Here’s a snap of my first ever Colourpop eyeshadow, ‘Bae,’ a ‘rich eggplant purple with an emerald and turquoise glittery duo chrome metallic finish.’
But, first thing’s first, what is it?
Formula
According to Colourpop, a Super Shock Shadow a ‘long-wearing crème powder formula’ with an ‘elastic texture.’ And well… they’re right. But is it a cream or a powder? Weirdly, it falls somewhere in-between. At first touch in the pan, the product has a mousse-like consistency, velvet-soft and almost bouncy under pressure. As soon as it gathers on the finger or brush, however, it sets to a super-fine powder.
Once it sets, too, the powder is there to stay. I was able to wear this sans primer for around 8 hours without seeing any creasing. This is great news for both oily and dry skin alike: the super lightweight formula and silky finish is less likely to cake or go crusty throughout the day.
It is also compatible with other shadows; typically, it’s recommended that you don’t apply cream shadows over powders, unless you want a gunky, flaky mess. But as this sets to a powdery finish, it can be layered and blended with other powder shadows without any fuss. Win!
Application
Being half cream/half powder, Colourpop shadows can be a little confusing: how on earth do I get it on my eyelid? As with any shadow, you can use your finger or a synthetic brush, but each with different results.
Below, the swatch on the left is applied with my finger and, on the right, with a brush. Applying with your finger reduces fall out and allows for a more consistent, though not very precise, application. A brush, on the other hand, increases the likelihood of fall out and patchiness, but does allow you to be more precise.
In my opinion, the best method involves a combination of both finger and brush: apply with fingers for the most part, where most pigment is needed, and then blend out with brushes.
As you can see from the photo above, sweeping your finger across the pan doesn’t gather enough pigment to really do justice to the eyeshadow. I’ve found that the best method is to scoop the product. Though this does risk messing up the shadow’s pretty patterned surface, the difference in colour pay-off is HUGE.
An easy to use, if unusual, formula in equally unique shades, Colourpop shadows are a must-try for any makeup fan who wants to shake up their collection with some new pops of colour. Which will you be buying? Check them out here.
I confess, most of these things were bought last Friday during the sales so they are very recent favourites, but favourites all the same.
I know I’m a bit late to the Hoola party, but until now I have been using a NYC Mosaic Bronzer that I bought for 99p around two years ago. I stumbled across NYC’s powder and was so pleased with the colour (not too orangey and not packed full of glitter) that I didn’t dare to try another. But I’ve since watched numerous beauty vlogs where Hoola is so obvious a choice that it barely gets mentioned. I had to go buy it. It’s soft matte brown colour is perfect for contouring the cheeks, jaw and forehead and adds a subtle, healthy glow to the skin. With a dinky fantail brush included, the beautifully designed box is a handy addition to my handbag so I can top up on the go.
I set out with the hope of picking up ‘Styled in Sepia,’ but it turns out that ‘limited edition’ is very, very limited when it comes to MAC lipsticks. Ilamasqua’s ‘Buff’ was initially my back-up but, in hindsight, I prefer it’s grey-taupe colour to MAC’s warmer version. It’s texture is also that bit creamier than MAC’s mattes and, oddly, Illamasqua’s matte ‘Posture’ that I bought last week.
The majority of clothes that I bought in the sales were replacements for the basics in my wardrobe (like last year’s jumpers that have now shrunk, stretched or bobbled). This t-shirt was my special purchase and is now put away ready for Christmas cocktail hour. Despite it’s casual loose-fitting shape, the sleeves are made of a delicate lace and the colour palette – black, grey, silver and pastel green – is uniquely sophisticated. It’s a little bit of 1920s Gatsby in my wardrobe.
I have always assumed that tan handbags are just for summer, where black bags are for winter. These, however, are surprisingly versatile and add a bit of interest to the typically bleak winter palette of grey, navy and black. Tan leather also compliments this season’s berry and burnt orange shades perfectly; a 1970s tooled leather saddle bag will take you through to Spring where the era is set to make a comeback.
As always, I have a few complaints. While the shadows have an amazing colour payoff, they are particularly powdery. I’m not sure whether this is more noticeable here because of the number of shimmers (prone to a crumbly texture – think ‘Dust’ from Naked 3) or whether it is an unusual oversight by UD. Regardless, be careful of this excess if you have already applied your foundation and concealer!
‘Champagne Shimmer with Silver Micro Glitter’
Bright Metallic Green Shimmer’
the colour means that, when applied to the cheekbones, nose and forehead, the whole face looks fresh and gleaming. However, as you may be able to tell from the picture, it does not offer as full a coverage as my MAC alternative.
My October favourites are a reflection of the time of year and were mostly geared towards setting up and adding to my autumn wardrobe. That being said, my favourites for this month are all make-up or skin care based (although the backdrop to this photo is a lovely olive green tassel T-shirt I recently bought from Topshop).
In terms of outfits, I like to stick to neutral colours – white, black, grey and navy – but play around with textures and patterns. Mohair, lace, cord and viscose help to add a bit of interest to block colours and each have their own particular way of clinging to my figure or flowing loosely. I have a definite thing for all things check and tartan and recently bought a two piece check co-ord set from Marks and Spencer. The top piece is a gorgeous peplum shape, the fit of which nicely balances out the straight legged trousers.
The palette offers a concealer in ‘Boing 02,’ an alabaster pink base eyeshadow, a cocoa shimmer contour shadow and a deep chocolate liner colour, each of which have their own designated brush specially designed for their specific forms of application.
beautsoup 