Colourpop Haul

 

Do you have a case of whiplash?  If you do, it may be due to the barrage of new makeup collections that can make your head spin.  You’ll feel a rush of purchase urgency when your email inbox is flooded with a sea of emails telling you about the latest fantastical foundations or luscious lipsticks that you just have to have. Sure, you already have a zillion foundations but you have your favorite one that you use daily while the other untouched bottles sit collecting dust.

Then you see a YouTube video with an influencer applying the latest hot to trot foundation that makes their skin look like the most flawless canvas you’ve ever seen. You try to remind yourself that the beauty guru is filming under perfecting lighting and is probably being paid to peddle the potion to the masses…but you don’t care. Before you’re finished watching the video, you’ve already added  it to your Sephora shopping cart. The foundation arrives and you love it. But the next day, you reach for your old faithful favorite foundation and the $35 foundation you just had to have goes to the foundation graveyard in your drawer.
The cycle continues.

Lately I’ve been trying to use my woefully neglected products. It can be a good time shopping your own makeup collection and rediscovering hidden gems that you already own. Plus it saves you some dough.  However, I’m not totally practicing what I’m preaching because I’m bringing to you a review on my latest Colourpop haul. Take my post opening as a bit of purchase habits self-reflection. To be fair, some of these new products are different than any others that I already own.
It seems like Colourpop launches new products every week.  I love that that they embrace fun packaging, colorful shade ranges and innovative goodies that are affordable. They even have skincare products available under the name Fourth Ray which I will be getting my paws on to give a whirl.

OK!  I need to stop rambling because this post is a long one.  Are you ready to see what goodies I snagged from Colourpop?  Well, grab some nachos and a bubbly beverage and keep on scrolling.

And if you want to save five bucks on your first Colourpop purchase, use my referral code here and we’ll both get five smackers!

BFF Mascaras

Retail Price:  $8

Find BFF Mascara here.

 

I’ve been on the hunt for colorful mascaras in a variety of colors for years.
The few that I’ve previously tried were missing the color payoff that I was craving. When I’m looking to spice up my peepers with some colorful lashes, I end up taking a spoolie and coating it with my Inglot AMC gel liner as a makeshift mascara. It’s not a routine that I do often because it’s very wasteful due to the amount of liner I have to dip into.

I was super excited when I saw various photos and videos of lashes wearing Colourpop’s BFF mascaras.  However, I quickly lowered my expectations so I wouldn’t get my hopes up yet again only to crash and burn with a disappointing result.

 

When I got the product in my hands I first noticed the schnazzy packaging. Colourpop always nails their presentation with their whimsical designs that look adorable both in your bag or on your shelf.    The white mascara tubes have clever little phrases printed  in the color of the product.

 

The brush applicator is larger and reminds me of Too Faced’s Better Than Sex mascara. I slapped on one coat and was pretty happy that I could actually see some of the product coating my lashes. After a second coat, I was giddy that I had finally found a mascara that would deposit an opaque color that is actually visible. The formula is surprisingly very good. It adds volume and length without becoming clumpy. It has a thicker texture which I personally like better than a wet formula which can end up becoming a smudgy mess. I wore the mascara for around ten hours. It did not budge or flake. But what made my heart sing is that it did not transfer whatsoever to my eyelids. Nearly every mascara, with the exception of Hourglass’s Caution mascara, transfers to my lower eyelid. The BFF mascara stayed out for hours.

I tried applying my Essence Volume Booster Lash Primer which I use as a base coat under all of my mascaras.  When I applied a layer of the BFF mascara on top of the primed lashes, I ended up with many of the lashes sticking to one another where it looked like I only had six lashes on my lid.  Without the primer, the mascara applied easily without clumping or sticking.
I only purchased four shades of the color mascaras but I need to get my mitts on the black shade.

Creme Gel Color

Retail Price:  $6

Find the Crème Gel Golor here.

I feel like I’m cheating on my beloved Inglot AMC Eyeliner Gel with Colourpop’s much more affordable Crème Gel Colour eyeliners. Inglot has set an insanely high bar as their gel liners are…THE BEST EVER.

Their liners are so smooth and creamy and apply like a dream. You can toss it in your waterline and it will not budge, flake, fade or crumble. I’ve used it on my lid in place of shadow to create a cut crease look without turning into a crumbly or wrinkly mess.  You can even layer shadows on top seamlessly. And incase you missed the memo, I pretty much wear winged eyeliner every darn day of my life.  Inglot gives me the perfect super opaque matte finish that I need. Oh, and I forgot to mention that they come in 32 shades? Say what?!  Yes, 32 shades.

Wait!  Oh…right. I’m here to review Colourpop’s eyeliner. I just need you to understand my expectations for what another brand has to do to even come close to upstaging my AMC liner.

So does Colourpop deliver the goods? You’ll find a variety of 13 different shades of the Crème Gel Colour eyeliner. These will cost you $8 a jar and some of the shades perform very well for an affordable eyeliner.  However, some shades are…how do I put this…downright awful. The shades Swerve (black), Exit (white) and Piggy Bank (purple) have a creamy consistency that glides on easily without skipping. They are very pigmented and opaque and dry down to a completely matte finish. I was able to apply stacked lines without the colors bleeding into one another. Once the liner dries, it stays in place without cracking, fading, smudging or crumbling. When applied to the waterline, it lasted all day without breaking down or fading.  For 8 bucks, those specific shades are pretty fantastic.

Now for the liner shades that were a major let down:  Punch (yellow) and Boots (pink).  Oh boy.  These two shades were gosh darn awful to work with.  The weirdest discovery was that they both had their own unique problems.  Punch is a vibrant canary yellow that is very thick and dry right out of the jar.  I have been using potted gel liners for years and know that if you do not quickly screw the cap back on after use, the product will dry out very quickly.  This liner was so thick that it felt as though it was on the verge of drying out it even though it wasn’t.  When I applied it over eyeshadow with a liner brush, it started balling up on my lid and becoming crumbly.  The color became muted and messy.  Just look at this crumbly mess that looks like crackly spackle.

The performance of the pink liner in the shade Boots was so strange.  If I applied the liner to a primed lid without shadow, it applied relatively smooth.  As the liner dries down, it becomes a bit darker losing its vibrancy.  When I applied it on top of shadow, the edges of the liner started to peel up off of the skin.  Bizarre!  It didn’t flake off but the edges began to curl.  I have never experienced this with any other liner.

I wish Colourpop’s liners performed consistently, especially brighter tones.  My Inglot AMC liner will remain its place on its throne of awesomeness due to it having an impressive shade collection plus it is slightly more vibrant with its colorful shades than Colourpop’s. But in regards to the shades that performed in an awesomely, Colourpop is probably one of the best affordable gel liners I have tried in quite some time.

 

Glitterally Obsessed Glitter Paste

Retail Price:  $8

Find the Glitterally Obsessed Glitter Paste here.

Yes. Many people hate glitter. Sure, it’s messy and when you open a package of glitter it seems to infiltrate every nook and cranny of the room.  You can even pay the company Ruin Days to mail glitter bombs to your most loathed enemy.

And let’s not forget the seemingly endless memes available across the internet universe that poke fun at the shiny stuff. 

But I still love glitter. While out shopping, I’ll catch a glimpse of a cheap sparkly holiday decoration and I will be instantly mesmerized while gushing like a five-year old on how purdy it is and that I must own it.
The same instinctive reaction happens when I see any type of glitter makeup. I want to sparkle like a disco ball!  But the trade off is that it is such a pain in the tush with the messy factor. Ugh. I really hate finding rogue glitter on my bedding, furniture or clothes. Isn’t it amazing how we can have one teeny tiny speck of glitter on our otherwise glitterless faces and your eyes instantly will see it and can’t look away.  Then you try to remove the tiny piece and it will not budge. I can’t explain why my brain betrays me with my love and hate of the sparkly stuff. It is what it is.

Growing up as a child in the 80’s, sometimes I would be given the shimmering gift of body glitter. I’d take my little plastic jars and haul them around in my backpack only to discover that the lid had come off and the glitter gel ended up all over the contents of my bag. But the two times that I was able to use the body glitter before it disappeared, I felt like a mystical mermaid or unicorn whose sparkle would be a thing of envy on the playground.

And now Colourpop is tugging at my nostalgic heartstrings with their Gliterally Obsessed Gel Pastes.  You can find a variety of different colors of body glitters on Colourpop’s site.  I was able to snag five jars to test out different shades.

But before I go any further, I can’t discuss Colourpop’s body glitter without mentioning the Lemonhead LA controversy that came along with its launch. Lemonhead LA, a Los Angeles-based brand created by makeup artist Megan Dugan, had already established her place in the beauty market with gorgeous mess-free “glitter for adults”.  Lemonhead LA’s glitter gels SpacePaste and SpaceJam products have been cult favorites of celebrites, the fashion industry and makeup enthusiasts.  I own a few of them myself and they are pretty amazing.  They have an amazing scent, are jam packed with glitter and wash off easily.

Some fans of Lemonhead LA were upset that Colourpop had launched a similar glitter product claiming that they were copycats.  I get it.  Indie brands put their hearts, money and passion into creating products that are sometimes quickly duped by larger brands.  But companies have always and will continue to create dupes of other products and offer them to consumers at different price points.  Lemonhead LA’s SpacePaste costs $22. SpaceJam is $28 and Colourpop’s Gliterally Obsessed will cost you only $8.  But will skimping on the price deliver you the same magical effect of Lemonhead LA’s potions?

The Gliterally Obsessed jars are a decent size weighing in at 15g.  The texture is less jelly-like than the body glitter gels from my youth.  The product has a thick paste consistency that stays intact without dripping everywhere when picked up with a brush or your finger.  It is packed with loads of bits of glitter.  Glitter being mixed into the adhesive makes application tremendously easier than laying down a glitter glue first and then applying loose glitter that travels and sticks to every surface in its path.

I was able to apply a smooth layer onto my eyelid and gently pack on a second layer.  It stayed relatively smooth and in place.  I was stoked that I was able to achieve a cut-crease effect quickly and easily and it did not budge after hours of wearing.  If you put on too thick of a layer, you may have some chunks flake off.  Just make sure that you are gradually building up the product and it will stay in place for hours without flaking or migrating around your face or into your hair.

Washing off the product is a different story.  Unfortunately, it was still a pain in the tush to remove.  I washed my face three times and used micellar water as well to remove nearly every last remnant of glitter.  However, it is easier to remove than the glitter I had previously applied with a separate glitter glue.  But for the easiest removal, Lemonhead LA’s paste wins the easy peasy, squeaky cleany award.

BUT!  I found a new hack to remove glitter a bit more easily:  Tape!  After feeling as though I took a sandblaster to my face to blast off every last speck of glitter, I then remembered hearing about using tape to remove the sparkly stuff.  No, I didn’t run a sticky lint roller over my face (although that doesn’t sound like a crazy idea).  I used some pieces of soft tape to grab the glitter from my skin to grab the stubborn flecks more easily.  I was able to remove nearly every speck of glitter with the tape and wash my face with ease.

I should also mention that Colourpop, along with any other brand that creates glitter products, gives the typical disclaimer to not use these around the eyes.  The glitter is cosmetic grade but use at your own discretion.

So would I purchase these sparkly jars of spackle again?  For eight bucks, the Glitterally Obsessed glitter paste was a win for me.  In the future, be prepared to see me doused in loads of sparkles as I eat my nachos looking like the happiest of disco balls.

Blur Lux Lipstick

Retail Price:  $7

Find the Blur Lux Lipsticks here.

Hello.  I’d like to introduce you to my favorite new lip product in the beauty industry.  Oh.  My.  Word!  I had seen numerous videos pop up a few months ago showing swatches of Colourpop’s Velvet Blur Lux Lipsticks.  The reviews were all over the place from people saying the lipstick made their dry lips look horrendous to those who fell in love with its soft lip look.

So what the heck are Blur Lux Lipsticks?  Here’s how Colourpop describes their lipstick:

“This unique matte lipstick creates a soft focus, blurring effect with the same high impact colour you know we’ll deliver. The silky, velvet soft texture smooths over fine lines and imperfections, while never drying out your lips. A formula that works with your look, build up the color to add drama, or blur out the edges for a soft romantic look. Loaded with our exclusive LUX blend of extracts Pomegranate, Goji Fruit, and Grape Seed extracts protect and nourish lips.”

First of all, how adorable is the packaging?  Once again, Colourpop is thoughtful with their designs.  The slick gold packaging is adorned with teeny stars and those same stars are stamped into the lip product. The lipstick has a little bit of weight to it that feels like a higher priced product.  I purchased the shades All Tea and Superbloom.

After the first swipe of the lipstick across my lips, I noticed a unique fruity scent mixed with a hint of vanilla.  I personally love the fragrance which also has a slightly sweet taste.  I was expecting the lipstick to have the opacity similar to Colourpop’s Ultra Blotted Lip but it is nothing like that product.  The Blur Lux Lip has a surprising amount of opacity.

It feels like a balm mixed with a lipstick for a finish that I haven’t experienced before.  I have very dry lips that often look like a piece of weathered wood so I was concerned that this lipstick was going to accentuate my lip lines and texture.  Nope!  Not at all!  This applies like a dream on my lips and allows me to have a defined lip line or it also can be softened with your finger or a tissue.  My lips looked so soft and velvety while remaining incredibly comfortable.  I also unapologetically always overline my lips, not caring if it is noticeable or not.  But the Blur Lux Lipstick is very forgiving with going outside of your natural lip line while not bleeding or smudging.  Because of its balm-like texture, the lipstick is very long wearing and fades gracefully while remaining super comfy.

Here’s a little tip for those looking to purchase these lipsticks.  It’s a little tricky picking out the true shades of the product using the photos on Colourpop’s website.  I found that some of the shades of my lipsticks were more pigmented than the photos on the site, but if you apply a thin layer or blot with a tissue, it’s pretty close to the models’ photos.  All Tea was closer to the site’s photos while Superbloom was much more pigmented.

Congrats!  You Reached the End!

Whew!  What a haul!  I feel like so many beauty bloggers post every single gosh darn day about Colourpop products but as long as the company keeps on releasing awesome products at an affordable price, I am hooked!  Have you snagged any of the latest Colourpop goodies like the Disney Villains Collection?  Let me know!