Pretty Fly Super Shock Shadow Kit by ColourPop

Disclaimer: I purchased these.

I indulged in some of ColourPop's spring Super Shock shadows with the Pretty Fly kit ($25), and I've got to say they really knocked it out of the park when it comes to the packaging on these. So pretty!

I'm actually keeping the shadows in the box, I like it so much.  Fortunately, I really like the shadows in this collection as well.  Let's take a closer look.

First up is Force Behavior (light pinky beige with silver, gold and pink glitter) and Goodbye Butterfly (peachy pink with a gold sheen satin finish).  Goodbye Butterfly can also work as a blush, although it's not my favorite formula for that purpose.

Force Behavior

Goodbye Butterfly

Next is Three's a Cloud (ultra metallic rich amber gold) and Flux with You (light gold with silver glitter).

Three's a Cloud

Flux with You

Last up is Soul-cialize (pinky lavender with pink and sliver glitter) and Up in the Air (dirty plum satin).

Soul-cialize

Up in the Air

I've been using these for about two weeks now and I'm back on the super shock shadow formula bandwagon. I know some people are over this formula, but it works well for me. I don't mind using my fingers to apply shadow and I do find that a dense brush works well in applying these as well. I also recently watched a YouTube video that showed how you can revive these when they get too dry by mixing them with a silicone-based primer like the Smashbox Photo Finish primer (it's at 23:40 of this video by Sarah Hubler of the Beauty Hub, although there are other demos/techniques on YouTube). 

Hope your Spring is going well - I'm counting down to my upcoming vacation/staycation in May.

Yes, Please! Pressed Powder Shadow Palette by Colour Pop

Disclaimer: I purchased this.

I've been watching reviews on ColourPop's pressed shadows with interest, but it wasn't until they started releasing these 12 pan palettes that I felt compelled to purchase. Yes, Please! definitely appealed to me with it's color scheme, but . finding it in stock was an issue as they kept selling out. I finally snagged one and as of today it's still available.

I love the cheerful colors of the packaging, although it's obviously not the most practical and will get incredible dirty looking in a short amount of time. The cardboard palette does feel sturdy but does not contain a mirror, but that's fine by me as I rarely use mirrors in palettes.

The shadows do have names but they are on the back of the box and palette, and they read right to left as opposed to matching the position of the shadow, if that makes sense. I had to go on ColourPop's site to make sure I was matching the right shadow to the right name, as it was initially a bit confusing.

Yes, Please! was ColourPop's first palette release and the inspiration for the colors are the "golden hour" time of the day, which I associate with late afternoon when the sun is still intense but starting to set and everything is infused with that golden glow. Obviously, it's an extremely warm toned palette, which is uber on trend right now. There are 8 mattes and 4 metallic shades, which is a really nice ratio IMO.

Full Zip is a nice matte cream color that is good for an all over lid color and to set my primer.  Big Cocktails is a vibrant tangerine orange matte. Champs worked well for me as a transition shade. Bling is a rusty cranberry metallic/shimmer. The formula on all of these was really nice.

Louie is a metallic red with gold shift. Butter Cookie is a pale gold metallic shimmer. Spoiled is a gorgeous brick red matte that is buttery smooth.  GNO is an orange matte. Formula on all of these was lovely.

Mischief is a mustard yellow matte that is so nicely pigmented. Note to Self is a warm caramel matte that I reached for often. Chauffeur was probably the most unique to my collection color and is light orange with gold shift duochrome metallic. French Kiss is a deep warm brown and was the only shade in the palette that swatched a bit patchy.

All swatches were done with a brush over primer, but perhaps the primer did not extend that far down my arm and contributed to the patchiness. I don't remember French Kiss being particular problematic when applied to my eyes, and I've been using this palette for a month now.

Did I mention that the ColourPop palettes are only $16? Considering how nice the formula is, that is very impression indeed. There really is not a single dud in the Yes, Please! palette and it was a great introduction to Colourpop's pressed shadows for me. I've picked up two of their other palettes now - She and I Think I Love You, and I'll be posting reviews of them as well.

Today is my 54th birthday, so I guess I've officially hit my middle 50's. Crazy. My birthday plans have been preempted by Hurricane Nate, which hopefully will not be too bad of an event here on the Gulf Coast. We shall see, as I'm typing this a day before it's predicted to hit. I hope everyone else's day is full of sunshine and happy events :-)

Swatcharama! My ColourPop Super Shock Shadow Collection

While my ColourPop shadow collection was maybe 6 shadows tops for the longest time, I did acquire a few more during some recent sales. I've been enjoying using them and thought I'd swatch my somewhat modest collection. I've arranged the colors by finish, and we'll start with the mattes.

I'm a matte shadow fan, and all of these are smooth and easy to apply with either my finger or a cream shadow brush (I use a Sephora brush made for cream shadows). Love the color gradient of these - clearly I enjoy warm toned neutrals.

I also really like the satin finish ColourPop shadows, which are also quite easy to work with.  Smash is my most used ColourPop shadow, and I should hit pan on it soon.

The pearlized shadows have more shimmer, but are smoother than than the metallic shadows. I have no idea why I did not remove the tops for the pearlized and metallic shadows. I must have been distracted by the beauty of the day:-)

I have no idea why I have this many metallic and glitter ColourPop shadows, as I don't really reach for them that often. They are definitely pretty and I do like using them on the center of my lids for a bit of 'oomph'.

Last are two ultra-metallic shadows, which I actually like a lot as their finish is more smooth than the glitters.

I know the Super Shock shadows have a tendency to dry out over time, and I did throw out Girl Crush recently as it had ceased to yield any color no matter how hard I rubbed it. I purchased it almost 2 years ago with Smash and some other shadows, and those are still working fine. Looking back at my original pictures of Girl Crush however, it did not look that impressive to begin with, so maybe it was a weaker color/shadow to begin with. Here are some recent looks I've done using these shadows.

Cheeky & Peekaboo

Jinxie

Jinxie & Smash

Just Fur Fun

La La

Wattles

Wattles & Blaze

Jinxie + Kathleen Lights

Honestly, having these particularly colors has reined in my temptation to buy the Renaissance palette by Anastasia Beverly Hill, as good as it may be.