Finally a cream shadow that doesn't slide off and into my eye lid crease. I love this shade. I love that it's matte. It does require more work (for which it loses a lippy) than the shimmery CT shadows because it goes on uneven. What works for me is to pat it on with my fingertips and then pat some more to blend. I set it with a similar taupe powder shadow and it stays put until I am ready to take it off. Wow. Paid $8.99 at London Drugs. As per usual, we don't have the full range of shades in Canada. I originally went out to buy Tough as Taupe, Tenacious Teal, Barely Beige, and Test My Teal. To my dismay, Barely Beige and Test My Teal, as well as a number of other shades are... not available in Canada. Quelle surprise. *sarcasm*

This is my least favorite of the CT that I own. It is drier, patchier and more difficult to work with due to its matte finish. I apply it with a stiff shader brush and then use the heat from my fingers to blend out the product. It looks beautiful once in place, but requires more work and time. I still enjoy using it, but don't reach for it as much for the above reasons.

After hearing raves over the Maybelline Color Tattoos since they came out, I finally decided that I'd give one a go. I have been shopping around for a good cream eyeshadow that I can just slap on my lids before class and head out the door. So I decided to start on the cheaper side of the spectrum. I got Tough as Taupe for roughly $6.50 at Walmart, so I can't complain about the price considering I am debating on getting a MAC paintpot or Benefit Creaseless cream shadow.

Anyhow, as for the product, I actually really love the color alone on my lids. It is an odd color, nothing like any of the shadows I already own. I don't think it's ugly though. It stays on pretty well all day when no powder shadow on top. By only negative thing to say about is the consistency. It is very thick! I find it rather hard to blend. It doesn't really go on smoothly at all. Other than that I'm a big fan of the product and might just pick up another color in the near future.

When I saw this I fell in love with the color on the tube. As soon as I opened it was far more perfect. It doesnt crease, and the color is perfectly fashionable. Reminds me of the eyes of supermodels at catwalk. I would give it 5 lippies but Ive never liked the fact that Maybelline isnt cruelty-free :(

I am also.. nc 20 and this color is...not warm..but i dont find it too cool either. i mean its not difficult to handle. For those that feel that the color is too cold toned, I like to use warm toned brown or any warm toned eye shadow to blend the taupe color.
The color is very pretty, no shimmer, a matte grayish taupe.
The texture is very smooth and quite easy to blend with your fingers.
The staying power is pretty long, I don't really have oily lids so it lasts several hours if i use it alone. But if I use it with eye primer as well it lasts even longer, about a whole day.
The packaging seems sturdy and not too bulky...just a normal pot of cream shadow..
There seems to be a enough product in one pot, so I think it'll last me quite a while before I need to buy another.

so sad that this pulls so silver on me. what a beautiful color in the tub but pulls very cool on my nc20 complexion. great texture and doesn't crease. bummer.

Lovek it both as eyeshadow and the brow gel.

I stayed away from the Maybelline color tattoos for the longest time because I chalked up its popularity to overhype, but gave in and got these in an impulse buy during a sale and I'm now weakly kicking myself for not getting these earlier. Tough as Tough is my favorite of the ones I got, it is so creamy and blendy, lasts the whole day, is matte (<3) and the color is PERFECT, a true true taupe on my eyes, hits *the* perfect sweet sweet spot between brown and gray (so many so called 'taupes' pull brown or rosy on me) It just looks so natural and complements my eyes/skin so well. It's definitely NOT a true gray (if there were a true matte gray version of this I'd whip that up so fast lol!), but it might look like that on your eyes if you have very warm toned skin or dark skin so beware, the product is a bit darker / grayer than it looks in the pot.
I love that it's so easy to use, though, it blends easily with fingers. Very versatile, can be used sheered or opaque, for soft neutral or darker smokey eyes, I can just use it by itself (don't even need to set it with powder!) or use it as a base for intensified pigmentation and blendability with my powder e/s. And it lasts until I remove my makeup in the evening with no visible fading/creasing/wear :D (I have normal lids though.. might fare worse on oily lids!)
I store these upside down so I can see the color and also because that makes these dry out slower (apparently). The pots look so cute sitting in the drawer, I def appreciate the packaging.
I would give Tough as Taupe 5/5 stars but it's sadly not cruelty free. :[ continued >>

Absolutely thrilled with this product! I have extremely sensitive eyelids and have been looking for a non-migrating shadow that will not budge despite tearing and come what may... this gel shadow actually stays on for hours (maybe not 24 hours but who needs that most of the time... this easily stays on for 8 or 10, with or without primer. And importantly it never irritates my lids. Much better than mineral powders, liquid-based shadows and pretty much anything else I've tried, regardless of price range. I use an eyeshadow brush to apply around upper and lower lids and blend in the excess with a makeup sponge. I can also apply a powder-based shadow on top of Color Tatoo for more intensity. The Taupe shade is perfect for me. Thank you, Maybelline!

So, I was hoping this would give me a fast smokey look.
For reference, I'm NC40-42 with golden yellow undertones.
This looks sickly on me :(
It wears very well though.
I would love it if it looked good on me. ha
So, if you're tan like me with yellow undertones, I would stay far away from this color.
It did stay on my oily eyelids for a whole 12 hours though :)