After months and months of deliberation...mostly because I have tons of makeup and was a bit unsure of what exactly to pick up...I finally placed my first ColourPop order a little while back. I picked up a variety of products from their range hoping to give them a test run and see if the hype surrounding the brand is substantiated. It's been a while now, I've tested it all, and I'm ready to get down to the nitty-gritty.
Super Shock Shadows
This was pretty much my main reason for placing a ColourPop order. There's so much hype in the beauty world and on Instagram surrounding their eye shadows and I knew I wanted to pick out a few shades and see what all the fuss was about. After browsing through a ridiculous amount of swatches and reviews online I settled on the shades, Blaze, I Heart This, Cornelius and Weenie. The shadows have an almost wet, bouncy texture but a powder finish. It's a bit bizarre but the kind of thing you just need to feel for yourself. The pigmentation on these shadows is great, but I feel like you lose a lot of it when you apply them with a brush. These shadows really shine when they're patted on with your fingers and the edges are just softened with a fluffy brush.
Personally, I think the metallic finish shadows are more impressive in terms of pigmentation. I also would recommend mixing one of these shadows in with other more traditional powder shadows to create your look, rather than using several ColourPop shadows. I find that it's a bit hard to apply these shadows in targeted areas and keep them from just blending in with each other. They're really at their best when you use one shade all over the lid, or if you pat a shimmery shade on top of another shadow for a little pop. Out of the shades I picked up, I would highly recommend Weenie, which is a metallic rose gold, and Cornelius, a matte warm caramel. If you decide to give some of their shadows a try I would highly recommend choosing shadows which you'd see yourself wearing all over your lid.
Sculpting Stix in Dove
This was probably the least practical item in my haul but I just couldn't resist after hearing LeighannSays rave about it. The color is a cool taupe and although it's very pigmented, it blends in very well. Possibly too well. It's actually really easy to blend it out so much that there's nothing really left. I don't find that this is the kind of contouring product I can wear on it's own. I had to brush some bronzer over my skin to keep everything looking healthy and warm up my complexion, as the shade is so cool-toned. I like how easy this is to swipe on where you need it but I think maybe, for my skin-type and preferences, I'm probably better off with a powder contour.
Brow Pencil in Bangin' Brunette
I've heard several Youtubers rave about how great these brow pencils are for the price ($5), so I knew I wanted to pick one up to try as well. I actually gave this pencil a really thorough test run, as I had run out of my Anastasia Brow Wiz, and it's not bad. It's very pigmented and creamy, which is nice, but also means you need to use a very light hand or you can end up with some scary, bold brows. I like the spoolie end and how fine the pencil point is but I think the shade is just a tad warmer than I would prefer. For the price it's a great option, but honestly, it can't touch the Brow Wiz in my eyes.
Crème Gel Pencil Liner in Mr. Bing
After hearing Kathleen Lights rave about these liners and knowing she collaborated with ColourPop to create this shade, I decided to add this pencil to my order. Yep, another product to add to the 'Youtube Made Me Buy It' list. Kathleen had said that these pencils work great in the water line, and as much as I love her, I'm going to have to disagree. I feel like this liner just doesn't apply well to my water line and it skips a bit when I tried to apply it to my lash line over the Colourpop shadows. It's a shame because the color is a beautiful reddish brown that's unlike any other liner in my collection. I'm going to try applying this over other shadow formulas to see if I have better luck.
I've heard several Youtubers rave about how great these brow pencils are for the price ($5), so I knew I wanted to pick one up to try as well. I actually gave this pencil a really thorough test run, as I had run out of my Anastasia Brow Wiz, and it's not bad. It's very pigmented and creamy, which is nice, but also means you need to use a very light hand or you can end up with some scary, bold brows. I like the spoolie end and how fine the pencil point is but I think the shade is just a tad warmer than I would prefer. For the price it's a great option, but honestly, it can't touch the Brow Wiz in my eyes.
Crème Gel Pencil Liner in Mr. Bing
After hearing Kathleen Lights rave about these liners and knowing she collaborated with ColourPop to create this shade, I decided to add this pencil to my order. Yep, another product to add to the 'Youtube Made Me Buy It' list. Kathleen had said that these pencils work great in the water line, and as much as I love her, I'm going to have to disagree. I feel like this liner just doesn't apply well to my water line and it skips a bit when I tried to apply it to my lash line over the Colourpop shadows. It's a shame because the color is a beautiful reddish brown that's unlike any other liner in my collection. I'm going to try applying this over other shadow formulas to see if I have better luck.
Lippie Pencil & Lippie Stix in Aquarius
Kathleen Lights also collaborated with them on several lip colors and of the bunch I chose Aquarius, a beautiful pink nude that's perfect for any occasion. I picked up both the pencil and lipstick so that I could test out the different formulas and have two different finishes. Their lippie stix come in a variety of finishes but this shade is a crème finish, which is both creamy and glossy. The lippie pencil has a matte finish that is still creamy and blendable. I would say of the whole haul, these are probably my favorite purchases. Although I already have a ridiculous amount of lip colors in my collection, these are probably the items I'll get the most use out of.
For the price and the variety of products and shades that ColourPop offers, I think it's totally worth picking up a few items to play around with. If you're not sure what to try, I'd say your best bet is their eye shadows and their lip products. Just look through some swatches online (Temptalia is a great resource for this) and choose colors that speak to you. ColourPop is coming out with new collections what seems like every week so you're bound to find something that peaks your interest. I was able to pick up all these goodies for just $40, which is a lot of bang for my buck. Though I didn't fall hopelessly in love with all the products in my order, I had a lot of fun playing with them, which to me is half the point of makeup.
Have you tried any products from ColourPop? Any recommendations? Let me know in the comments below.
Kathleen Lights also collaborated with them on several lip colors and of the bunch I chose Aquarius, a beautiful pink nude that's perfect for any occasion. I picked up both the pencil and lipstick so that I could test out the different formulas and have two different finishes. Their lippie stix come in a variety of finishes but this shade is a crème finish, which is both creamy and glossy. The lippie pencil has a matte finish that is still creamy and blendable. I would say of the whole haul, these are probably my favorite purchases. Although I already have a ridiculous amount of lip colors in my collection, these are probably the items I'll get the most use out of.
For the price and the variety of products and shades that ColourPop offers, I think it's totally worth picking up a few items to play around with. If you're not sure what to try, I'd say your best bet is their eye shadows and their lip products. Just look through some swatches online (Temptalia is a great resource for this) and choose colors that speak to you. ColourPop is coming out with new collections what seems like every week so you're bound to find something that peaks your interest. I was able to pick up all these goodies for just $40, which is a lot of bang for my buck. Though I didn't fall hopelessly in love with all the products in my order, I had a lot of fun playing with them, which to me is half the point of makeup.
Have you tried any products from ColourPop? Any recommendations? Let me know in the comments below.
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