Ranking My Colourpop Eyeshadow Palettes
I’ve been purchasing from Colourpop back when all they had for sale were their Lippie Stix and Super Shock eyeshadows. So in other words I’m a Colourpop OG. The company has blown up since then and in it’s five years the company has become known for their affordable and trendy makeup. I have amassed quite a collection of their eyeshadow palettes and decided to rank them as I did with my Anastasia Beverly Hills palettes. I opted to hold back one palette (Baby Got Peach) from this list since I haven’t used it yet. I also recently decluttered two of my OG Colourpop palettes, Yes, Please and Double Entendre. As well as the Disney Villains palette. I got ride of the first two not because I didn’t love them at the time but because I no longer used them and so I passed them on to a friend who I know would get use out of them. I also gave away the Villains palette because it was an impulse purchase and I never should bought it in the first place. So, below are all the palettes I currently own and have used.
16. Orange You Glad
Colourpop has a monochromatic palette series and I own quite a few of the palettes from the series. Orange You Glad is my least favorite. Not because of the quality but because of the color story. It is beautiful but it’s also a not a color story that I reach for very often.
15. It’s My Pleasure
A lot of people rave about this palette, but for me it’s simply okay. I wasn’t wowed by the formula and I feel like for a “purple” palette it really only has one true purple shade. I considered placing this last but oped to place it second to last since I do think it is a more weareable color story.
14. Ooh La La
This was the first palette in the monochromatic series. It’s really pretty and I would rank it higher, but I simply don’t reach for it all that often. The formula is great and if you love pink eyeshadow this is a great option.
13. Smoke Show (now named Blowin’ Smoke)
I have only used this palette once and only one shade. I was so excited when CP released it but I simply haven’t felt compelled to reach for it. I feel like this is a fantastic companion palette. A nice collection of cool toned greys, blacks, and silvers. It’s such a cool and unique color story but the range of look you can get with it is pretty narrow.
12. Lilac You a Lot
You’re probably thinking, “this looks just like It’s My Pleasure”. And trust me this was my thought (and a ton of other people’s as well) when I first saw the promo pics for the palette. BUT. After seeing swatches my mind was changed. Where the shades in It’s My Pleasure are deeper and a tad more jewel-toned, Lilac You a Lot is much more pastel and soft. And I like it more for that very reason.
11. Blue Moon
I am not a huge blue eyeshadow lover. I like deep navy and teals, but blue? Not so much. But this palette low-key stole my heart. I wasn’t even going to buy it but the Pokemon “Gotta Catch Em’ All” in me bought it on a whim. The formula of this palette is amazing. Th shadows apply so nicely and the variant in tones allows you to do really soft pastel looks, super bright looks or go a bit deeper. It was after buying and using this palette that I released my inner Mimi and started wearing more blue eyeshadow.
10. Rendezvous
This was a limited edition palette and is no longer available. I bought this palette mainly for the two shades in the middle, Catch & Release. I honestly don’t reach for the other shades all that often. What can I say? But I love those shades and that is why I am ranking this palette at number ten. Because I love them that much.
9. Sweet Nothings
This palette is another discontinued limited edition palette. I bought this one around the same time I bought Rendezvous. I am ranking this one higher because I actually use most of the shades in this one. I reach for this when I want a beautiful soft pastel look. You won’t be able to do a super deep or smoky look with this palette- even the deeper shades are on the soft side. The shades are like a perfect hybrid of pink and lavender. And the neutral shades are a perfect compliment.
8. Just My Luck
Green is m favorite color so it is a no-brainer that this would rank higher. The shades in this palette are lovely and the formula is pretty good as well. My one major gripe with this palette is that a few of the shades look very similar on the eye. I wish there had a bit more variation in tone.
7. Uh Huh Honey
I was so excited for this palette when it came out and the shades perform well on the eye. They are pigmented and satisfy my yellow eyeshadow desire. But, like with Just My Luck there isn’t a ton of depth in this palette and if you are looking to add a bit of darkness to the outer corner you will need to reach for another palette or a single shadow. But like a lot of the monochromatic palettes in the series, I think it functions well as a companion palette with a nice selection of yellow shades and textures to choose from.
6. Disney Frozen Anna Palette
Colourpop did a collaboration with Disney for the release of Frozen 2. They created two palettes, one for Elsa and one for Anna. I wasn’t all that interested in the Elsa palette , but the color story of the Anna palette caught my eye. I love the muted mauve tones with the yellow-based golds. I am ranking this higher up on this list for that reason. Formula-wise this isn’t one of my faves from CP. It isn’t unusable, but I found the shadows to be dry and take more work to blend. But that color story…so pretty.
5. Sweet Talk
Sweet Talk was probably CP’s most popular palette of 2019. And with good reason because the formula and color story are so pretty. I wore this palette a ton last summer. It’s easy to use and you can create beautiful looks with fairly minimal effort. What is pleasantly surprising about this palette is it’s versatility. It’s not a color story you look at and think you can get a ton of variant looks with but you can.You have the option to go neutral, more orange, soft and delicate or smoke it out a bit with the deeper brown shadow in the palette. the looks will all have a slightly yellow/peach undertone but can be switched up with the metallics in the palette.
4. Main Squeeze
I have a secret obsession: I love red eyeshadow. Like LOVE it. The shades in this palette aren’t true reds. They all have slightly pinky-peachy undertones (due to the watermelon theme), but they perform beautifully. There is no variation in this palette though. You will get a red look, just at different intensities and slightly different effects with the metallics. But it’s a great little palette and I enjoy using it. Again, I think if you aren’t willing to commit to a red eye look but want to dip your toes into the red eyeshadow world this is an affordable and quality option for a companion palette to other shadows.
3. Whatever
The first time I saw this palette I was underwhelmed. It looked a helluva lot like a bunch of other CP palettes and my opinion on that hasn’t changed. It was the swatches of this palette that won me over. The pigmentation and the richness of the shades. I like to think of this palette as Sweet Talk’s older more Goth sister. They remind me a bit of each other but Whatever is a slightly more interesting color story to me. The shade that steals my heart everytime is the last shade in the palette, Ms. Brightside. It’s such a gorgeous deep burgundy and paired with the other mattes? Chef’s kiss.
2. Going Coconuts
Part of me wanted to rank this palette super low and part of me wanted to rank it number two. You can see which part won. Why do I have such disparate feelings about this palette, you ask? Well. I LOVE the color story. I LOVE cool-toned neutral palettes. And I was both excited and slightly underwhelmed when I saw this one. I went “yay!” and “oh!” all at once. Because neutral palettes aren’t the most exciting things on earth but this was cool-toned! So I held off on buying it for as long as I could before curiosity got the better of me. I can safely say that YouTube made me buy this palette. Mainly RawBeautyKristi who uses it a ton and creates amazing looks. This is an effortless palette. You can create really quick simple yet pretty eye looks with it. It is the definition of wearable and for that reason I am ranking it number two. But I also want to tell you why I was tempted to rank it low. I don’t find the quality to be as great as other CP palettes. Also - it is NOT deeper skin tone friendly. I am a light-skinned black woman and some of these shades don’t show up on me so there isn’t a chance of them showing up on anyone with a deeper skin tone than me. The shades will come off as ashy or non-existent on the eye. But I still really enjoy this palette. I have a love hate relationship with it, what can I say?
1. Good Sport
This palette goes in and out of availability on the CP website, so I can’t call it Limited Edition. I guess I would call it “Sometimes in Stock Edition”. The formula of this palette isn’t the best CP can or has done. Some of the shades can be a bit difficult to work with. So why is it my number one? Because LOOK AT THAT COLOR STORY! Seriously. For me when I was thinking about this ranking, there was no doubt for me what my number one would be. This is one of my favorite color stories ever. It encapsulates so much of what I love in eyeshadow that it is worth the extra effort. If you ever catch it on the CP website grab it. I just recommend using natural hair brushes with it and using it when you have some extra time for blending. None of the shades are unusable. Some, specifically the purples (which are notoriously hard to formulate) are tougher to blend the others. But again, it’s worth it.
