Loose eyeshadow pigments and I, we’re not friends. Heck, we’re not even acquaintances. In fact, I’d stay as far away from them as much as possible if I could.
Years ago when I was very much into indie mineral makeup, I’d buy jars and jars of loose eyeshadow pigments because the colours were amazing and each jar was so cheap. In the end, they were simply a waste of money because I barely used any of them. As beautiful as the eyeshadow pigments were, they were fiddly, messy and a downright pain in the bum to use.
When Maybelline launched the Colour Tattoo Pure Pigments, I had my reservations. I absolute adore the Colour Tattoos cream eyeshadows (my biggest love is, of course, the Bad to the Bronze and to date is still the most used eyeshadow I’ve ever had) but I really wasn’t sure about the Pure Pigments. In the end, I decided to try the ones in Improper Copper and Downtown Brown out. If they’re rubbish, I’ll just stop using them, just like I did my old mineral eyeshadows.
People, they’re gorgeous. GORGEOUS. Incredibly so.
Firstly, the colour payoff for both Pure Pigments is simply spot on. They’re very shimmery but not frosty. As they’re loose pigments, they’re still going to be fiddly and messy to use if you’re not careful. I kept the sticker that covers the plastic sifter so that I just use half of the sifter to avoid spilling of loose eyeshadow powder. It’s still a bit of pain to have to hold the sticker away from the holes to pour bits of powder onto the lid. Unfortunately, that’s something that I’ll have to put up with because there’s no way of getting round to it without creating a mess.
Bad to the Bronze cream eyeshadow as a base, Improper Copper on the outer corners of the eyes, Downtown Brown on the inner corners and Wild Gold on the centre of the eyelids.
I don’t use the Pure Pigments on their own. I’ve never actually tried using them on their own, to be honest, so I can’t say how well it works if just applied directly on the eyelids without any base eyeshadow. However, what I discovered was that the combination of the Colour Tattoo cream eyeshadow and the Pure Pigments is an eyeshadow marriage made in heaven. The combination of the Bad to the Bronze cream eyeshadow, Downtown Brown and Improper Copper Pure Pigments is absolute perfection. When I pat the Pure Pigment on top of the cream eyeshadow (pat, don’t sweep. It stays on longer on the eyelids that way), it makes the cream eyeshadow pop even more.
The best thing about the combination? Both eyeshadows, the cream eyeshadow and the loose pigments, have amazing staying power. I’ve used the combination of Bad to the Bronze, Downtown Brown and Improper Copper and have had them on for at least 14 hours and there wasn’t a single crease on my eyelids. Not even one. I have very oily eyelids and even when I apply eyeshadow primer prior to the eyeshadows, most eyeshadows wouldn’t even last that long without a single crease. These stay put on my eyes for that long without budging. Impressed? Most definitely!
I can tell you this much: I’ve never had any other eyeshadows by brands that cost more than these combined that worked as well as these have for me. Okay, maybe Urban Decay but the rest? Nope. I’m not even exaggerating at how good these are. It doesn’t even bother me that I have to use the fiddly packaging and loose eyeshadow powder; the results speak for themselves. I wore these throughout the Problogger Event conference without any issues.
If you love the Bad to the Bronze Colour Tattoo cream eyeshadow, I highly recommend you check out Downtown Brown and Improper Copper. The rest of the Pure Pigments, unfortunately didn’t do much for me. The brighter colours like Potent Purple and Brash Blue are matte and don’t deliver in terms of colour payoff and ease of application. Buff & Tuff is too sheer yet sparkly for my liking. Wild Gold, on the other hand, is perfect to use right on the centre of the eyelids for that 3-dimensional look and in the inner corners of the eyes. I’d say get the Downtown Brown and Improper Copper because you can’t go wrong with those colours. Unlike the rest, they’re punchy and applies very well.
Maybelline’s Colour Tattoo Pure Pigments retail at AU$11.95 each for 1.5g and are available at leading pharmacies and major supermarkets nationally. It’s a great price for something that will last you for ages!
What I like about it: Great colour payoff for the Downtown Brown and Improper Copper, amazing staying power even on oily eyelids when used with the Colour Tattoo cream eyeshadows.
What I do not like about it: They’re still loose eyeshadow pigments after all so they’re fiddly to use and can be messy if you’re not careful. Some of the shades are too sheer and/or sparkly for my liking.
Have you used the Colour Tattoo Pure Pigments? Do you like them? Do you use loose eyeshadow pigments or are they too messy to handle?
Disclaimer: These products were provided for editorial consideration (excluding the Bad to the Bronze. I bought that with my own coin).
Ha! I always keep the sticky paper cover on any mineral anything I own too! I haven’t tried the Maybelline Pure Pigments because I guess I have enough mineral pigments. I must feel the same way you do…about the messiness because I prefer cream shadows and pressed powder shadows. But when I do use pure pigments, I apply them over eye primer and I don’t have any problem with application and it really makes the shades pop. Do you use a primer, or did I miss that?
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Eye primer, most definitely! Then again, I use them on top of the cream eyeshadow that goes on top of eyeshadow primer, so it’s double the pop-ness! 😀
Probably along the same lines but I love L’Oreal’s Infallible Sahara Treasure. On lazy (read: CBF) days, I apply this on its own for a polished and non-CBF look. I’ll have to check these out. DO you know how they perform on their own? i.e. without the cream shadow as a base?
At the moment, I haven’t tried them out on their own yet but when I do, I’ll be sure to update the post and let you know. I’m not a fan of the L’Oreal Infallible eyeshadows, I don’t really know why. I hear that they’re really good. I reckon the ones I tried were probably not the really good colours because they looked so flat and meh on the lids.
I like downtown brown:) I have two similar products from Vanity (they are a local brand from Adelaide). Beautiful products but the packaging is not the easiest to use. I wish Maybelline packaged these shadows differently x
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I’d have loved it if Maybelline packaged this differently too. Preferably with a less fiddly sifter and lid. Make it really compact, that sorta thing. I’m going to Google Vanity now. 🙂
I used to use pigments all the time a few years ago, but now I don’t really have time to deal with the mess. I might check out that brown though. It sounds really good.
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Totally know what you mean. Months ago, I met up with a reader to pass her something she purchased from me and she had seriously the most gorgeous moss green eyeshadow on. I asked her where it was from and she said it was a loose eyeshadow pigment from Fyrinnae. The colour was so incredibly intense; I couldn’t stop staring at her eyes! But I ended up not getting it because like you, I really don’t have the time to deal with the mess.
I have been avoiding these due to the mess as I really need to slap it on in the morning and get out the door. I only have a few pigments from some start up company based in Las Vegas .. lol. The mineral shadows are nice .. I usually use them on the weekends when I have more time.
Monica.
MonicaP recently posted..Simple navy knit dress
Haha I think I’m going to be like you and use these loose eyeshadow thingies in the weekends. More time to fiddle around with them. 🙂
I usually leave the sticker still on my mineral makeup and just poke 1 hole with a pen or sharp pencil.I found its less messy this way for mineral loose eyeshadows, even if you travel on a plane. Later, I can poke another hole if I see it doesn’t give me enough product for loose face powders. If no sticker, i just place a sticky tape over the holes and poke 1-2 holes. I started going back to loose eyeshadows as I am starting to get lazy in washing my makeup brushes at home and just use my fingers to apply and blend neutral eyeshadows. Another trick I do with loose eyeshadows is to spray wet an eyeshadow brush and dip it in the lid filled with some eyeshadow for a wetter or metallic look on primed eyelids.
What a clever idea, Amy! I never thought of just poking 1 hole! Man, all I’d had to do is shake the jar onto the lid without needing to worry about powder coming out from the rest of the holes of the sifters. GENIUS!