Colourpop Cosmetics (Review+Swatches)

Colourpop First Impressions

Now, I don’t want to give it away right off the bat, but imagine a $5 lipstick that feels like a $30 lipstick… My first impressions of Colourpop Cosmetics.

Hi Friends!

I have a rather exciting post to share with you today. I must admit, being a beauty guru, I’m a little late to the party when it comes to Colourpop. Everyone and their mother uses Colourpop and I’m just now giving it a go. I think it’s because I HATE ordering makeup online…#1, because you can’t see/touch the products you’re ordering, and #2, because I’m impatient AF and who wants to wait for shipping? Certainly not me.

I’ve heard so many good things about the line and the main products range between $5-$8, so I was like ‘what the hell!?‘ and placed an order.

Colourpop - First Impressions

If you know anything about me by now, you’ll know I’m OBSESSED (probably an understatement) with nude lip colors. If you live and breathe nude lips like I do, keep on reading for the full review. I’m going to split the review into parts based on the type of products and they summarize the good and the bad at the very end. There’s a lot here to talk about so let’s get into it!


LIPPIE STIX

WHAT I PURCHASED

The Colourpop Lippie Stix are like a lipstick in a long tube, or an extra chubby lip pencil. The Lippie Stix come in several different finishes; matte, satin, creme, matte x, and glossy.
Now, what I will say is that Colourpop changes out their colors quite often. They have a few shades that remain constant, but a lot of the colors come and go. Each Lippie Stix is $5.00 each.

The descriptions of each product are very vague online, but I’ll try to give you as much information as possible and my thoughts.

Colourpop LippieStix - Shades

Colourpop Lippie Stix - Shades
Shades (L-R): Primer, Toy, Skimpy, She Bad, Cookie, Aquarius, Oh Snap

PRIMER “Enhances the wear of any lip product and keeps your lips looking and feeling healthy! Smudge-proof & anti-feathering, it fills in fine lines for a smooth application and longer wear time.”

TOY (Creme) – Light peachy nude. One of the newest colors on the site.

SKIMPY (Glossy) – Soft pinky nude (being discontinued soon, so it’s on sale).

SHE BAD (Matte X) – Light beige nude.  If you often wear matte lipsticks, you’ll know the formulas can be somewhat drying on the lips. Colourpop’s “matte x” range is rather new to the line and it supposed to combine the much-loved matte finish with lip-nourishing hydration.

Colourpop Lippie Stix - Swatches - Toy - Skimpy - She Bad

COOKIE (Matte) – Warm brown nude.

AQUARIUS (Creme) – A collaboration with beauty guru, Kathleen Lights – a soft pinky nude.

OH SNAP (Matte) – Muted pinky nude.

Colourpop Lippie Stix - Swatches - Cookie - Aquarius - Oh Snap

PACKAGING

I like the packaging of the product…for the price. For being a $5 lipstick, I like the white tube of the packaging, and it feels more heavy-duty than it does cheap and wimpy (if you get what I mean). It’s not like cheap lightweight plastic. The tubes are twist-up, and I like the color scheme of the white packaging with the holographic lettering. I also appreciate that the shades names and colors are easily to see on the bottom of each tube.
I would also say the shades are VERY close to what they look like online and the colors at the bottom of the tubes.

APPLICATION/formula

The Lippie Stix have great opacity, meaning you won’t see your natural lip color underneath. The color is definitely pigmented. I really love the formula as well, I find that the creme, glossy, and satin finishes (Skimpy, Toy, Aquarius) glide over the lips and do not accentuate texture or settle into my fine lines. And I didn’t notice too much of a smell on any of the products.
As far as the hydrating claims of the matte x finish, I definitely didn’t agree. You’ll see in the lip swatches below that my lips look more tight and dry than they do with the standard matte finish Lippie Stix (Oh Snap and Cookie). I found that She Bad was harder to apply and did make my lips feel dry. Don’t get me wrong, I love this shade and its gorgeous with a lip gloss over the top, but the formula by itself was too drying for me.

LONGEVITY

I found that the matte and matte x finishes lasted on the lips longer than the creme, glossy, and satin finishes. Again, though, I wasn’t a fan of the matte x finish. I felt it was too drying for me and accentuated the dryness and lines that my lips already have. It wasn’t comfortable to wear for a long time (but I also don’t typically like matte lip colors period for that reason). The other shades, though, were very comfortable on the lips.

Colourop Lippie Stix - Lip Swatches


LIPPIE PENCILS 

WHAT I PURCHASED

I also purchased 3 of Colourpop’s Lippie Pencils, their version of a lip pencil. Each one is $5.00 each.

TOY – This is a light peachy nude shade.

SKIMPY – This lip pencil shade is very similar to “Toy”, and they could be used interchangeably  in my opinion.

AQUARIUS – A soft pinky nude and the same collaboration with Kathleen Lights.

Colourpop Lip Liner - Swatches - Toy - Skimpy - Aquarius

PACKAGING

I like the packaging of these pencils, and again, I enjoy the white packaging with the shades on the bottom, so you can easily see which color you’re reaching for.
I do, however wish these were a twist-up product, as they do need sharpening when they get dull.

APPLICATION/FORMULA

The application of the pencil is smooth and goes on very easily. I would say the formula feels like a matte finish, but the color does go on seemlessly and creates a great canvas for the Lippie Stix to go on over the top. You could also wear just the Lippie Pencil by itself for a matte look.

LONGEVITY

I felt like these lasted a while on my lips. Even when the Lippie Stix started to fade away, the pencil still hung in there.


ULTRA GLOSSY LIPGLOSS 

WHAT I PURCHASED

The Ultra Glossy lip products are $6.00 each.

FAIRY FLOSS – Sheer pale beige with highly glossy finish.

 

PACKAGING

I really love the packaging here. It feels heavy duty and I really like the tube. The product itself has a doe-foot wand-style applicator, and not a brush (thank God), and it applies just the right amount of product to the lips.

APPLICATION/FORMULA

Though the formula itself is sheer, it makes the perfect lip-topper. It’s a pale shade, so you could wear it by itself, but I prefer it layered with the Lippie Stix and Liner. The formula is gorgeous and not streaky or sticky AT ALL which I typically find can happen with sheer glosses and brush applicators. Huge plus for me.

LONGEVITY

I do find myself having to reapply every so often, but it fades nicely. It doesn’t look thick or patchy when it has been on the lips for a long time.


SUPER SHOCK highlighterS 

I’ve heard really good things about the formula of Colourpop’s “Super Shock” products, so I wanted to make sure I picked at least one up to see what it was all about. The highlighters are $8.00 each.

WHAT I PURCHASED

WISP – Golden champagne shade with gold pearl reflects.
This shade looked GORGEOUS online…but scared the absolutely shit out of me when I saw it in person. It was SO dark. I thought to myself, am I even going to be able to use this on my face? Or is it going to look like a golden brown streak across my cheekbones? Colourpop Super Shock - Wisp

PACKAGING

I think the packaging is cute. It doesn’t feel overly cheap, but I enjoy the fact that it has a screw-on lid and a huge pan of product.

APPLICATION/FORMULA

I don’t even know how to describe this honestly. When I dipped my pointer finger into this product to swatch it, I quite literally almost fainted. It is THE most soft and silky highlighter I have EVER swatched. No… I’m not lying. It doesn’t feel like a powder, it feels more like a cream, but at the same time – like – not a cream. I instantly new I needed more of these. It’s AMAZING you guys.
To my surprise when it went on, it didn’t look as dark as I had expected. You definitely cannot use this if you’re more fair that I am though, unfortunately. I can only use it with a nice layer of self-tanner and a bronzed-up face. It’s gorgeous though. It doesn’t feel chalky, or chunky, and it gives a nice “wet” look to the face and it’s not glittery at all.
I apply it with my Morphe M501 brush to the high points of my face, or you could use your finger for a more concentrated application, but be careful because it can be tough to blend since it almost feels like a cream product.
Colourpop does recommend that you screw the lid on tightly to avoid the product drying out.

LONGEVITY

It truly lasted on me all day.


ULTRA SATIN LIP COLOR

Colourpop had a promotion running while I was shopping on their site for free Ultra Satin lip products with a purchase of $20+. I was able to get my hands on a few of the freebies with my order. I also do believe they have the same promo going on, so go get yourself some goodies!

Colourpop Ultra Satin - Strip - Frick n Frack - Prim
Shades (L-R): Frick ‘n’ Frack, Prim, Strip

PACKAGING

Love. Though I only have the mini sizes, they feel very similar to the Ultra Glossy Lip packaging. Heavy duty and chic. Even the minis seem very high-end. They also have a doe-foot wand-style applicator.

APPLICATION/FORMULA

I truly do not like the matte liquid lipstick trend that’s been going around. Am I the only one? It’s one thing that I just cannot get behind. They just don’t work for my lips…not my thing. And some part of me felt like the Colourpop’s  Satin lip colors would be the same. Correction…they are NOT…(come on, Alex, stop being so judgey). They’re honestly awesome.

They apply very much like a matte liquid lipstick. But they don’t dry down to a full matte. They don’t feel tight or drying on the lips whatsoever and they didn’t settle into my fine lines. You’ll see in the swatches below that the formula is very flexible and didn’t crack when I was smiling or make my lips look dry.
I would say that Prim got a teensie tiny bit streaky when first applying, but you can just go over it with a second coat and you’re good to go.

LONGEVITY

These have really great wear time. The biggest issue I have with relatively matte liquid lipsticks is they start to feel tight and dry and after an hour, I feel like I just want to rip my lips off of my face right along with the lipstick. These really aren’t tight or drying at all, and they’re not sticky while they’re drying down. I really love the formula of these (and I never really thought I’d ever say that)!

Colourpop - Ultra Satin Liquid Lipstick


OVERALL THOUGHTS

Wow, Colourpop. I’m impressed. For these product being between $5-$8, it really can’t get much better.

My overall favorite products that I purchased were The Lippie Stix (specifically Toy, Skimpy, and Aquarius), the Ultra Glossy Lip Gloss (Fairy Floss), and probably the highlighter (Wisp), but I truly did not dislike anything that I purchased. I loved it all!

I definitely plan to put in another order soon and pick up some other highlighter shades.


i hope you enjoyed my colourpop first impressions!
Have you tried any Colourpop products? Which items are your favorite?

Thanks for Reading!

Disclaimer: This post is not sponsored and all opinions remain my own. No affiliate links were used in this post. 

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