First of all, I make no apologies for being so late to the Colourpop party! My son was only a few weeks old when Colorpop Cosmetics exploded onto the scene and make up was understandably the last thing on my mind.
I’ve been a fan of liquid lipstick for a few years now, with the Sephora Lip Stains and Stila Stay All Days being favourites in my lip product collection. Colourpop Cosmetics have become hugely popular and capitalised on this liquid lipstick trend, which is still showing no signs of slowing down, with their Ultra Matte Liquid Lipsticks.
Favoured for their affordability and wide colour range, Colourpop has amassed thousands upon thousands of fans who take to the likes of Instagram (which has 2.5 million followers and counting), displaying their best pouts in a bid to be re-posted by their official Instagram page. It’s quite remarkable how popular they’ve become and the founders (siblings Laura and John Nelson) decision to market the brand solely on social media has well and truly paid off.
One of the things I noticed about the brand whilst perusing their Instagram page and website is that they’re one of few which will unreservedly display and promote swatches of their products on ALL skin tones. This helps to take a lot of the guesswork, which is a constant annoyance when I’m considering high end purchases.
I placed an order via MyMallBox (use my referral link to get $5 off your shipping total) and chose the following shades:
AVENUE – a deep blood red
BEEPER – warm mid-tone pinky taupe
LUMIERE 2 – muted mauve
LAX – vampy blackened red
MORE BETTER – deep violet wine
As you can see I also bought the Lumiere Pencil which is touted as a dusty mauve pink, which universally suits all skin tones (I forgot to swatch it, but will add it later today).
Priced at just $6 each, you can afford to go crazy but I was actually quite restrained. I absolutely love the shades I chose. The hours spent pouring over You Tube reviews were worth it. They’re gorgeous and so WOC-friendly. So far I’ve worn Lumiere 2 (which actually shows up with pinker undertones than what the swatch suggests), Beeper and More Better.
They dry down to completely matte within 25 seconds and matte they stay! I can easily get through a meal and drink and not have to touch up afterwards. I’m really impressed. I’ve not experienced any feathering or flaking as yet but from the reviews I’ve read and listened to, I understand that there’s an issue with quality consistency amongst a few shades.
To carry off any matte formula, you need to ensure your lips are prepped properly. As long as your lips are smooth (if not, exfoliate them) and moisturised then these are pretty long-lasting. Texture wise, they’re lightweight and glide across the lips with ease. The doe foot applicator compliments the formula and the packaging is low-key and no-fuss aka cheap. The lettering will ultimately rub off the tubes, but for the price I paid, it’s not a huge issue.
Oh and the Lumiere lip pencil I bought? Well it only cost $5 and is smooth and creamy. I’m quite impressed by the quality. I like to warm it up a touch on my lips by blending in a brown pencil just a touch but it looks good on my NC50 skin tone. I like to wear it on its own at the moment and haven’t paired it with any of my lipsticks.
Now that I’ve dipped my foot in the water, I’ll definitely be purchasing more shades and will be adding some eye liners and highlighters to my next order.
Colourpop Cosmetics can also be purchased in the UK from Lustre Cosmetics, however the prices are hiked up and you may have a bit of a wait for both stock and delievery. I recall ordering a Colored Raine liquid lipstick from the site and it took over two weeks to arrived. I wasn’t impressed. You can also find it (again, heavily overpriced) on the eBay or Depop too.
