Smashbox 15-Hour Cream Shadow and Maybelline Color Tattoo Comparison

Hi everyone -- I hope you are enjoying the last few hours of your weekend! My weekend always seem to go by so quickly whereas my workdays seem to drag on for an eternity. I constantly feel as if I need just one more day to get things done around the house... c'est la vie! 

Yesterday I picked up a few more shades of Smashbox's new Limitless 15 Hour Wear Cream Shadows. (The first shade I purchased was Riches, swatched here.) These are great to use alone for quick all-over color, or as a base for other shadows. Upon trying these in store the first thing that struck me is how similar they are to Maybelline's Color Tattoo shadows. The packaging is a tad larger, but you probably won't even notice the difference. These shadows both have a comfortable texture that is not overly drying on the lids, yet sets to a long-lasting finish. Although the formulation seems to be very similar, because I have dry skin, I prefer the Smashbox texture as it is slightly smoother going on. One thing to note, some of the lighter Smashbox shades seemed to start out just a bit sheer so you may need to layer on more product to intensify the color. There are currently twelve shades to choose from on Smashbox.com, and I've also spotted these at Nordstrom and Sephora. 

• Smashbox Limitless: claims to be 15-hour wear, 0.17 oz product weight, $19 
• Maybelline Color Tattoo: claims to be 24-hour wear,  0.14 oz product weight, $6 (more or less)

• Riches is a shimmery light sunny gold 
• Topaz is a softly shimmery sandy beige 
• Gemstone is a muted, dirty plum with silvery shimmer 
• Icon is a rich, deep warm brown with shimmer

Below are some comparisons with similar Color Tattoo shades: 

Riches is a pretty, daffodil yellow-gold with shimmer. In comparison, Bold Gold is slightly darker and more honey toned, almost an antique gold. If you are a fan of golds it would be worth having both of these since they are quite different. 

Left to right: Riches and Bold Gold

Gemstone is a dirty silvered brownish-plum, that could perhaps be considered a variation of taupe. Pomegranate Punk, on the other hand, is definitely not a taupe. As you can see below, it is darker, and has more red tones than Gemstone. Again, these are different enough to own both if you have a penchant for these types of shades. I would say Gemstone may be more versatile, though, being the more neutral of the two. 

Left to right: Gemstone and Pomegranate Punk

Topaz is a beautiful shimmery sand color. It is not really in the same category as Bad to the Bronze as it is so much lighter, but I thought I would show you how the two look side by side to give you an idea of how different they really are. These are not complex shades, but they are both lovely, basic neutrals. Based on swatches alone, I think that I prefer Topaz just because I always love this kind of pale, shimmery beige tone. 

Left to right: Topaz and Bad to the Bronze

More swatches in different lighting below:

Photo above taken in indoor lighting

On the left: Smashbox's Riches, Topaz, Gemstone, Icon  

On the right: Maybelline's Bold Gold, Bad to the Bronze, Pomegranate Punk

Photo above taken with flash

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