Friday, July 14, 2017

Long Overdue ColourPop Haul

I know I've mentioned getting around to doing a post about a ColourPop mini haul in the past; sorry this is too little too late. Back in May I had finally gave into the voices in my head telling me to buy ColourPop shadows and let me tell you, I was not disappointed.

ColourPop, I learned, is a fairly new entrant into the beauty community. "Morgan, you're full of shit, they've been around for a while." Yes, true. BUT I use the term "fairly new" because they only came into existence in in 2014. Three years is pretty neonatal in the beauty world considering they had to go against industry giants that have had anywhere from 20 to 100 years of name recognition. ColourPop is also pretty virulent; they're EVERYWHERE in social media and blogs and there's a huge reason for that: their eyeshadows are freaking amazing. My only experience with the brand in the past is through their eyeliners, also amazing shades and formulas.

ColourPop seems to be more known for their super shock shadows than anything else. The packaging is pretty cute while being simplistic and I don't think I can rave enough about the formulation. I purchased a range of shadow finishes from matte to satin to outright glitter. Each shadow is incredibly creamy and pigmented (even the pressed shadow) and very easy to blend out. I did notice that these apply much better with my finger than with my brush. The textures are very spongy which took some getting used. This spongy texture made it easier to pick up pigment with my finger and more evenly distribute it rather than accidentally get too much on a brush or inadvertently cram it in on one small section of my eye and have to clean it up afterwards.

Part of my motivation for buying ColourPop shadows, other than wanting to try the texture out for myself, was the fact that at the time I was lacking any red shadows and that's a step I'd wanting to lean towards for quite a while now. It didn't help that I caught a deal that was buy two super shock shadows get one free. The current deal is spend $20 on their Karreuche collaboration to receive a free lip gloss. I purchased the shades Central Perk, Paradox, Porter, Stereo, Hydroplane and Get out (a pressed shadow). I had to get the pressed shadow because it was matte and just in case I was not a fan of the super shock shadow texture. Fortunately the latter was a non-issue for me.

Shitty apartment overhead light

Shitty iPhone flash
From Left to Right are Central Perk, Paradox, Porter, Stereo, Hydroplane and Get Out. The application was very creamy. Like I said earlier the shadow pans have an almost spongy texture. The one exception would be Get Out which was a pressed powder and therefore a different formulation, but even then it was still a pretty buttery shadow to apply. I should also note that each of those shadows swatched were only one swipe. Unfortunately Porter and Hydroplane are no longer available through the ColourPop website. I did not realize they were limited edition shadows. They have been on their website forever despite being collaboration shade, Porter belonging to the Kathleen Lights line and Hydroplane belonging to the Amanda Steele line. At least Porter can still be found for sale online though.


Central perk without flash (left), with flash ( right)
Central Perk (far left) is already looking a little patchy when swatched which might be what lobs it into the "matte" category and not "satin". This shade is also much darker in person than what it is showing on the website. Otherwise it is a gorgeous shade. Described as "a matte deep warm burgundy" this shade is on the deeper side of daytime wearable for me. I have to be careful in my blending and eyeliner and just go overall light on the face to begin with to be able to pull off this look during the day. It can add to a very light, naturally sultry look if I wanted to enhance my eyes and pretend I just woke up that way. A pretty neat trick considering I usually wake up looking like one of the animation cells from Ren & Stimpy.


Paradox without flash (left), with flash (right)
ColourPop describes Paradox  as a "satin burgundy red." This is easily my favorite purchase of the haul (of ever?). It has such a bright and vivid red which might look garish on most skin tones but it actually shows up on me without shouting it out from the rooftops if blended properly. I love it for a look that I have some makeup on but that actually shows color as opposed to the zillion shades of nude that I have that enhance a no makeup-makeup look. The other reason why I love this shadow is because it doesn't have an excessive amount of sheen or glitter, just a satin look which honestly, is more of a non-dusty looking matte.

Porter without flash (left) with flash (right). Love this shade!

Porter, a "warm cranberry with a pearl finish" according to the brand, is a beautiful shade. It is a deeper red that leans more toward an evening look and I believe it works great for me as an all over lid shade because it is such a warm hue.

Get Out no flash (left), with flash (right)
On the other side of that coin is the shade Get Out \ which is described as a "matte cool cranberry."  Perhaps the coolness is why I don't gravitate toward this shade. That and the texture isn't as addictive as the super shock shadows. It's just your average yet very velvety traditional pressed powder.

Stereo without flash (left), with flash (right)
Stereo  is described as a "blackened purple with gold and pink glitter." The shadow does not come off this way on their website (I was honestly hoping it would look closer to the product pictured) when swatched I have to say their description is pretty spot on. It is difficult for me to try to pull this shade off at work. The glitter is pretty out of control in this shade as well. If you blend it out too much you get a sheer blackened purple that is really just mostly patchy black and a shit load of glitter. It actually looks like a MAC eyeshadow I wore for my senior homecoming. Thank god that picture either got lost in a move or burned in a fire somewhere, ugh. Is MAC the requisite "high end" makeup for high school kids? Has society evolved beyond that point? I feel like every high school girl had at least one MAC product, even if they didn't know what to do with it because it was MAC.

Hydroplane without flash (left), with flash (right)
My least favorite shadow overall is Hydroplane. I knew this shade would be an issue from square one but I had to purchase it anyway because it is unlike anything else I own. I felt obligated to at least try something I was pretty positive I would hate just to ensure I gave it a fair condemnation. The formula is similar to the other super shock shadows so that's not the issue I have with it. My aversion is entirely based off of the shade and the insane amount of glitter in the product.



For formulation I would rank Paradox and Porter highest (in no particular order) followed by Stereo and Hydroplane, Get Out and lastly with Central Perk. My preference for which shades to wear starting with the favorite down are Paradox, Porter, Central Perk. Stereo, Hydroplane on my lower lash line and Get out last because it is less likely to dry out and I prefer the texture/color of Paradox. This was absolutely worth the $19.98 I spent. The shades are gorgeous, the formulas are amazing and I filled a void that I had in my makeup collection that was mocking me on the daily.

I really should have gone for a purple or green shade that I know I would never wear. Hindsight is 20/20.

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