New Colourpop Additions, Reviewed

As you may have seen, about a month ago I hauled some new products from Colourpop during their free international shipping promotion, which they've since extended to the end of the year! I've had enough time to try the products that I got - some of them new formulas for me - and figured I would share my thoughts with you! I have already tried a bunch of Colourpop products before which I wrote about in a brand spotlight post. 

Top to Bottom: Echo Park, Times Square, Kapow, Cheap Thrills

Colourpop Ultra Satin Lip in Echo Park

When the Ultra Satins initially launched, I actually wasn't too enthused by them because when it comes to opaque liquid lipsticks, I usually like them to set completely and have minimal to no transfer. But, these Ultra Satins got so many raves that I had to try at least one! These liquid lipsticks are extremely pigmented and opaque in pretty much one swipe. They do dry somewhat, however not completely as they retain some moisture and a slight sheen. Ultimately though, they do have a satin-matte finish on the lips (which can be blotted to be more matte), last extremely well and aren't drying. It tends to wear off and fade evenly, rather than the dreaded "butthole lips" you can get with super matte, set liquid lipsticks. While this formula does transfer, I haven't noticed it bleeding at all. So far, I really enjoy this formula and would definitely love to pick up more of them, particularly the noods.

Echo Park is a gorgeous shade that is right up my alley! It's a medium peach, with a hint of brown-nude to it. It's a great everyday, wearable peach option that is very complimentary to warm skintones and makeup looks.

Colourpop Ultra Matte Lips in Times Square, Kapow and Cheap Thrills

Ahh...the Colourpop Ultra Mattes - ever on the receiving end of highly mixed reviews. I was completely expecting to hate these from the reviews I'd seen, but I wanted to try them out, especially for the more unique shades. I figured I wasn't losing much! Well, I was..partly right. I am very annoyed at these, mainly because the formulas of the three that I have vary wildly. I have heard that too and it is really quite terrible that the formulas of supposedly the same products can be SO inconsistent. Get yo shit together Colourpop! 

I guess I'll start with the one that I like - Times Square. It's a pretty warm pinky brown nude shade. In my swatch it's turning up a bit too peach - it's more brown in real life. I find it very wearable and flattering - a great option for all occasions I think. The formula of this is good, but nothing outstanding. I find the Coloupop Ultra Mattes to be quite liquidy (some moreso than others) but dry very quickly. Times Square has a slight stickiness to it (which I find keeps it relatively comfortable) and is drying but not terribly so. I don't crazy love how it looks on the lips though. While all liquid lipsticks give a pruney look to my lips and exacerbate lines, I find the Colourpop ones to be particularly bad. Also, bizarrely, Times Square has a very fluffy doe foot, which does make application slightly easier.

Kapow, aka the bane of my existence. I cannot even begin to describe how terrible this feels on my lips. Firstly, this one is very liquidy and dries very quickly - making it very difficult to work with. Plus, the doe foot is extremely unfluffy and hard and therefore hard to actually spread the product without creating streaks. Once it's on and dry, WOW - it quite literally feels like shrink wrap that has been vacuum sealed onto your lips. It's the craziest, most uncomfortable sensation. I can barely move my lips. When I touch my lips together, I can't feel them. It's like they've gone numb and the layer of lipstick has inhibited all sensation. It's perplexing, really. I couldn't bare to have it on my lips for longer than five minutes! Plus, it looked sooo bad and pruney like... no. Kapow is a unique shade in itself but annoyingly, it dries about five shades darker than it looks in the tube so, very misleading. It's a deep purple, taupe brown shade that on the model looked great, but coupled with the shit formula, looked terrible on me. 

Cheap Thrills actually isn't terrible. The formula is relatively similar to Times Square but possibly a little more drying. It's a cool toned dusty purple which still has some vibrancy to it. I've been oddly in a very purple and cool-toned mood lately, I can't seem to stop buying shades like this! I will say though, the Ultra Mattes have virtually no transfer which is great! 

Colourpop Lippie Stix in Pitch (Matte)

I wanted to try out the whole super dark brown lip thing but at a cheap price so I opted for this guy. I was tossing up between this and the Ultra Matte in Limbo and I'm glad I got this since I had such a sucky experience with the Ultra Mattes! I already have a few Lippie Stix and really like them. They're just decent lipsticks that come in a bunch of shades and finishes at an affordable price. Pitch is a super deep red-toned brown. It looks a little gothic on the lips, but I dig it. It's creamy, very pigmented and has a satin-matte formula that isn't drying.

Colourpop Creme Gel Pencil in Overboard and Zulu

Again, the formula between the two shades I have is hella different - gdi Colourpop and your inconsistency. Overboard is a dark, shimmery warm bronze shade that is very smooth, creamy and pigmented. I don't think I can complain much about this, except maybe that it's not as defining as I would like, but I think that's because the shade isn't super deep or rich. The lasting power is pretty good and doesn't seem to smudge but it lasts averagely in the waterline, contrary to raves I'd heard saying they were like, the best for the waterline. Zulu was a complete disappointment for me. Firstly, the actual product inside the pencil came broken and snapped in two which was a bummer. I also found it to be sooo crumbly and dry. It applied patchily and just wasn't creamy and opaque like Overboard. It didn't adhere to the waterline, and when applied to the lower lashline, you could just see clumps and crumbs of it on my eyelashes. It's such a pretty colour though - a vibrant mint-turquoise. It's very possible I got a dud but still, not happy Jan.

Colourpop Super Shock Shadow in Wattles (Satin) and Weenie (Pearlized)

I have a quad of Colourpop shadows from my last order and I like them - the shimmers definitely perform better than the mattes - but they're fun to use and have a unique texture. The only thing is that I don't often reach for single shadows so they don't really get a workout - but that's my own fault! Wattles is quite a unique shade I think - it's a light mauvey-pink colour with a slight silver and almost blue shimmer through it. It's really very pretty and looks great all over the lid for a subtle dusty rose lid, or even in the crease. I find that the less shimmer these Colourpop "powder" products have, the drier their texture. Because this has some shimmer to it, it's still relatively creamy and smooth. It doesn't pack a huge punch in the pigment department, but I quite enjoy the soft look it gives. Weenie is in a similar colour family, being a metallic pink-rose gold shade. I love the formula of the Pearlized shades - they are sooo creamy and smooth feeling and have gorgeous pigmentation. Absolutely love this shade all over the lid! The lasting power of these is average, they set to a somewhat powdery finish, but definitely crease on me at the end of the day with primer.

L-R: Echo Park, Times Square, Kapow, Cheap Thrills, Pitch

L-R: Weenie, Wattles, Overboard, Zulu

Whoops - so this post ended up being longer than I anticipated. I went on some untintentional rants there! Overall Colourpop will always be a cheap, fun brand with unique colours and formulas for me. Their inconsistency between formulas will annoy me, but ultimately they are still sort of a small-ish brand meeting a huge demand and at a low cost, so I can't really complain. That being said, in future orders (which will be few and far between I think), I will be avoiding their liner pencils and ultra mattes!

What have you tried from Colourpop? Have you experienced any inconsistencies?