This Week's Looks: Recent Purchases, Sephora Pro Editorial and Colourpop Yes, Please!

I've recently made some purchases. In a rare move for me, I purchased two palettes within a week. I thought about these purchases for a while before deciding to go through with them and really evaluated what I owned in my collection and how additive they would be. The thing I did not anticipate, however, was that I would be buying them so close together. I bought the Sephora Pro Editorial palette first, and then learned that Coloupop's Yes, Please! was going to be restocked. I purposefully stayed away from Yes, Please! when it originally launched because I wasn't sure if I really wanted it. I think a lot of companies (like Colourpop) have intentionally low stock because they want people like me who are unsure if they want something to go ahead and buy it because they have the fear of missing out. That didn't work for me. I figured that if I really wanted it, I would still want it by the time it came back in stock and I could take that time to evaluate. There were several factors that I weighed in deciding to buy this palette, and since the restock happened so soon after I bought the Editorial palette, I ended up with two palettes within a week. 

And, to be completely honest, that makes me very uncomfortable. It reminds me of the days when I was buying makeup all the time just to get through the day or week. Intellectually, I recognize that the situation is not the same, but getting multiple new makeup items felt very similar. But, these were thoughtful purchases on my part, and I am happy with them. 

Here are six looks I did this week. 

Look 1: Sephora Pro Editorial

Rose Quartz on the lid, Myiesha blended into the crease, Electric Violet padded onto the outer corner, and Porcelain on the brow bone. 

Look 2: Sephora Pro Editorial

Lou on the lid, Tangerine blended into the crease, and Porcelain on the brow bone. 

Look 3: Sephora Pro Editorial

Hector E on the lid, Tangerine blended into the crease, Eliza D blended on top of Tangerine, and Porcelain on the brow bone. 

Look 4: Colourpop Yes, Please!

Chauffeur on the lid, Big Cocktails blended into the crease, Mischief blended above Big Cocktails, and Full Zip on the brow bone. 

Look 5: Yes, Please! and Sephora Pro Editorial 

Colourpop Mischief on first half of lid, Coloupop Big Cocktails beside it, and Sephora Pro Tila on second half of lid. Zoeva Substitute for Love and Colourpop Big Cocktails blended lightly in the crease. 

Look 6: Colourpop Yes, Please!

Louie on the lid, Butter Cake padded on top of Louie in the center of the lid, Big Cocktails and Spoiled blended into the crease, Mischief blended above Big Cocktails and Spoiled, and Full Zip on the brow bone. 

So, this is an odd post for me because it is not quite a one week, one palette post, but it is also not a traditional "this week's looks" post either since I only used two palettes the entire week. So, I thought instead I would offer thoughts on each palette. 

Sephora Pro Editorial 

This palette is so large that it will probably take me a few weeks just to try all the colors. I was limited this week to what would be appropriate (enough) to wear to work, so that meant the blues and greens were a bit of a no-go. Ironically, I bought this palette for the more colorful shadows, and I ended up doing neutral(ish) looks that I can do with a lot of shadows in my collection. I know it's not noticeable, but the shadow I used all over my lid in look 1 is a really pretty pink duochrome (which are always challenging for me to capture in a picture), and I love how it looked paired with the purple shadows. 

The rest of the looks unintentionally followed a sunset theme, which is interesting to me. I may not be all that creative with my makeup looks, but I actually found the palette to be a little difficult to work with in terms of sticking just this to palette. The shimmers, for example, were either light and duochrome or pretty warm-toned. I found it challenging to use a lot of the gorgeous matte shades because I simply could not think of a shimmer that would look good with it. As a result, I ended up with some pretty standard (boring) color schemes. I would have pulled other shimmers from my collection to use with the colorful mattes, but I wanted to see how the palette would work on its own. I'll definitely need to play with this palette more, and in terms of using it as a companion palette, I think it will be great. But in terms of a standalone palette, I don't really know if I think it's all that comprehensive. 

In terms of quality, I was pleased. The shadows do kick up some dust, but nothing more than my shadows from Makeup Geek or Anastasia Beverly Hills. I have a feeling that the pigment may be a miss on some of the shadows, but it was great on all shadows I've used so far. The colors also blended really well, but I have shadows that feel a bit more luxurious to work with. 

Colourpop Yes, Please!

I have to say, I absolutely love this palette. I love everything about it. I love the colors, the color scheme, the quality, and the size. And I find the palette to be very inspiring, which is quite rare for me. I thought these shadows were going to be the same size as a full-sized Colourpop pressed shadow, but they are not. They are a bit smaller. And I actually really like that. It's slim and fits nicely in my storage, and I'm sure it will be really great for travel. I also appreciate the smaller pans because I'm sure that's what helped keep the cost low ($16). 

The one gripe I have about this palette (and it's a major one) is how difficult it is for people to buy it. I had a feeling that the recent restock was going to go exactly as it did (selling out in a matter of minutes), but, I don't know, I hoped it would have gone differently. It's always really disappointing to me when I see so many people wanting to buy something and brands just don't have the stock (intentionally or not) to meet that demand. 

What I'm Not Buying: Colourpop X Karrueche She Palette

Colourpop is having a palette moment, and their latest release is a collaboration with Karrueche Tran.

And I won't be buying. 

As I've said, Colourpop is having a palette moment, and I have to say that I find it a little exciting. Several months ago, I wrote a post on why I no longer purchased from Colourpop. But that was before the launch of their pressed shadows. And I have to say, I have been pretty happy with all of the pressed shadows I've purchased from Colourpop, including their recent and very popular Yes, Please! palette. 

So when I heard they were releasing another palette, I admit that I was interested to see what it would look like. And I have to say, I'm just not all that inspired. This looks like a pink-toned palette with champagne, taupe, and berry shades. And yet, this palette is already sold out. 

Let's talk about that for a second. I recently purchased the Yes, Please! palette. I knew when it was going to be restocked, that time happened to work with my schedule that day, I got on the website when it became available, and purchased it. It was no biggie for me. But then I saw that the palette sold out in less than fifteen minutes. That's bonkers to me. And it feels very, very intentional on Colourpop's part. I went onto the Colourpop Instagram later that day and saw literally thousands of comments of people pleading with Colourpop to make the palette permanent, to restock again, or to have enough stock so that people didn't have to buy it within seconds of its release and plan their entire day (including their work schedule) around buying makeup. 

I absolutely believe that Colourpop, like so many other brands, orchestrated the hype around the release of the Yes, Please! palette. I believe they launched with intentionally low stock and then restocked with intentionally low stock. When something sells out in minutes, it gets people's attention. Even people who didn't have this palette on their radar will all of a sudden become interested when they know that the palette is so popular that it sold out that quickly. And then people who didn't even want the palette will not only want it, but they will have to have it. They will obsess over it and try to track it down until they have it. And that is exactly what Colourpop wants. 

Before going in to buying that palette, I told myself that if the site crashed, I was out. It's simply not worth it for me to put up with that kind of mania for a makeup item. I also told myself that if I was unable to get the palette, that it would be totally okay. But, as I said, it was a relatively breezy experience for me, so I was pretty disappointed to see that the experience was not the same for so many people. 

And I think the mania surrounding Yes, Please! also helped Colourpop in the launch of the She palette. What's so funny to me about this is that so many people stalked the website for this launch and pounced on the release, and I don't think the colors are all that special. Additionally, apparently Colourpop released the palette an hour or more before other items in the collection were made available, so many people ended up placing multiple orders because they were afraid that if they didn't jump on the palette within seconds of it being released, they would miss out on it entirely. Shipping is free on orders over $30, but since the palette is $16, many people ended up paying the shipping fee on their multiple orders. Again, I don't think any of this is coincidental. 

And, look. I get it. I love that Coloupop offers good quality pressed shadows that are on trend for affordable prices. I think every other makeup brand should follow their lead. However, manufacturing hype to get more money out of people just feels so gross to me. And especially for the colors in this palette, I don't think it's worth it. 

Let's look at the palette again:

And swatches:

I admit that this color scheme is very pretty, and I am drawn to it. But it is absolutely nothing new. It has been around since the Naked 3:

And Lorac Unzipped:

In recent years, it looks like several palettes from Tarte, including Make Magic Happen:

Tartelette Tease Clay:

Dream Big:

Don't Quit Your Day Dream:

Tartelette in Bloom:

And Tarteist Pro:

It also looks a bit like Zoeva En Taupe:

There are many more palettes that have the same colors as in the She palette (like the new Sephora Pro Cool palette), but these were the ones I could think of that had the most similar color schemes. 

I mention my custom palettes a lot in these posts, but that's important because it's a good reminder for me to really look at how many similar colors I have in my collection. And in this palette:

I have all of the colors in the She palette and then some. 

Something I would like to point out as I wrap up this post is that the She palette costs $16, and I have been really happy with all of the Colourpop pressed shadows that I have purchased. So, if you are someone who does not have many eyeshadows and are really excited about the color scheme of the She palette, it is certainly the least expensive of any of the palettes I've mentioned above. And for good quality, I don't think you can really beat that price. But this anti-haul is for all those other makeup lovers who have all of these colors already in their collection, or who maybe even have one or more of the above palettes, who are being lured in by the hype and marketing tactics. If you already have all these colors, you don't need to add another palette, no matter how cheap it is. And if you are trying to justify buying this palette when you know you already have all the colors by saying you want to just try the Colourpop pressed shadows, why don't you pick out a few singles instead? They already have a ton of colors, so why don't you pick out a few that look gorgeous to you that you don't already have and then try out the formula? You don't need to add an entire palette to your collection with shades you already own because you are curious about a formula and are looking to justify the purchase and buying into the hype. 

Just let the hype pass. Soon Coloupop will come out with another palette that people will be going crazy for, and the hype around this one will be gone. And there are so many brands coming out with new palettes all the time that the intense hype seems to only last a few weeks before it passes. 

For me, I know I already have all these colors, so this palette is an easy pass for me. I wish that Colourpop would really calm down on the hype and hysteria tactics and just let their products speak for themselves. With that, they should significantly up their stock so that customers can have an enjoyable purchasing experience instead of a stressful one where if you don't hit the site within five minutes you won't get an item you want to buy. It shouldn't be so hard for a company to take your money. Just remember that. 

Weekend Looks: Coloured Raine and Stila Glitter and Glow

For week two of weekend looks, I wanted to use two "single" shadows that I haven't been able to use much. As I mentioned in last week's post, weekend looks are the two looks a week where I get to do whatever I want and go crazy with color. And potentially the two looks I did will seem tame to a lot of people. But to me, they were over the top and gorgeous and I loved every second of them. 

Look 1:

From left: Colourpop Stay Golden and Coloured Raine Short Cake

Coloured Raine Short Cake on the lid, Colourpop Stay Golden blended into the crease, Makeup Geek Bitten lightly padded onto the outer corner, and Make Up For Ever Pearl on the inner corner. Coloured Raine Short Cake on the lower lash line. 

Look 2:

Stila Giltter and Glow Rose Gold Retro on the lid, Kat Von D Ludwin blended into the crease, Kat Von D Laetus on the brow bone, and Make Up For Ever Pearl on the inner corner. Kat Von D Solus on the lower lash line. 

Man, I loved these looks. Coloured Raine officially makes some of my favorite shimmer shadows. I will say that on me, Coloured Raine shadows apply best with a synthetic brush like the MAC 242. I typically use my MAC 239 brush to pack color all over the lid, but the 242 works much better with Coloured Raine shadows. 

Short Cake especially is one of my favorite shadows. It's like an amped up version of some other favorites of mine, like Makeup Geek Mai Tai or Cosmopolitan or Colourpop Come and Get It. Blended with the Colourpop shadow (which I love), I thought the look was stunning. 

The Stila Glitter and Glow liquid eyeshadow seriously deserves its own post. I can't remember the last time I was this shocked and delighted by a makeup product. This is a newer product to my collection, and this was the first time I had used it on my eyes. I swatched it on the back of my hand in store and was so mesmerized that I decided to buy it. I have to say I was really nervous it was going to be one of those products that looks incredible in store lighting or looks great on the back of your hand and then sheers out to nothing on the eye. But man, I was impressed. This was the most metallic and sparkly thing I have ever had on my eyes. The pictures don't really do it justice, though you can see quite a bit of the sparkle and shine. 

The only negative was that after a few hours of wear, glitter particle started raining down my face. Under normal circumstances, that is an absolute deal breaker for me, but I didn't really mind with this product. And I think that's because the look felt very special to me. Like a New Year's Eve or Christmas look or something to wear when you go out with your girlfriends. And in those cases, I'm totally okay having glitter on my face. When the glitter started transferring onto other people around me, that was when I knew it was time to wash it off. And using my typical makeup removing method (micellar water), the product came right off and didn't leave behind any glitter whatsoever.  

I do wish that my job would allow me to play with color and finishes a bit more, even like the looks above that are still pretty tame/neutral in the grand scheme of things. But, I do feel like I've achieved a small victory at work. Since I've been working there, two women in the office have recently started wearing makeup! For the first month and a half, I was the only women who wore anything more than light eyeliner or mascara, and now the women have branched into orange-red and metallic lipsticks! Maybe I'll get to wear a super metallic coral or liquid glitter eyeshadow soon after all. Until then, the weekends are my play time. 

What I Did Buy: Colourpop Pressed Powder Shadows

A little over a month ago, I made a post about why I no longer buy from Colourpop. And in that post, I said that no matter the hype, I would not buy from the brand again. 

My reasoning for not wanting to buy from the brand was because I didn't like cream products and felt the ones from Colourpop dried out exceptionally fast. I also truly loathed their ultra matte liquid lipsticks and didn't care for the regular lipsticks. With this selection of products, I had no desire to purchase from them again. 

But then Colourpop came out with pressed powder shadows, and I thought that was interesting. I had no intention of purchasing any until I saw swatches on Temptalia's blog. The swatches looked good, which was a little surprising to me. More than that, there were a few colors that were pretty and looked unique to my collection. 

So, I decided to buy four of them. 

From left: Come and Get it, Stay Golden, Silver Lining, and Making Moves

I really love this color combination. Come and Get it (which was the main shadow I wanted to buy) is one of the prettiest shadows I have seen. And that's saying a lot because I own a ton of shadow. 

Here is the eye look I created with all four shadows:

Come and Get It on the lid, Making Moves blended into the crease, Silver Lining blended above Making Moves, and Stay Golden padded onto the outer corner. Silver Lining and Stay Golden on the lower lash line. 

This eye look was one of the prettiest I've done in a long time. The shadows all applied incredibly well, had great pigment, and blended easily. However, these shadows faded somewhat, which is the first time I've noticed that happen with shadows. 

Because of the fading, I'm a bit torn on these shadows. I think they applied beautifully, but they didn't stay with that intensity throughout the day. I will certainly keep and continue to use these four, but I can't say that I would be clamoring to go out and buy more. For the basic shades in this collection, I would instead recommend Makeup Geek or MAC shadows. With that said, Colourpop releases new shades all the time, so I'm not fully closing the door on ever getting more. If they release some shades that I am very drawn to and don't have duplicates for in my collection (unlikely), I may consider buying more. 

As a side note, I really hate the quad/palette packaging that came free with the purchase of four shadows. It is so bulky and takes up a ton of space for just four shadows. I ended up doing a pretty big purge of my singles in various palettes and created a new Z-palette filled with the shadows I kept. The Colourpop shadows ended up in there. 

I wouldn't recommend these shadows for a day-long makeup look that goes into the night. But for $5 each, I could see a customer getting some of the more unique shades for night looks. Do I think they are up there with my favorite shadows in terms of quality? No. But they were quite a bit better than I expected them to be.