Did I strike gold with Maybelline?

It's funny, because I'm reviewing gold eye shadow. WOW is that really gold.

 Following up on last week's affordable e.l.f. palette, I thought I'd review another drugstore line that I'd heard pretty good things about... Maybelline's Color Tattoo eye shadows. I picked up two different styles... the new Pure Pigments in Forest Fatale (it's as if they marketed it directly at me!), and the 24 Hour Metal in Gold Rush.

Besides sounding like a music festival, Color Tattoo 24 Hour Metal is a gel shadow. I was hoping that Gold Rush would go on thick and give me an insane pop of gold, but instead it was like crackled gold leaf. It's very pretty, and I think it would be great for an Ancient Egypt-themed look, paired with cobalt and black eyeliner. It's also nice for a magical faerie look. But it doesn't necessarily have enough impact for the big stage -- you'd be better off with gold glitter. Save this one for the restaurants and other small stages.

Pure Pigments are your typical loose pigments. It went on nicely and stayed on well but when I did find a ton of fall-out on my counter from when I was applying it! I applied it dry with a nice fluffy brush. It would probably be more intense if applied wet. This is another one that is definitely more suited for when you're going to be up close with your audience.

 As always, I applied these colors over UD's Primer Potion and then used a couple spritzes of setting spray to keep it in place through two hours of dance class. Surprisingly, even though it was a hot muggy night and we worked really hard, I didn't have any color loss. I thought about leaving it on overnight to see if 24 Hour Metal lived up to its name, but I didn't want to chance getting mascara smudges on my pillowcase.

Bonus nail polish review! Maybelline's Color Show line of nail polish seems to have a few trendy options. Mystic Green is part of the holographic collection and is one of those awesome color-shift iridescent colors. It shifts through gold, green and blue and is GORGEOUS! This is two coats with a base and top coat. I've been wearing it for a couple of days and it's held up well -- except for the weird marks where I fell asleep on top of my hand. It turns out that those drying drops will still leave your polish soft for at least an hour or so. Whoops. Anyway, I think these holographic colors are great for performances, and they have a pinky-purply one for those of you who don't wear green costumes every time you perform. And at around $3/bottle it's a lot more affordable than similar colors from other brands.

Not getting enough cosmetics reviews? Go like my fan page on Facebook. I've started posting bonus mini-reviews throughout the week as I try things that don't quite fit in the blog.