ColourPop Pressed Powder Duos

 “One of a Kind” & “Boyfriend Stealer”

ColourPop Cosmetics recently released the Pressed Powder Shadow Duos just in time for Valentine’s Day. There are five duos available with varying combinations of matte, metallic, and “shimmer” (see description below) finishes. All of the shadows are also available for individual purchase on colourpop.com.

The Basics:

Purchase Price: $10.00 per duo (Colourpop was offering free shipping on the day of my order but it’s normally $4.99)

Cart to door time: 7 days (Ordered 02/07/17 > Received 02/13/17)

I purchased these palettes the day they released on ColourPop’s website. As always, the photos of the packaging were taken before use. I’ve had about two days with these ladies before posting this review.

Swatches:

All swatches are done on clean, bare skin. No primer or sprays are used. I do two swatches side-by-side of each color. The left swipe is done with a finger, while the right swipe is done with a flat, synthetic eyeshadow brush. I only do one pass because I think it shows the strength of pigmentation.

One of a Kind:

Left to Right:

Going Steady (matte) – Sooo you know the way that chalk feels when it touches your skin? Well that’s kind of how this deep, matte burgundy shade feels at first swipe. For me, not the best first impression; however, it grew on me pretty quickly once I began working with it. I found that as I blended the color into my crease it built up well, had nice pigmentation, and did not muddy in the slightest. So is it creamy? No. Powdery? A little. But for the price and the way that it builds and blends — I’m a fan.

Pinky Promise (metallic) – Now everything that Going Steady is not in texture, Pinky Promise most certainly is. This is a B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L metallic shade — well worth the price of admission. It has pretty amazing pigmentation and it is so smooth. It’s almost the same tone of burgundy as Going Steady, just turn up the volume a bit and add in some high shine.

Boyfriend Stealer:

Left to Right:

Dreamboat (matte) – This is a nice dusty rose, matte shadow that has a similar texture to Going Steady. It’s also a little powdery but blends and builds well. I find this shade to be pretty similar to Anastasia Beverly Hill’s Buon Fresco, so if you have the Modern Renaissance palette I think you’re covered, otherwise this is a nice, affordable alternative.

Pretty Cruel (shimmer?) – This shadow is listed on the packaging as a shimmer; however, on the Colourpop website it is listed as a matte with gold flecks. I think the website has a better description of the finish, but either way I don’t like this at all. Although the glitter is very small, it gets all over the place — I mean everywhere. I did try using different bases to get the particles to adhere, but I still had a dusting up toward my eyebrows and on my cheeks after a little bit of wear time. On a positive note, the glitter itself is not as chunky as you might find in some Urban Decay or Too Faced shadows and it is a really pretty deep rose color.

The Nitty Gritty: I think overall Colourpop has done a really nice job on their pressed shadows. I have always been a fan of their Super Shock cremes, as well as the eyebrow pencils, liners, and lip products (for the most part). I think in a market where companies have been focusing more and more on packaging and less on the quality of the product, Colourpop has found a nice balance. As far as I’m concerned, they win the award for adorable packaging — the attention to detail is unreal–but I find the shadows to be quite nice as well. I also like that the eyeshadow pans are removable from the magnetic packaging so you can customize if you have something like a Z-palette an empty magnetic case. Basically, if you like the color and finish of both shadows, you are getting a really cute case for the same price as two individuals.

So is it worth it?…yes and no. Of the two duos I tried, I highly recommend the One of a Kind palette. It is good quality and the colors are really nice, especially if you are into reds/burgundies. Unfortunately, I can’t recommend Boyfriend Stealer because I feel that the shade Pretty Cruel just isn’t worth it. If you like the Dreamboat shade, I would purchase it as a single and pick something else out. Based on the four that I have, I think the mattes are nice for the price and the metallic shade is stunning. I am going to avoid any matte shade that is described as having “flecks” because of the amount of fallout I’ve experienced. I think I will be purchasing more of the pressed shadows in the future and I’ll let you know how it goes. I hope this was helpful!

Thanks for hanging out a bit!

~XOXO