battle of the bronzes

When I was debating whether to purchase Rimmel's Scandaleyes eyeshadow paint in #006 Rich Russet or not, I Google'd to see if there were any direct comparisons of it to Maybelline's 24HR Color Tattoo in #35 Bad to the Bronze (£4.99). While most blogs mentioned that they were very similar, I don't remember anyone ever directly saying "if you have one, you don't need the other". That was my justification for wanting to have both in my collection. Now that I've owned both for quite a while, I thought maybe it's about time a proper comparison was in order. 

rich russet; bad to the bronze 

Colour wise, they are indeed very similar. Bad to the Bronze is a smidge darker, with more of a silver sheen running through the shadow. It has a buttery texture, and is very easy to blend. While you can definitely get away with one swipe if picking up more product, it can get a little chunky that way, so I recommended building up the intensity with 2 layers. The finish is slightly tacky, which makes it a great base for applying powder eyeshadows on top. Rich Russet on the other hand, is less opaque, and required 2-3 coats for a similar opacity to Maybelline's cream shadow. It comes with a doe foot applicator and applies wet, before drying down to a completely smooth finish. Once it dries, it doesn't budge, so you really need to blend out all the edges beforehand. The packaging makes the shadow incredibly portable and great for travel or touch ups throughout the day.

While the longevity claims are a tad outrageous, I do think they are both very long lasting. I personally have very oily lids (e.g. the Bobbi Brown Long-Wear gel liner gave me panda eyes within an hour or so), and over a base (I use MAC's Paintpot in Soft Ochre) they both lasted around 7-8 hours. Bad to the Bronze managed to stay strong, but creased and left an unflattering beige line in my double eyelid crease. Rich Russet creased less, but faded to a light wash of colour by the end of the day. 

Now to answer that very one question I had before purchasing these products: Do you really need to have both? No, you don't. On the lids they look almost identical, and the wear of it is very similar. But as a true makeup lover (read: addict), for £4.99 each (or $10.91 with the current exchange rate), why not have both? I honestly love both products, but if I had to choose one, I personally prefer Maybelline's offering. I like how it can double up as a base, and the colour selection is more up my alley in comparison the the other Rimmel shadow paints. (I have my eye on #65 Inked in Pink and #70 Pomegranate Punk next...)