It is no secret I am a huge fan of the ColourPop brand. Available only online at colourpop.com, the super-affordable line (nothing has yet to be over $10… from lipstick to blush, eyeshadow to brow pencil) uses a business model similar to clothing store, Zara, in that products come to market quickly and in the trendiest of formulas/colors. The quality may not be akin to what you’d find at your local Neiman Marcus, but that’s not the target market for ColourPop and they’re totally ok with that – and you should be, too, because only ONE of their products has yet to disappoint me. Their Ultra Matte Lip (a liquid lipstick) was a giant fail for me because the formula was insanely dry and flaky no matter what I did. I preferred their matte formula of the Lippie Stix (standard wax/cream-based tubes) until they released their Ultra Satin Lip ($6/ea). I literally am dying over these. If uber-matte formulas have yet to look good on you or you just don’t want to drop $20+ on one, allow me to provide my ColourPop Ultra Satin Lip review…
I picked up four different shades, so I’ll get into all the details and swatches after the jump!
So when I first heard ColourPop was coming out with a new line of lip color that was more of a satin formula, I didn’t really get it. They said it was satin in finish (somewhere between gloss and matte), as pigmented as a liquid lipstick but won’t completely dry down like a matte liquid lipstick would. Honestly, it sounded to me like maybe this formula was actually a prototype for the Ultra Matte Lip that just wasn’t quite matte enough, so they threw it to the side but once they realized people felt the Ultra Matte Lip was just TOO drying, they asked the lab to bring back this version, lol. Ok, that part is completely fabricated in my mind, but it’s just SO similar in application/consistency and pigmentation, that I couldn’t help but think that.
Anyways, I was wary about trying the Ultra Satin Lips ($6/ea) because I despised the ultra mattes. So I only ordered one initially – Echo Park – my failsafe warm, peachy nude. I think liquid lipstick angels started singing in my bedroom the day I tried it. It applied exactly like the Ultra Mattes did – one-swipe of opaque creamy color – but didn’t quite dry down to that totally flat finish. When I looked at my lips, they appeared like I was wearing a matte liquid lipstick, but if I pressed them together, there was a slight tackiness and flexibility still. THIS is perfection! Another big problem I had with the Ultra Mattes is the way they wore off – completely flaky and patchy. It looked and felt disgusting on me. But Echo Park wore amazingly well through eating and drinking – a solid four to six hours before a touch up was necessary – that I knew I needed to try a few more shades to be sure this wasn’t just a freak accident.
I expanded my collection with Cozy (orange-red), Molly (mid-tone plum lilac) and Lyin King (raspberry). There are slight nuances in each of the shades and I will admit – Echo Park is still my best-performing, but they all are incredible and get 5 glowing stars from me.
*For reference, I am currently NC35 in MAC, wear between shade 6-7 in Urban Decay Naked Skin Foundation, shade 6 in Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk and Rich Vanilla in Laura Mercier Mineral Foundation.
I have nothing bad to say about this shade. I actually wore Echo Park in my beachy waves tutorial (here) and it gives me that perfect MLBB/deep peachy-nude hue that goes with any look from day-to-night. It wears off evenly and without patchiness – which isn’t surprising since it’s very close to my natural lip color. I can see myself keeping this in my purse regularly.
This was the shade I really had my eye on the most because I was dying to get my hands on a vibrant, matte-finish warm red for the summertime that I could wear with my braces (makeup tips with braces post here). Cozy (discontinued) checked all my boxes, but this is the one shade that I would recommend you proceed with slight caution mainly because it’s just so punchy. One of the perks of liquid lipsticks is that they’re a bit easier to over-line/fill your lips to give that plumper effect without having to worry your lip color will end up all over your face since it’s so matte. This may have been user error, of course, since the ultra satin formula admits it doesn’t dry down and is NOT kiss-proof, but I found that the one day I tried to ever-so-slightly over-line my lips with Cozy, within a couple of hours I looked like I made out with a clown and it wasn’t so easy to clean up in such a powerful shade. The next few days, I kept the color within my lip line and had no issues.
Molly caught my eye accidentally. I never would have given this shade a second glance, but it just looked so different and with my newfound confidence in rocking lip color (at least for the spring/summer), I figured WTH! Plus, it seemed a bit more everyday-appropriate than Cozy. I love this shade, but my one qualm with it is that after a couple of hours on me, the muted-lilac pulls very warm and leaves more of a purple/pink (almost muted fuchsia) shade instead of the more lilac color (if that makes sense)? I don’t have this issue with any of the other three shades and it only happens once the color has been worn for a while. If I reapply, the muted lilac is true to color again.
Another last-minute decision that caught my eye, Lyin King came to me because I found so many positive reviews about the raspberry shade! It’s a color that seems to look nice on everyone and even though it reminds me more of fall, I still think it’s pretty enough to wear all year. On my skin tone, it pulls a bit more red than berry, but it’s probably the one that wears the best and gives me no drama following Echo Park. I actually like mixing this shade with Molly to mellow out the redness.
Have you filled out my quick 5-question READER’S CHOICE Beauty Poll? It’s totally anonymous/optional, but I’m compiling some beauty tips/tricks, reader favorite products and reader’s-most-lusted after list and will be sharing the results later this month/early June. BONUS if you’re a blogger/vlogger: leave your link and get the chance to have your tip/favorite product featured on my post! Thanks!
Which of the ColourPop Ultra Satin Lip colors have caught your eye? Have you tried them yet and what do you think? Comment below and let me know what your favorite ColourPop product has been and don’t forget to share/pin this post if you found it helpful – I appreciate it very much!
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Happy lip color shopping,
-Steffanie