Maybelline Color Tattoo Concentrated Crayon Review

I recently found the Maybelline Color Tattoo Concentrated Crayons ($6.99) at Walgreens and picked up five shades to review and swatch for you guys. There are ten shades all together (see my post of all ten shades here) but I wanted to try the formula first and make sure I liked it before I committed to buying more. I'm a big fan of the original Color Tattoo formula so I had very high hopes for these...let's take a look! 

When I first heard about the Color Tattoo Concentrated Crayons, I thought it was a brilliant idea...I love the original Color Tattoos but the pots tend to dry out over time not to mention they get all over your fingers when applying them. Having the same formula in a convenient crayon is a beautiful thing! It makes the process of applying them fast and easy...just slick them on and quickly blend for an easy everyday look that won't budge.
They're packaged in a chubby twist-up crayon with a clear cap that fits nicely and doesn't seem loose or want to pop off. Mine actually click when I press them down so they feel nice and secure. My one pet peeve though, is that they don't twist down all the way so you have to be careful when replacing the cap.

There seem to be two finishes...satin and shimmer. I was disappointed that there weren't any matte shades but I'm hoping they'll release some over the summer or maybe for the fall. The satiny shades don't have any visible glitter...it seems to be ground up very finely so they have more of a shiny finish. There are visible glitter particles in the shimmer ones but they're not super glittery. Of the five shades I bought, Lavish Lavender and Gray Crystal are shimmers and the other three are satins. You can see in the photo below which ones have visible glitter if you look at the tip of each crayon (the one all the way to the left and the one in the center). Thankfully, they don't feel gritty during application at all.

Left to Right: Lavish Lavender, Lilac Lust, Grey Crystal, Bronze Truffle, and Barely Beige.

When I swatched these, I was surprised by how easily they glide on the skin. The formula feels lighter and more slick than the Color Tattoos in the pots so I was concerned that they might crease or that wear time would be shorter, but it wasn't the case..at least for me! I have dry skin that tends to hold on to cream formulas and I don't typically have issues with makeup sliding off my face, so I can definitely say that these perform the same as the regular Color Tattoos for me. They lasted 8-9 hours with no creasing before fading away pretty evenly. Still, if you're oily these may not last on you. They don't have that "tacky" feeling the regular Color Tattoos do...they're much softer and slicker.
Also, because these are a more lightweight formula, they take a little bit of building up, and tend to sheer out a lot when blending with your finger. The regular Color Tattoos go on very strong and pigmented with one swipe and that's not really the case with these.

Speaking of the regular Color Tattoos, I wanted to see if any of the crayon shades were dupes of the originals. I found three that were pretty close but no exact dupes. 

The Barely Beige Crayon is slightly more golden (and more pigmented) than the Barely Beige in the pot. 

The Bronze Truffle Crayon is close to Bad to the Bronze but has a bit more warmth to it. 

I was excited to see that Lavish Lavender is very close to the limited edition Black Orchid shade! I know a lot of you guys were disappointed when you couldn't find that one and it's no longer available. Lavish Lavender is a little more shimmery and is also slightly cooler toned but overall, it's a nice smoky purple shade.

Overall, I'm pretty happy with the Color Tattoo Concentrated Crayons. They took the same long-wearing, non-creasing formula and delivered it to us in a convenient crayon format. My minor complaints would be the fact that they don't twist down into the tube all the way and that there are no matte shades. Also, they do take a little bit of finesse when blending...you might need to add a little more due to them sheering out a little. I'd love to hear from someone with oily skin to see if these held up as well for you as they did on me! 

You can find these at Walgreens stores now for $6.99.