Saturday, November 21, 2015

Colourpop Cosmetics Fall 2015 "Forever Freshman" ::: Review and Swatches!!!


I have 3 excuses for this “totally unnecessary” purchase
  • I love blue eyeshadow and I am forever in search of a Deep Dark Midnight Blue. This collection had one of those.
  • I have never tried this brand before. I thought this is the perfect opportunity.
  • It was on “sale” (#beautyAddictProblem; I can never pass up on a good sale). 


Colourpop is a fairly young cruelty-free brand. It was established in 2014 in L.A. and since its inception it has not stopped surprising beauty lovers. They started with their “Super Shock Shadow”s at $5 apiece! Incredible range of shades, collaboration with popular YouTubers, unbelievably low price point, international shipping to a few different countries, frequent new releases has made this company instantly popular. Some of their eyeshadow swatches have tempted me for a while now and it took a great deal of restraint not to purchase anything. Their eyeshadows are of mousse texture and once opened have a shelf life of only a year. That was the main reason for me to avoid buying, as I know for sure that I can’t finish it in one year. But, I couldn’t resist the sale and “Baby T” anymore!  

Enough of explanation for now; let’s get started with the review!



Forever Freshman” is their eyeshadow set for Fall, 2015. It has 6 full-size (0.05 oz./2.1 g) limited edition shades in different finishes. These are not available individually so even if you like just one color, you have to buy the set in its entirety. Also considering the regular price for a single eyeshadow is 5$, a price of $30 for 6 shadows does not offer any savings. But with the 20% off, it cost me $24. I also added a few other items to my cart and used a 5$ off coupon. They offer free shipping within USA in just 30$ which I very much appreciate. They also take great care in packing your shipment; everything was very neatly and safely packed. The eyeliner I ordered did break, but they happily sent me a new one free of cost. All these have definitely made me like the brand. By the way, you can buy this from Colourpop website (click here).

All of Colourpop’s products come in distinctive white plastic jar packaging with plastic part-clear lid! You can see the shade with the lid which is always good. They are actually quite photogenic in their jars; I just wanted to keep photographing them and never ruin the beautiful embossing on the eyeshadow itself :-) They are however a bit bulky and challenging to store. Also, the “Colourpop” printing on the lid has already started to fade; I don’t like that. The formula of these is very unique as well. They have a creamy cushiony feeling to it; it almost feels fluffy! That’s why even though they are lesser in amount than Make Up For Ever eyeshadow pans, they need more space. Irrespective of whether it’s matte, metallic or satin, they all have the same cushiony formula! Because of that, for some of you it might be a little unfamiliar and it may take some practice getting used to.

Here are the colors-

KOOSH: This is “Ultra-Metallic” in finish. As the name suggests its super metallic :-) VERY pigmented, extra opaque and glides on like butter. It’s a silvery-taupe but I can see a lot of baby pink in it; quite exquisite shade! If you have lighter skin tone than mine, you will definitely enjoy “Koosh” a lot. I hoped this to be a glamorous “one-shade-and-done” lid color to wear to work from time to time. But on me it’s too sharp and tends to look ashy if I use it overall on my lid. :-) But I still love it and use it for “halo” eye looks or on the inner part!

CRIMPER: It is described as “Metallic” but has a sheer base and I really enjoy that. Basically, “Crimper” is a lots of gold micro glitter on a sheer gold base. It’s a shade that I can layer over on other shades to create a quick glam look :-) and looks beautiful alone too!

90210: This is a “Satin Luxe” but I find it similar to “Crimper” in finish. It’s a very cool-tone brownish grey with gold micro glitter. Not a big fan of the shade but definitely more wearable for a quick smokey-glittery eye look. I believe I can wear to work from time to time, especially around the holidays!

These following shades are “Matte” in finish. I have heard many people complaining about these mattes but I personally like them. They are definitely matte in appearance but very soft to touch and to apply. I use my fingertips to place the color on the lids and use a fluffy brush to blend; it works fine!

MELROSE: This shade is an instant favorite for me. I love warm orangey earth toned shades! “Melrose” is a beautiful rusty maroon with lots of warmth to it. It’s perfect for Fall! SUPER pigmented; I need just a little to get nice, even pigmentation. I LOVE this shade.

BABY T: Aaah! Blue eyeshadow is my weakness! As I mentioned, I bought this entire kit for this shade only. Its matte in finish but appears a little satin-y to me. Gorgeous deep midnight blue! It’s still not my most favorite blue though but the shade appears true to the pan on the lids. It can definitely get messy more so because I mainly use my fingertips. I have to clean up around my eye before I apply with my foundation!

AS IF:  This is the least favorite shade of mine. Mainly because I think cool tone shades don’t look flattering on me. “As If” is a cool deep grey brown. It is pigmented but still took a few layers to get the shade show up on my lids. However formula wise it performs very fine.

I am very pleased with the staying power of these. I tried without and with primer underneath and I am quite surprised to see that they perform equally well both ways. The intensity of the shadows stays put towards the end of the day. That is very satisfying to me. Also these are great for quick, easy and yet glamorous look.

Cons: Okay, I do have a few points to criticize


  • They are very space consuming to store because they are huge pots.
  • Because of their texture these are best applied with your fingertips! So it’s kind of messy to clean up my fingers to go back and use a different shade. There is not enough time for me in the morning for that! Also, I struggle to create a complex detail oriented look because it is difficult to place a color on a precise part of the eye using fingertips. I am still experimenting with brushes though.
  • The shelf life of the shadows once open is just 1 yr. that bothers me.  

But I do agree that my first experiment with Colourpop went really well. “Baby T”, “Melrose” and “Crimper”-to an extent are my favorite. I would not have individually chosen the other shades for me but again, I am absolutely satisfied with the quality, performance and the price. I will certainly be interested in trying out more. I am also thinking these will make cute little gifts for my cousins whenever I go home to India!


Are you a Colourpop fan? What’s your favorite shade?

Love,
~Arrru

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