ColourPop Haul Follow-Up Review – Lip Products

I made my first ColourPop order back in February, and after more than two months of use, I’ve had enough time to test everything out thoroughly enough to do a review. At first I was going to put everything together into one post, but decided to split them up in order to be able to go into more depth. In today’s post, I’m covering the lip products I purchased. The next post will be on eye and cheek products!

The Basics

ColourPop is headquartered in Los Angeles and all ColourPop products are made in the USA. Their products can be purchased on the official website and at Ulta (although it seems like there is limited selection at Ulta, at least online).

The Packaging 

When it comes to the packaging, I love the clean, modern way that ColourPop products look, but I personally think the packaging feels a little cheap. This is different from product to product, which I will go into more detail when I talk about each of the items individually. However, considering ColourPop products are so inexpensive (most being less than $6 USD), it doesn’t really bother me much – I just wanted to bring it up because I’ve never heard anyone mention this, so it just wasn’t something I was expecting.

One thing to note about all ColourPop lip products, at least the ones from my order: they have a weird, plastic chemical scent that I absolutely can’t stand. I haven’t heard anyone mention this before either, so I was quite taken aback. At first, I thought I got a bad batch, but all of the lip products I bought smell like this, not just the Lippie Stix or the Lux Lipsticks or the Ultra Satin Liquid Lipstick – there was no way all of them could have gone bad. It wasn’t until I Googled “ColourPop lipsticks smell like chemicals” that I found other people complaining about the same issue. I don’t love it, not one bit. Is it because the price is low so they don’t add unnecessary ingredients like fragrance, or is it because the price is low and they use cheap products? Either way, it completely freaks me out and while there are a bunch of lipstick shades I’m interested in, I’m not sure I will continue buying more lip colours from ColourPop.

 

Lux Lipsticks – $7.00 USD

From left to right: ColourPop Lux Lipstick in Lay Over and Still Crazy

The Lux Lipsticks had just released when I purchased these; they are ColourPop’s answer to traditional lipsticks. Although I was tempted to buy a bright shade, I already own a ton of bright lipsticks that I only get use out of on weekends during the summer. I ended up choosing the shades Lay Over and Still Crazy, which are on the more natural side. I have to say I really enjoy these lipsticks. First of all, just look at the packaging. Gold packaging with stars all over the tube, as well as on the bullet. The packaging reminds me of Charlotte Tilbury lipsticks – so beautiful! It doesn’t feel as expensive or heavy as it looks, but I wouldn’t say it feels cheap, either.

The packaging of the Lux Lipsticks is so gorgeous!

In terms of the formula, the Lux Lipsticks are supposed to have a “creamy matte finish” and a “lux butter blend”. They don’t feel immediately creamy to me when first applying, but they are pigmented and are able to layer to full opacity. Lay Over is described as a medium rosy beige and Still Crazy is described as a mauvey pink, both of which I would agree with. Both shades perform consistently to one another, and don’t feel or look drying for a matte lipstick; as you can see in the lip swatches, they have a bit of a sheen and don’t look completely matte. In fact, they’re so comfortable that I tend to forget I’m wearing anything on my lips for the first two hours after applying them. Although the description says they’re meant to be long-wearing, I don’t find that they last long on my lips. They wear off like a regular lipstick, so they will require reapplication after a few hours or after a meal. On my lips, these start to feel a little drying after the 3 hour mark, which is when they start to feel slightly dry and wear off a little patchily.

ColourPop Lux Lipstick in Lay Over

ColourPop Lux Lipstick in Still Crazy

 

Lippie Stix – $5.50 USD

From left to right: ColourPop Lippie Stix in Topanga and Lumiere

I have heard SO MUCH about these Lippie Stix since they came out a few years ago, and these were the lip products I was most excited to try. I had my eyes on several shades, but only ended up purchasing two: Topanga and Lumiere. In terms of the packaging, I love the sleek look and how you can tell which shade is in your hand based on the colour at the end of the tube. However, this was the one lip product where I was surprised how plastic-y and light it felt. I really like the shape of the bullet – they’re smaller than traditional lipstick bullets, which means that they give me a lot of precision to draw in the edges of my lips. The Lippie Stix are supposed to be pigmented and full coverage, and are also supposed to wear comfortably due to the addition of ingredients such as shea butter and Vitamin E.

Look how much smaller the Lippie Stix bullet is compared to the Lux Lipsticks, which are the size as a traditional lipstick

Topanga is described as a dusty coral in a satin finish, and Lumiere is a dusty mauve pink in a matte formula. To me, Lumiere is described pretty well – it leans purple on my skin tone rather than pink. Topanga isn’t really dusty to me; I would describe it more as a bright warm coral. The formula of the Lippie Stix formula is my favourite out of the three types of lip products I picked up from ColourPop. They apply very creamy and pigmented, and wear comfortably on the lips for hours. Strangely enough, even though one is a creme finish and one is a matte finish, I would say they both look like a creme on me – they settle on my lips with a slight sheen. Even though Lumiere is a matte formula, it’s not drying at all and doesn’t look chalky or one-dimensional.

ColourPop Lippie Stix in Topanga

ColourPop Lippie Stix in Lumiere

 

ColourPop Ultra Satin Liquid Lipstick – $6.50

ColourPop Ultra Satin Lip in November

In the Ultra Satin Liquid Lipstick, I purchased the shade November, which is described on the website as a warm peachy pink. I was afraid this might look too similar to Topanga, but November is more pink whereas Topanga is brighter and more coral. I’m really impressed with the packaging of this liquid lipstick. It’s on par with the ones I own from more expensive brands such as Anastasia Beverly Hills or Kat Von D – it feels weighty and expensive. I also love the holographic font on the tube!

The ultra satin lips are described as highly pigmented, creamy and comfortable liquid lipsticks in a satin-matte finish. I love the shade November itself, but the formula is only okay. I’m not sure if it’s the lighter colour or the formula of the liquid lip, but I don’t feel like this is particularly flattering on me. It really emphasizes all of my lip lines…ALL OF THEM. And I have a lot of lip lines. This happens right away, too, not hours after application. I also think it looks the most flat out of all of the lipsticks I bought, even though it’s a satin liquid lip and not a true matte.

ColourPop Ultra Satin Lip in November

 

A swatch of all the lipsticks side by side:

ColourPop Lippie Stix in Topanga, Lumiere; Lux Lipsticks in Lay Over, Still Crazy; Ultra Satin Lip in November

 

I know in the swatches and some of the lip swatches, the shades all look relatively similar, but I swear they’re different! Although I had thought Topanga and November might be similar, surprisingly, Lay Over and November are the closest in shade. If I were to choose again, I probably wouldn’t have purchased November, due to the similarity in shade and the fact that the Ultra Satin Lip formula out of the three.

My favourite formula was the Lippie Stix, followed by the Lux Lipsticks, followed by the Ultra Satin Liquid Lip. As much as I enjoy the formula of the Lippie Stix, as I mentioned earlier, I’m not entirely sure I would repurchase ColourPop lip products due to the chemical scent.

Have you tried ColourPop’s lip products? Which shades do you like? Do your ColourPop products smell bad, too?