Review - Limited Edition Maybelline Eye Studio Color Tattoo Cream Gel Eyeshadow in Waves of White

I remember when I was in 8th grade and my entire eye makeup regime revolved around tons of jet black liner and mascara (and I mean TONS) and a little cream eyeshadow quad from Maybelline that I would apply to my bare lids with my fingers during homeroom. Mind you, the shadow was creased - if not gone - by third period. I think thats where my wariness of cream eyeshadows has come from - especially those by Maybelline. Its all psychological.

Fast forward more than a couple years, but Maybelline's take on cream shadows and my understanding of how to apply makeup (and tame the black liner - yikes!) have both improved. In all honesty, I now have somewhere between 8-10 of Maybelline's Color Tattoos, so they must be doing something right.

Waves of White is part of Maybelline's Limited Edition Spring/Summer line, which seems to have a focus on iridescence and duochrome shades. There are either 5 or 6 Color Tattoo shades in this collection as well as a couple bronzers, a luminzer (I think?), some nail lacquers and a couple Color Whispers and Glosses. I hauled a gloss and two other Color Tattoo shades along with this one.

Waves of White is a icy white with a strong blue shift to it. While this shift is quite pronounced as is, when layered over a darker base, the blue shift is even more amplified. Its really a stunning color, and it made a fantastic base shade.

For me, the standard Color Tattoo is opaque without much work, long wearing and can usually be worn alone. Waves of White was strange; If I had used this not seeing the label or anything of the sort, I wouldn't have guessed that it was from the same Color Tattoo range - it feels quite different. The first thing I noticed was the consistency; it was much thinner and not quite as dry feeling as the average Color Tattoo - It had a lot more slip to it. I applied this with a stiff, flat shadow brush from The Body Shop (which is usually my standard type of application for cream shadows) and while it blended well and on par with the rest of the range, there is a noticeable amount of sheerness to it. The duochrome effect, however, does make up for the sheernesss just a bit, as it keeps it from looking streaky. 

Yes, its not the most opaque cream shadow in the world, but once it sets (which took a tiny bit longer than the average Color Tattoo) it is ready to last. I cannot emphasize enough to use this shade as a base or layered - I almost feel like that was what it was intended for. I wore this as an allover lid base and in the inner corners with a TON of Darling Girl Mercurial over it and MAC Copperplate (surprised? Probably not) in the crease and the outcome was stunning and set for the whole day (still vibrant as I'm writing this!) While Darling Girl's shadows usually don't technically need a tacky or creamy base on me, I feel like Waves of White helped amp up some of Mercurial's metallic-ness.

Overall:

Pros:

- Great duochrome effect without layering.

- Works as a great base shade.

- Longwearing.

- Blends easily

Cons:

- Lacks opacity.

- Slippery texture.

While Waves of White isn't exactly as incredibly as I was expecting (let us not forget Bad To The Bronze!), it works for me. A good 8 times out of 10, I'm using a cream shadow as a base for an entire look to begin with, so it met my needs. If you're looking for a great base with a strong duochrome effect, have at it, but if you were looking for opacity and something to wear on its own, this will be too sheer for you.

7/10