The products: ColourPop Ultra Blotted Lip in Zuma, Ultra Matte Lip in Flurries, Pressed Powder Eyeshadow in Glass Bull, and Precision Brow Pencil in Black ‘n Brown

ColourPop is one of those cult-followed beauty brands that I tend to trust automatically. Unlike earlier budget brands like e.l.f. and Wet ‘n Wild, ColourPop made their mark on the beauty world based on reviews and photos. Every ColourPop review needs to love the  products in order for the brand to thrive, and every Instagram post has to pop.

As a result, the brand is the culmination of a new, social media-led phenomenon in the beauty world. Their products tend to be bold and highly pigmented, and their business model relies on consumers being wowed by how well each product photographs. I’m not sure that I love the effect that social media has on the beauty world on the whole (everything is about instant results and super-high-impact colour products), but it does mean that high-quality products are finally affordable for consumers—which is something that I love.

ColourPop review: Ultra Matte Lip in Flurries (with Precision Brow Pencil in Black ‘N Brown, Glass Bull Pressed Eyeshadow, and Esqido lashes in Love & Peace)

ColourPop Ultra Matte Lip in Flurries review

I’ve been really into matte liquid lipsticks ever since falling in love with the Maybelline Super Stay Matte Ink collection, so I ordered a few lipsticks from ColourPop at the start of winter. The ColourPop Ultra Matte Lip in Flurries ($6 USD) is very similar to the Matte Inks, with full opacity and a simpler doe-foot applicator. The two formulas are equally matte and kiss-proof.

However, I think the Super Stays are a little stickier, and go on a little smoother. As a result, the ColourPop Ultra Matte Lip formula feels slightly more kissable, but dries out my lips more quickly. For an everyday colour like Flurries (which is a neutral pink with mauve undertones), I’m quite happy with the Ultra Matte Lip formula. It wears for a similarly long amount of time (about 5 hours) as other matte liquid lipsticks.

ColourPop review & comparison: Ultra Blotted Lip in Zuma (left) and Ultra Matte Lip in Flurries (right), both taken immediately following application.

Featured: Ultra Blotted Lip in Zuma  (with Precision Brow Pencil in Black ‘N Brown, Glass Bull Pressed Eyeshadow, and Esqido lashes in Love & Peace)

ColourPop Ultra Blotted Lip in Zuma

I also ordered the ColourPop Ultra Blotted Lip in Zuma ($6 USD), which it turns out I hate! It’s been ages since the last time I truly hated a product, but damn, this one takes the cake.

Zuma is a gorgeous warm nude. It’s brown-based and light toned, with sheer coverage and a blurry matte finish. I think that’s why its formula makes me so angry: it seems like it should be my holy grail lipstick.

Instead, the ColourPop Ultra Blotted Lip formula is unbearable. It feels like you’re slathering your lips in rubbing alcohol when it’s applied, and it just gets worse from there. There’s so much silica in this formula that it leaches the moisture right out of your skin. It leaves my lips in a sour-shaped pucker within a half hour, and if you add a lip balm underneath or on top of the Ultra Blotted Lip, it loses its longwearing and transfer-proof properties anyways—so why not just go with, oh, I don’t know.

Perhaps any other lip product?

ColourPop review: Pressed Powder Eyeshadow in Glass Bull

I made the terrible mistake of only ordering Super Shock Eyeshadows the last time I made a ColourPop order, so I chose a more traditional pressed powder eyeshadow this time around. The ColourPop Pressed Powder Eyeshadow in Glass Bull ($4 USD) was exactly what I was looking for, and it’s wildly affordable for what you’re getting.

Glass Bull is a medium-sheer duochrome eyeshadow. Depending on the lighting and angle that you’re looking at it from, it looks like either a warm taupe, a reddish brown, or a shimmery cyan. It’s a great all-over lid shade for a natural look, although like other red-based brown eyeshadows, it does emphasize redness in the eye area.

For more intensity, I’d recommend applying Glass Bull with a fingertip or a damp brush over primed eyelids. It’s blended out in these photos, and worn with winged black liner and Esqido Unisyn Lashes in Love & Peace.

ColourPop Precision Brow Pencil in Black ‘n Brown

Finally, I closed out my order with something that I was hoping I’d wear every day: the ColourPop Precision Brow Pencil in Black ‘n Brown ($5 USD). It’s ColourPop’s recommended shade for dark brown or black hair, so I had high hopes for it.

The tone isn’t bad, but the texture of this pencil isn’t my cup of tea. It’s intensely pigmented and very soft, which results in either incredibly strong brows or blurry edges. I look like a psychopath when I wear a strong brow, so I’ll be skipping this one in the future—even though it’s waterproof and pretty damn hard to rub off.

For a more natural brow, I’d recommend the brand’s Brow Boss pencil instead. It sounds like I’ll have to try it in Ash Brown soon!

ColourPop swatches: Zuma (2 layers on top), Flurries, Black ‘N Brown, and Glass Bull (heavily, then blended)

The verdict?

This was the first ColourPop order that I’ve made in years, and I love the way that the brand has developed. Their pressed eyeshadows are fantastic—especially for the price, but also regardless of it. Their Ultra Matte Lip formula is equally great, and provides a lipstick that’s comparable to Smashbox Always On Lipstick at a fraction of the price.

However, their Ultra Blotted Lip gets a huge “noooooope” from me. The formula looks gorgeous and the shade range is great, but it’s so uncomfortable that I honestly don’t know how the entire product line hasn’t crashed and burned already.

Finally, the brand’s Precision Brow Pencil is a good option if you like a super strong brow, but I’d pass on it if you like your brows to look even vaguely natural. Consider it to be just another one of those products that looks great… on Instagram.

Availability: Permanent products at ColourPop.