ColourPop Spoon Super Shock Cheek (Highlighter) ($8.00 for 0.15 oz.) has a warmer, peachy-gold base with silvery-beige shimmer and faint sparkle throughout that gives it a soft, luminous lit-from-within glow. It had more opaque coverage when applied with a fingertip and sheerer, more buildable coverage when applied with a stippling brush, as marketed.
The consistency was emollient to the touch, but the product came away in very thin layers that felt more powder-like once it came into contact with skin, so it was quick to dry down but remained blendable. It wore well for nine hours on me before fading visibly.
ColourPop Trio of Terror Jelly Much Shadow Trio ($28.00 for 0.51 oz.) is a new, limited edition trio of cream eyeshadows. They are also available individually for $10 each. All three shades were pigmented, blendable, and pretty easy to use, as they are fluid and cream-like initially but don’t dry down too quickly (nor too slowly), and once they’re on, they are very long-wearing.
Note: readers have reported issues with this formula drying out faster than other cream eyeshadows — I know I’m not alone when wishing these came in squeeze tubes! I’ve had one or two dry out after a year, but I don’t keep most of mine (no matter how much I love the color) because I don’t have the time to really go back so I avoid keeping liquid/cream-based products knowing that.
Lock has a blackened purple base with cooler undertones paired with lighter blue, lavender, and violet sparkle throughout. The cream-based product enabled the sparkles to actually apply evenly and adhere to the base color. The consistency felt very emollient and wet to the touch, but it yielded opaque coverage that applied well to bare skin and dried down fast enough not to settle into fine lines (but I had enough time to work). It stayed on well for 10 hours without showing signs of wear.
FURTHER READING: Formula Overview for details on general performance and characteristics (like scent).
The formula is supposed to have "high impact" in a "single swipe" that's longwearing, "won't crease, fade or transfer" and "dries down to a powder finish with zero fall out." These are water-based, so they feel wet and cooling when initially applied, but the reality is that so little product is needed to get coverage on the lid that I didn't feel it was watery or thin when I actually patted it onto my lid with a brush.
I would recommend using less than you think you'll need, and while fingertips can be used to apply, I liked the control of flat, synthetic brushes gave me as fingertips (for me!) applied far more product than needed. If you over-apply, it can feel wet and take longer to dry down, and it ends up taking too long and can pull into creases/fine lines on the lid. If I used about what I needed (there was some wiggle room), it dried down quickly and set to a transfer-resistant/crease-resistant finish. It was harder to blend out once dry, though, and if I wasn't careful, more vigorous blending could disturb and cause the eyeshadow to flake slightly.
They are easier to use than they look, and I think they're quite good overall, though a couple of shades were less stellar. They have a high-shine finish, though I think the more metallic powder and cream eyeshadows give a similar look that I wasn't convinced that the finish on these was above and beyond products that might be easier to use/more user-friendly. I'm not sure that the pot was the best way to go, as the product dries out extremely quickly; to the point where I would advise closing the product after you've taken product out of it, don't let it sit open while you're applying the rest of your makeup--you will see and feel parts of it dry out.
I found the packaging to be rather messy, and I have bits of product along the edge of the jar, along the rim, and it's fiddly to move the stopper from the opening to the lid and back again. I wonder if a squeeze tube might be less messy and make it easier to control the amount of product picked up while also preventing the product from drying out too readily.
WARNING: This formula seems to dry out within months; some readers report a couple of months and others more like a six-month window. I don't keep the majority of cream-based products (since I don't return to most products after reviewing), including these, but of the few I still have, there is a definite change in consistency--slightly drier--after six months, sometimes more or less. I had a couple that were closer to the year mark, and one was still usable but the other was quite dried down.
Shock is a bright, medium-dark fuchsia pink with subtle, cool undertones and a sparkling sheen. It had rich color payoff paired with a wet, emollient texture that felt cool to the touch and remained more fluid and cream-like during the initial application to skin but dried down to a transfer-resistant finish. I felt like I had enough time to apply and diffuse the edges but it wasn’t so long that it settled into fine lines. It wore well for 10 hours without fading or creasing on me.
FURTHER READING: Formula Overview for details on general performance and characteristics (like scent).
The formula is supposed to have "high impact" in a "single swipe" that's longwearing, "won't crease, fade or transfer" and "dries down to a powder finish with zero fall out." These are water-based, so they feel wet and cooling when initially applied, but the reality is that so little product is needed to get coverage on the lid that I didn't feel it was watery or thin when I actually patted it onto my lid with a brush.
I would recommend using less than you think you'll need, and while fingertips can be used to apply, I liked the control of flat, synthetic brushes gave me as fingertips (for me!) applied far more product than needed. If you over-apply, it can feel wet and take longer to dry down, and it ends up taking too long and can pull into creases/fine lines on the lid. If I used about what I needed (there was some wiggle room), it dried down quickly and set to a transfer-resistant/crease-resistant finish. It was harder to blend out once dry, though, and if I wasn't careful, more vigorous blending could disturb and cause the eyeshadow to flake slightly.
They are easier to use than they look, and I think they're quite good overall, though a couple of shades were less stellar. They have a high-shine finish, though I think the more metallic powder and cream eyeshadows give a similar look that I wasn't convinced that the finish on these was above and beyond products that might be easier to use/more user-friendly. I'm not sure that the pot was the best way to go, as the product dries out extremely quickly; to the point where I would advise closing the product after you've taken product out of it, don't let it sit open while you're applying the rest of your makeup--you will see and feel parts of it dry out.
I found the packaging to be rather messy, and I have bits of product along the edge of the jar, along the rim, and it's fiddly to move the stopper from the opening to the lid and back again. I wonder if a squeeze tube might be less messy and make it easier to control the amount of product picked up while also preventing the product from drying out too readily.
WARNING: This formula seems to dry out within months; some readers report a couple of months and others more like a six-month window. I don't keep the majority of cream-based products (since I don't return to most products after reviewing), including these, but of the few I still have, there is a definite change in consistency--slightly drier--after six months, sometimes more or less. I had a couple that were closer to the year mark, and one was still usable but the other was quite dried down.
Barrel has a rosy-brown base with warm undertones and green-gold contrasting shimmer and sparkle. It had opaque color coverage in a single layer, and it felt like a little product went a long way, so I’d recommend using less than you think you’ll need (you can always build up as the formula was buildable). The texture was very wet to the touch, but it ended up being much easier to work with than expected as the product went on evenly, blended out well along the edges, and dried down fast enough not to settle into my fine lines. It lasted for 10 hours without fading or creasing on me.
FURTHER READING: Formula Overview for details on general performance and characteristics (like scent).
The formula is supposed to have "high impact" in a "single swipe" that's longwearing, "won't crease, fade or transfer" and "dries down to a powder finish with zero fall out." These are water-based, so they feel wet and cooling when initially applied, but the reality is that so little product is needed to get coverage on the lid that I didn't feel it was watery or thin when I actually patted it onto my lid with a brush.
I would recommend using less than you think you'll need, and while fingertips can be used to apply, I liked the control of flat, synthetic brushes gave me as fingertips (for me!) applied far more product than needed. If you over-apply, it can feel wet and take longer to dry down, and it ends up taking too long and can pull into creases/fine lines on the lid. If I used about what I needed (there was some wiggle room), it dried down quickly and set to a transfer-resistant/crease-resistant finish. It was harder to blend out once dry, though, and if I wasn't careful, more vigorous blending could disturb and cause the eyeshadow to flake slightly.
They are easier to use than they look, and I think they're quite good overall, though a couple of shades were less stellar. They have a high-shine finish, though I think the more metallic powder and cream eyeshadows give a similar look that I wasn't convinced that the finish on these was above and beyond products that might be easier to use/more user-friendly. I'm not sure that the pot was the best way to go, as the product dries out extremely quickly; to the point where I would advise closing the product after you've taken product out of it, don't let it sit open while you're applying the rest of your makeup--you will see and feel parts of it dry out.
I found the packaging to be rather messy, and I have bits of product along the edge of the jar, along the rim, and it's fiddly to move the stopper from the opening to the lid and back again. I wonder if a squeeze tube might be less messy and make it easier to control the amount of product picked up while also preventing the product from drying out too readily.
WARNING: This formula seems to dry out within months; some readers report a couple of months and others more like a six-month window. I don't keep the majority of cream-based products (since I don't return to most products after reviewing), including these, but of the few I still have, there is a definite change in consistency--slightly drier--after six months, sometimes more or less. I had a couple that were closer to the year mark, and one was still usable but the other was quite dried down.
