I hate eyeshadow--the tedious application, the inevitable fallout/fading/creasing, etc. Maybelline's Color Tattoo eyeshadows are like the answer to a prayer. Seriously. I've tried five colors--Barely Banded (shimmer champagne), Bad to the Bronze (metallic brown), Inked in Pink (medium light pink), Bold Gold (brownish gold) and Gold Shimmer (glittery bright gold). All have good wear time, and all can be applied either sheer for a more natural look or heavily built up for a more in-your-face look. Both Barely Branded and Bad to the Bronze take less than a minute to warm up with my finger and apply as a sheer wash over my entire lid, but last all day. Branded brightens my entire eye area and Bronze gives it a bit more definition. The other three are fun, but I don't use them nearly as often--pink manages to impart a rosiness without making me look ill or weepy, and Gold Shimmer looks great applied in the outer corner or along the lash line for a little punch of glamour. Bold Gold is a little lackluster.

I really wanted to like this product. I had heard such good things that I felt like I needed to run right out and buy it. I got three colors, all of which were promptly returned. The color payoff is really poor - streaky and thin, even after applying several layers. It does stay, I'll give it that, but the formula felt really heavy and sticky on my eyelids. The colors are beautiful in the package but, sadly, that just didn't translate into a nice finish on my face.

These are by far my favorite cream eyeshadows; I have 10 of them! For their low price point, nearly all of them are incredibly well-pigmented and have great staying power, and are great as a tinted base for powder eyeshadows or even as sheer wash of color. I don't feel that they hold up to their "24HR" promise on their own, especially since I have oily eyelids which sometimes causes colors to crease if I don't wear powder eyeshadow over it. But it it's still an easy fix to just blend it into itself again. The pigmentation is quite intense for most of the colors, with minimal fading throughout the day and into the evening.

These come in sturdy glass jars no different than most gel eyeliners (in fact the product melts like one too). I personally do not like jar packaging as I find it not so hygienic, and the longer the jars are opened and exposed, the more prone the product is to drying out. But this kind of packaging allows for the eyeshadow to be versatile as I can apply this as an eyeshadow with my fingers or an eyeshadow brush, or I can apply it as a smudge-proof colored eyeliner using an eyeliner brush.

Something to note about these eyeshadows is that nearly all of them come in a shimmery finish; the only three that come in matte finishes are Fierce & Tangy, Painted Purple, and Tough as Taupe. The color selection for the permanent catalog is also very basic as opposed to L'Oreal's permanent Infallibles, but Maybelline does offer more sophisticated Color Tattoos as seasonal limited edition shades.

Lastly, not all of the colors are equally pigmented; I have nearly all of the Color Tattoos in the permanent catalog, and I have found that Painted Purple takes a little more work to build up its intensity than any of the other shades (in fact, it looks like a watercolor wash when applied), and Bold Gold is not so bold as one might think, since it sheers out quite a bit and the gold flecks in it are more noticeable. But I suppose that's why they released Gold Rush in their Metallic Color Tattoos.

Overall I find that these make quite durable bases for amping up my irreplaceable powder eyeshadows, and haven't really had a need to purchase any other eyeshadow primers or bases since. continued >>

I wish Maybelline would make more mattes and how about some browns too? I have many of these and found that I don't use them as often because alot of the colors are way too frosty on my lids. I hate to leave a somewhat negative review as many of you love them but my Tough as Taupe dried up fast after a year and a half of using this as a brow color and liner and Bold Gold, what can I say? Bold Gold was great in the beginning. But when I got further down in the pot (this one dried up too) it got more glittery and splotchy and flakes on me. I had to throw this one away. Maybelline makes too many golds in this line. The one gold from last year, Gold Shimmer, is brownish gold, not as frosty, is pretty good. Too bad it is LE. Good thing I got two of these. The latest offerings, the spring line, I bought Lavish Lavender, Blue Paradise, and Shady Shores (another gold, come on Maybelline, stop with the golds, will ya?) Only it barely shows up on my lids, will do as a primer for powder e/s only. Inked in Pink and Lavish Lavender are great together. Blue Paradise is a duochrome ( pulls purple on me) but it is frosty. Sigh. No sign of any browns in this line up. Anyway, good thing they are nice and creamier than when they first came out.

I finally caved in after reading all of these amazing reviews and I am so impressed. The pigmentation and texture of these shadows are BEAUTIFUL. And the best part is that they are long lasting, even on my oily eyelids they last better than my regular eyeshadows. Only thing is that they are kinda expensive( about 10$ CAD for one little pot), but I say worth every penny.

Sheer Perfection. Also a great dupe for MAC Paint Pots and BeneFit Creaseless Cream Shadows, not in colours but in texture and longetivity.

Price: $7 CAD
Colours
Seashore Frosts (LE): sky blue based duochrome with seafoam green/light teal/peachy gold/slight palr bronzy sheen/hint of lavender with pinked peachy shimmer
Bad To The Bronze: dark metallic cool-toned bronze
Barely Branded: metallic champagne-beige
Sandy Shores (LE): pale frosty yellow with white/pale gold/mint green duochrome
Electric Blue: deep pearlescent navy
Tenacious Teal: bright turquoise-blue with green shimmer
Tough As Taupe: matte warm grey
Pomegranate Punk: pearlescent burgundy-plum
Pigmentation: opaque (except for SS)
Wear time: all day

All of them provide an excellent base for powder eyeshadows and they can be worn alone as well. On lazy days, I just pop on BB with BTTB in the crease. SS is such a pretty colour, such a shame that it's LE.
For the price, they really are on par with the high-end makeup that cost triple, if not more

I cannot stop buying these things! First I had to try Tough as Taupe to use as a base for smoky eye looks, and since then I purchased 3 more and impatiently waiting for the new limited edition collection to arrive at my local Walgreens.
These are very versatile and easy to work with. I never use them alone, since I enjoy blending different shades together for a seemless look, these are a bit tricky to blend if you only use color tattoo (in my opinion). But as bases they work great and make even a cheap, poorly pigmented eyeshadow pop.

Amazing product with an affordable price! Texture is so smooth and creamy. It's very pigmented and long wearing. But it can be dry after using for 5-6 months.

I loved this product! It surely lives up to its name ... The eyeshadow stays on for a long time. I purchased this in Bad To The Bronze. Really compliments my skin tone, easy application and just the right amount of shimmer. Definitely going to get more of these!

My first colour tattoo was Bad To The Bronze. It wasn't bad quality-wise but I didn't really like how the colour looked on my skin. As a result, I barely use it. Then I came across another one which is Inked In Pink and I fell in love with it! It's the perfect colour to wear for an everyday look as it brightens up your eyes. I usually use this for my lids then blend it out with a brown eyeshadow on my crease.

As far as quality goes, I haven't really had the chance to try it without a primer because I'm so used to using primer on my lid first before anything but as far as I can tell this thing lasts for hours on end. I'm not a fan of shimmers though so I didn't really like how they don't have anything that's completely shimmer-free/matte. However, if they had a collection of matte colour tattoos, I will surely buy more of these bad boys.