Swatches & Comparisons: Maybelline Limited Edition Fall 2012 Fashion Week Color Tattoo Eyeshadows

I mentioned the other day that I was lucky enough to find a full display of the new Maybelline Limited Edition Fall 2012 Fashion Week Color Tattoos at Rite Aid (where they just so happen to be BOGO1/2OFF this week) so I purchased all four shades. I wanted to show you some swatches and also some comparisons to other shadows in my collection, so that you can get a better idea of these colors and whether or not they might be worth the hunt. So let's get started:

 Maybelline Limited Edition Fall 2012 Fashion Week Color Tattoo Eyeshadows

(retail: $6.69 each at Rite Aid, 0.14 oz)

 Barely Beige

Barely Beige is a true light beige with a shimmery finish.

 

 Gold Shimmer

Gold Shimmer is a bronzy-brownish-gold with a shimmery finish that borders on metallic.

 

 Mossy Green

Mossy Green is a deep olive green with gold shimmer.

 

 Rich Mahogany

Rich Mahogany is a dark, coffee brown with red shimmer.

 Barely Beige and Gold Shimmer

Barely Beige and Gold Shimmer are my two favorites of the four. Quality-wise, I think these perform better than Mossy Green and Rich Mahogany because they're creamier, smoother and more true to the colors you see in the pot when applied to the eyes. Each of these shades is buildable, but provide excellent pigmentation on the first swipe. Neither of these shades is spotty, dry or difficult to apply. You can use just your fingers for a great opacity and they're easy to blend. Also, you could wear either of these shades alone (without applying any powder shadows on top of them) and they will appear rich and vibrant on the eyes.

 Mossy Green and Rich Mahogany

Mossy Green and Rich Mahogany both have drier formulas (not very dry; just drier than Barely Beige and Gold Shimmer) and they both look spotty and inconsisent when worn alone. Each of these shades require lots of blending and building and, even then, they don't quite look true to the colors in the pot when applied to the eyes. The beautiful red shimmer in Rich Mahogany does not translate on the eye because, after blending, most of the red shimmer fades away. Mossy Green was the most problematic of the four shades and, even after much building, I couldn't get a smooth, consistent look when trying to wear this shadow by itself. If you are planning on purchasing either of these shades, I would reserve them as base colors to wear underneath other shadows, because I don't think they work well on their own.

Now I'd like to show you some comparison swatches. I am NOT claiming that any of these shades are dupes; I'm simply showing you these colors next to other shadows in my collection to give you some perspective:

Barely Beige next to Milani Shadow Eyez in Champagne Toast

I wanted to show you Barely Beige next to a true champagne so that you could see that there is no red or pink in Barely Beige. It is a true light beige.

 Gold Shimmer next to MAC Romp

In the pan, MAC Romp has a lot of gold to it, so I actually though these two colors would be closer than they actually are. You can see that Romp has more red to it, and Gold Shimmer has a lot more gold in it.

 Mossy Green next to L'Oreal Infallible Eyeshadow in Gleaming Bronze

As you can see, the shimmer in Mossy Green is much more subdued than the shimmer in Gleaming Bronze. Also, Mossy Green is much more of a true olive green.

When I think of browns with a lot of red in them, I immediately think of MAC Mulch, so that's why I wanted to swatch it next to Rich Mahogany. As you can see, Rich Mahogany is a dark, coffee brown with red shimmer. What's interesting to note is that the shimmer in Rich Mahogany almost perfectly matches the overall color of Mulch. It's as if you took a coffee brown and gave it a light "dusting" of MAC Mulch. I really wish the red shimmer in Rich Mahogany was more pronounced when on the eye, but since it's not, I think your best bet is to layer it with Mulch to create a deeper, browner look than if you were to wear Mulch by itself.

My recommendations:

If you're looking for base colors to give your powder eyeshadows more staying power and intensity, I think that any of the four shades in this collection would work well for that. But if you're looking for stand-alone shadows that won't require much work, Barely Beige and Gold Shimmer are the way to go. You could wear either of those shades on its own and I think you'd be pleased with the level of pigmentation and ease of use. Mossy Green and Rich Mahogany don't work well as stand-alone shadows for me, because I find both shades to be very spotty. It's difficult to get good, even coverage or pigmentation, even after much building, so I think both Mossy Green and Rich Mahogany should be reserved as base colors to wear underneath powder shadows.

I hope these swatches and comparisons give you a better feel for the colors in this collection. If you'd like more info on Color Tattoo application, performance, etc., please see my original review here.

Have you spotted/purchased any of these limited editions shades? What do you think of them?