Colour Pop Haul - Review and Swatches

Disclaimer: All products mentioned in this post were purchased by me. All opinions are my own. 

I feel really late jumping on the Colour Pop bandwagon, but I just placed my first order with them back in May when they did their anniversary special with a free limited-edition eye shadow. Add that in with the $5 coupon code that comes with signing up for their email newsletter, and it was a deal that couldn't be passed up.

When I was planning my order, I wanted to try a little bit of everything except their lip products, but that's just because I don't typically wear colored lip products. I ended up getting four eye shadows, one blush, and two highlighters.

Before we look at individual products, here's a quick shot of the packaging:

Their standard packaging for their eye and face products is a clean white jar with a screw top lid. I didn't think to take a picture of it, but the sides of the lid go down really far, about 3/4 of the way to the bottom of the jar itself. I'm guessing that is because the texture of their products is a cream/mousse type of consistency, so they run the risk of drying out if the container isn't sealed tightly. Because of that texture, you can't expect to see any palettes from this brand. It just wouldn't work.

The label on the back obviously gives you the name of the color as well as the type of product. What I think is a really nice touch is they also include the finish of the product (it's hard to read here, but it is under Super Shock Shadow).

On to the eye shadows! I didn't notice it when I placed my order, but you'll begin to see a trend here....

Plunge (Pearlized): Colour Pop describes this shade as a light warm beige with a golden sheen. That is pretty accurate. To me, it looks like a soft, golden bronze shade.

Truth (Satin): Colour Pop describes this as a neutral light beige with a warm satin finish, I don't really have anything to add to that description.

I Heart This (Metallic): Colour Pop describes I Heart This as a cool-toned silvery taupe with multi-colored glitter. Again, I would consider their description to be spot-on.

Birthday Girl - Limited Edition (Metallic): As I mentioned up above, part of what made me order was a free, limited edition eye shadow that was part of their birthday celebration. I don't have an official color description, but I would describe it as a warm golden bronze with multi-colored glitter, with silver being the prominent glitter color. It is deeper than Plunge but distinctly warmer than I Heart This. You've probably noticed the hot pink packaging. It is currently unique to this color.

Did you notice the trend? If not, let's see if this helps:

From left to right: Plunge, Truth, I Heart This, Birthday Girl

I don't know how I didn't realize it until I got my order, but I chose colors that were all very similar. Thinking back on it though, it makes sense. I had read a review from a smaller blog that complained about the ease of application. I was worried about a brush being able to pick up the product, so I wanted to choose lid-shades just in case I was only happy with finger application. The unexpected advantage of this choice was that I get to compare finishes within a very similar color family. 

Top to bottom: Truth and Plunge

Top to bottom: Birthday Girl and I Heart This

I have to say that I've fallen in love with the pearlized finish of Plunge. It's got more of a shimmery kick than Truth's satin finish, but it isn't bordering on over-the-top glitter like Birthday Girl and I Heart This. 

I'm happy to say that brush application isn't as bad as I thought it would be. I do have to work a little harder than with a normal shadow to get the brush loaded with product, and I tend to dip back into the pan more times to get the coverage that I want, but it is doable. Finger application is really easy too. I might venture out enough to get a crease or liner color the next time I place a Colour Pop order. 

As for wear time, these shadows are awesome! I use primer because I always use primer, but these look almost if not as good by the end of the day as they did in the morning. I haven't experienced any creasing, and there is little to no fading. They've even lasted through an entire workday and an intense workout at the gym. 

I wore I Heart This recently, and I did notice some glitter fallout by the end of the day. It wasn't an excessive amount where I wanted to run and hide instead of running errands after work. I don't think the people that I was interacting with during errands would have noticed anything, but when I looked a little closer than normal in a mirror, I could see it. The glitter factor is definitely something to keep in mind if you are looking at buying any of the metallic finish shadows. 

On to face products: 

Monster (Pearlized): Colour Pop describes Monster as a light pink with a highly-opalescent duochrome finish. To me, the base looks more white than pink because it is that pale, and the base color really disappears on the skin. The pink opalescence is absolutely beautiful.  

Lunch Money (Pearlized): Colour Pop describes this highlighter as a soft light gold with a reflective golden duo-chrome finish. I don't really see how this is a duo-chrome shade, but it is still beautiful.

Mochi (Matte): Colour Pop describes Mochi as a bright blue-pink, and I consider that to be accurate.

From left to right: Monster, Lunch Money, and Mochi

Although the formula is a similar cream/mousse texture like the eye shadows, there are distinct differences. The highlighters feel thinner and creamier than the eye shadows, and the blush feels much drier than the other two. 

I love the highlighters. They apply like a dream. I have stuck with applying these with my fingers since fingers seem just as easy to apply a cream product like this to small areas of the face. They blend out nicely and last pretty well throughout the day. 

As already mentioned the blush feels really stiff and dry to me. The dry texture makes it harder to pick up product. Since I chose such a bright color, it makes it harder to over-apply it. Sadly, the dry texture also seems to make it a bit harder to blend out on the cheeks as well. It isn't impossible; it just isn't as easy as other cream blushes in my collection. After trying a few different brushes, I've decided that I prefer using a dense brush that still has plenty of movement, like the Real Techniques Buffing Brush. While the blush lasts pretty well throughout the day, I see quite a bit of fading by the time I get home in the evening. 

Final Thoughts

I really like the eye shadows that I got, particularly Plunge with the pearlized finish, and the highlighters are gorgeous. I'm not chomping at the bit to place another order immediately, but it is very likely that I'll order more in the future. The blush is nice, but I don't like it well enough to order more of them in the future. I think the only exception might be if they come out with a really unique color that I haven't seen someplace else. 

Have you tried Colour Pop? What products/colors are your favorite or are on your wishlist?

Disclaimer: All products mentioned in this post were purchased by me. All opinions are my own.