Maybelline Color Tattoo 24 Hour Eyeshadow in Tough As Taupe - Review, Photos, Swatches

It's no secret how much I love taupe eyeshadow.  I mean a lot of people love taupe, but it really has a special place in my heart.  I love the color taupe so much, that many of my color choices, beyond cosmetics, end up taupe. (Clothing, furniture, pets, cars)  I'm drawn to the utter banality of taupe. Taupe is predictable as the sunrise and just as beautiful.  There are so many shades of taupe, just like shades in a sunrise, that I find it impossible to own too many taupe shadows. Each one is different in their own way. Each one a "Special Snowflake".  Today I bring you another entrant into my taupe collective.

Maybelline Color Tattoo 24 Hour Eyeshadow in Tough As Taupe.

Maybelline released only 10 shadows in this formula.  The majority are very vibrant colors.  The fact that Tough As Taupe exists in the rainbow colored, long wearing, eyeshadow community of the Maybelline Color Tattoo 24 Hour Eyeshadow group, is a surprise and a treat.  The nine other shade names are:

Fierce & Tangy - Orange
Too Cool - White
Audacious Asphalt - Pewter Grey
Painted Purple - Purple
Bad To The Bronze - Bronze
Pomegranate Punk - Maroon/Deep Red
Tenacious Teal - Teal
Bold Gold - Gold
Edgy Emerald - Green

I find the consistency of the Maybelline Color Tattoo 24 Hour Eyeshadow in Tough As Taupe to be very creamy and very similar to MAC Paint Pots. Although, I find that the Maybelline Color Tattoo 24 Hour Eyeshadow in Tough As Taupe seems to dry faster than the MAC paint pots.  I do own the long since discontinued MAC Paint Pot in Stray Gray, but I could not for the life of me, find it in my stash.  That is a clear indicator that I have too much makeup.  However, from memory, I think the shades are nearly identical, so if you are still pining away over MAC Stray Gray, then Maybelline Color Tattoo 24 Hour Eyeshadow in Tough As Taupe is your dupe.  The consistency of Estee Lauder Double Wear Eyeshadow Cremes are slightly more sheer than the Maybelline Color Tattoo 24 Hour Eyeshadows and they do not set as quickly as the Maybelline shadows.  The Benefit Cosmetics Creaseless Cream Shadows are the sheerest of the bunch and have the most working time before they set when compared to Maybelline Color Tattoo 24 Hour Eyeshadows, MAC Paint Pots, and Estee Lauder Double Wear Eyeshadow Cremes.

The color of Maybelline Color Tattoo 24 Hour Eyeshadow in Tough As Taupe is a rich and opaque grey beige. One thing to note The color in the pot, when you first open it, is NOT the color underneath.  Que?  Yes. The color on top seems to be a completely different color from what you actually get when you swipe the color with your finger the first time.  NOT COOL! It ends up looking more grey than brown. This creamy shadow has no shimmer at all and dries to a decent matte texture which is nice. One must work quickly and sheer out the edges before they set.  That makes working on one eye at a time essential.

See what I mean? It's like 2 different colors!

Here's the issue.

I did not find this shadow lasting anywhere near 24 hours on my lids.  I actually went out to purchase this shadow after seeing a tweet from Maybelline.  They had retweeted a person extolling the 24 hour virtues of the Maybelline Color Tattoo 24 Hour Eyeshadow. I should have known it was too good to be true.  I already know that Maybelline won't be retweeting my tweet that these so-called Maybelline Color Tattoo 24 Hour Eyeshadows last only 4 to 6 hours without primer and 8 to 10 with a primer.  Nope. I bet they won't even.  It was crease city when I applied Maybelline Color Tattoo 24 Hour Eyeshadow in Tough As Taupe for the first time.  I used no primer. Just clean lids. I applied using my finger (as instructed on the Maybelline website) and I managed to get a fairly sheer but even application.  Four short hours later and my eye was creasing faster than a cheap suit on a long car trip.  I tried the next day applying Maybelline Color Tattoo 24 Hour Eyeshadow in Tough As Taupe over an eye primer while using a synthetic brush. I achieved a more opaque yet even application this time, but, by hour number 8 I was creasing faster than the lines in Daniel Craig's forehead.  Not 24 hours by a long shot.  Well there goes my 15 seconds of celebrity. I'm sure Maybelline isn't going to retweet "@Maybelline 24Hr Color Tattoo e/s lasts as long as Kim Kardashian's Virginity" (Low Blow) or "@Maybelline 24hr Color Tattoo e/s is about as stable as Spiderman The Musical's stunt team" (Beating a dead horse) or "@Maybelline 24hr Color Tattoo e/s disappeared faster than Charlie Sheen's career" (not winning!). (I'm just devastated...can't you tell?)

[UPDATE] I did get very good results when I wore this with a powder shadow on top.  Almost 14 hours of wear, which is great. That being said, because I received so much positive feedback from you all. I will recommend this...but, as I mention below, your results may vary depending on how oily your eyelids are. [UPDATE END]

And I did not do such a great job sheering/blending out the edges.

Do you NEED this?  No. Sadly. [UPDATE] Maybe? I re-tested this with a powder shadow on top and I found it wore a whole 14 hours with no creasing.  So I think the trick is to use the Maybelline eye tattoo under a powder shadow or top the Maybelline with loose setting powder....that is if you have oily lids like I do.  [UPDATE END] Yes, the color is great. Yes, the consistency is nice. But if it's called "24 Hour Color" then it should last at least 15 to 20 hours. I don't even need it to last 24 whole hours. 15 would be fine with me.  My lids are fairly oily, so your results may vary.  I would love to hear from readers that DID have good experience with this product. Specifically I would like to know if: a) you used a primer. b) You have normal, oily or dry lids. c) If you use eye cream.

Color comparisons. It's almost a cream version of the powder eyeshadow from MAC called Copperplate