Maybelline Color Tattoo: Leather Collection

Swatches & Review

Maybelline is releasing a bunch of new permanent items in the months of June & July, which is exciting because they are finally adding to their line of Color Tattoos! The new Color Tattoos will have the theme of Leather, so the shades are named after leather shades. There are five colors in the Leather Color Tattoo collection, however, I only want four so my boyfriend purchased four of the five for me to review. Out of the four shades I purchased, two were matte, and two had a shimmery finish.

Like all the Color Tattoo products from Maybelline, all of them are shrink-wrapped.

From left to right, the colors are: Creamy Beige (80), Deep Forest (85), Vintage Plum (90) & Chocolate Suede (95)

The full set of swatches show them in indoor lighting, and outdoor lighting.

Creamy Beige: Shimmery medium beige. This was very creamy and smooth. This applied very evenly and pigmented. The shimmer is not very noticeable unless you're in direct sunlight. This was my favorite in application, and color.

Deep Forest: Matte grey-ish/green. This did not feel creamy like Creamy Beige, but a bit stiff from the pot. It also applied patchy and uneven since it was a bit dry. I tried to layer it about four times in the swatches because the first layer was incredibly sheer and patchy.

Vintage Plum: Matte violet. It did not look very plum-like to me, but more of a purple/blue to me. This also applied patchy & uneven, but it was better than Deep Forest.

Chocolate Suede: Shimmery chocolate brown. Chocolate Suede was very pigmented, and applied evenly & smoothly. The color reminds me of leather couches whenever I'm furniture shopping.

I was expecting all the shades to be mattes from this collection so I was not expecting Creamy Beige & Chocolate Suede to be shimmery, but then they were two of the best applying ones because they were so creamy straight from the pot. The two matte ones applied patchy, similar to Just Beige from the Holiday Gilded in Gold Matte Color Tattoos collection, but Vintage Plum is buildable, while Deep Forest just was not working for me. What do you think about these new additions to the Color Tattoo line?

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theBalm Cosmetics: Smoke Balm Smokey Eye Palette

Swatches & Review

After seeing theBalm's new eyeshadow palettes on Kohls online, I waited for them to show up at the retail locations so that I can see them in person. My local Kohls was able to get them in this week so I went to Kohls as soon as I could. I do not know when the official release of these are supposed to be or if it is exclusive to Kohls because I have not seen it on theBalm's website. The Smoke Balm has two separate palettes, but they are only named by "Set One" & "Set Two". The one with the grey packaging is Set One, and the one with the green is Set Two. Each palette has three eyeshadow shades.

As always, the packaging for theBalm is super cute. In Set One, it says, "Warning: Men may stop drop and roll" & in Set Two, it says, "Warning: May cause shortness of breath in men." Totally theBalm-like. This is also packaged in cardboard packaging with the design on the sleeve exactly like the design on the product itself.

Set One: These were swatched with my fingers, but I will also have swatches with a brush later on as well.
Blaze: Black with silver glitter
Spark: Matte grey-taupe
Flame: Shimmery pearl

Set Two: These were also swatched with my fingers.
Kindle: Shimmery blackened-green
Glow: Matte light brown
Combust: Shimmery beige

Set One & Set Two applied with a brush with two swipes, except Flame & Combust, which only required one swipe.

When swatched using my fingers, both of the first two shades in each palette apply a bit patchy. The third shade in both palettes, the shimmery pearl & beige were very pigmented and a little goes a long way. However, the eyeshadows itself felt like most of theBalm's eyeshadows I have tried, which are smooth and buttery.

When swatched using a brush, the eyeshadows applied better, which was not as patchy as when I applied it with my fingers. The eyeshadows are very smooth, so it did kick up a bit of powder, which may lead to some fall-out, so tapping the brushes used with these are definitely recommended.

Overall, I feel like both of these are pretty similar to actually purchase both. These are perfect for a simple little palette for a smokey eye and each eyeshadow contains 0.12 oz of product, which is like twice the size of a full-size Urban Decay eyeshadow. I also like how it has different finishes in the three eyeshadows provided in each palette because there's a glittery one, a matte one, and a shimmery one. These retail for $12 and can be purchased online at Kohls(link)--non-affiliated & at Kohls with an extended beauty department.

What do you think about these Smoke Balm palettes? Do you prefer Set One, or Set Two?

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Cargo Cosmetics Essential Lip Color: Punta Cana

Swatches & Review

A few months ago, Cargo Cosmetics released a new line of lipsticks called the Essential Lip Color. There are twelve shades in this line and most of them are named after vacation spots, such as Punta Cana, Paris, Las Vegas, Napa, etc. One of the shades I purchased is Punta Cana because last summer, I was on a pink-lip craze.

The Essential Lip Colors packaging is really similar to Urban Decay's Revolution lipsticks, but it is all grey instead of gunmetal & purple. It is very slim and does not attract much fingerprints, so I like it.

Punta Cana is a hot pink/fuchsia, and it definitely packs a bunch of color when applied.

Punta Cana applied very smoothly and evenly. It was very pigmented because it only needed on swipe across the lips for it to be opaque. It was also very creamy, but it did not make the color uneven whenever the lips are pressed together. Because it is creamy, it did not emphasize much on dry patches on the lips, and was not very drying on the lips. Although it was very rich in color, it felt light on the lips. I did not experience any feathering with the product, but it did transfer because it has a shiny finish to it. After the shine wears off from eating/drinking, the color itself still stays on the lips. After about 6 hours to wear, I noticed that the color on my bottom lip faded a bit more than my upper lip, but the color was still very bright. To remove it, you would need a remover because it stains the lips if you just try wiping it off with a tissue. There is no scent or taste to the lipstick, which is good because I know many people do not like scents in their lipsticks. Overall, the formula for this was fantastic because it was lightweight without being sheer, and it applied very nicely and was pretty long-lasting to me.

The Cargo Cosmetics Essential Lip Colors retail for $22 and can be purchased at Ulta, Cargo Cosmetics Online, Kohls Beauty & Dermstore.

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