars
- Cost/Amount: USD$8 for 14 ml / .5 fl oz
- Would you purchase again: yes
- Similar shades:
Zoya’s Kendal
- Vendor: Zoya/Art of Beauty
- Availability: originally released as part of Zoya's Feel collection
- Color Range: muted soft lavender creme
- Staying Power: 4 out of 4 stars
- Cost/Amount: USD$8 for 14 ml / .5 fl oz
- Would you purchase again: yes
- Similar shades:
Initially I wasn’t too sure about this color, but I’m glad I picked it up. It’s a softer pastel without being a pure pastel (...if that phrase even makes any sense.) Application is very smooth, the finish is good, and it wears well. (I got three days with no peeling or dings, and that’s without a top coat.) Just make sure that you don’t have any ridges in your nails or they’ll be magnified by this polish.
Zoya’s Kristen
- Vendor: Zoya/Art of Beauty
- Availability: part of the Feel collection
- Color Range: pastel blue-grey creme
- Staying Power: 4 out of 4 stars
- Cost/Amount: USD$8 for 14 ml / .5 fl oz
- Would you purchase again: yes
- Similar shades:
One of the first colors from the Feel collection that caught my eye. Kristen is a softer, paler version of Caitlin. The polish is a creme, and it covers in two coats with no thinner patches, and it covers evenly and easily with no rough patches. I also didn’t have the nicest nails when I applied this polish, but the ridges don’t show up except the deeper ones on my thumb (which always show up, even if I try using a ridge-filling base coat. They just show up a little less.) The entire Feel collection seems just a little thicker than most Zoya polishes, but not quite as sluggish as Zoya’s Creamy - and I definitely didn’t have the application problems with these that I did with that yellow creme polish. I don’t know if that’s because most yellow polishes from Zoya have been kind of problematic, or if they’ve just improved the formula. When Scrangie received her promotional set, she reported that the polishes were a bit thin and applied unevenly. I didn’t experience that, but it’s possible that her promo set was from a bad batch.
BareMinerals’ Festive
- Manufacturer: bareMinerals/Bare Escentuals
- Availability:
- Color Range: dusty moss-lilac sheen
- Staying Power: 3 out of 4 stars
- Cost/Amount: USD$13 for .02 ounces / .57 grams
- Would you purchase again: yes
- Similar shades: Meow Cosmetics' Sourpuss, Concrete Minerals' Harlequin
Looks like a softened army green in the pot, but applies as a dusty lilac with green undertones. I personally like the effect, but if one is rushing about the morning routine, grabbing colors for the day…this can be more than a little bit disconcerting. It isn’t that the green only shows up when it’s applied dry…it’s that, wet or dry, it barely shows up at all. I like duochrome eyeshadows (and nail polishes, and blushes) but both colors should show up…not just one. And if only one color of the “duo” or “multi” chrome is far more evident, it shouldn’t be the “secret surprise” color.