Orchid Themed Makeup
Does anyone else find it hard to keep up with ColourPop’s constant launches? I love many of their products, but damn, the brand is a little much. I unsubscribed from their newsletter awhile back because it seems like they release new products daily. That said, when I learned via Instagram that they were launching an orchid themed makeup collection, I actually set a calendar reminder for the release date because how could I not?! In case you’re new here, I’m an orchid nerd with a blog all about orchids called Brooklyn Orchids (which I haven’t posted on in awhile…whoopsie).
I bought several items from the new Orchid You Not collection, along with a brow pen. The false lashes were a freebie, I think because I hit some kind of minimum spend.
ColourPop always nails it with the package design, and I love the purple-and-gold Cattleya orchid graphics on this collection. So pretty! Also, just to show off a little orchid knowledge, the beautiful purple and fuchsia orchids in their website’s product photos are Vandas…one of my favorite types of orchids.
My Orchid Makeup Haul
The items I bought from the orchid collection are:
- Orchid You Not Shadow Palette ($14)
- Pressed Powder Blush in Just My Pluck ($7)
- Lippie Stix in Dancing Lady and Orchis ($7 apiece)
- Colour Stix in U Grow Girl ($6)
The Palette
Honestly? When I ordered these items I knew that I wasn’t super into many of the shades in the Orchid You Not palette. I really do not like wearing reds and pinks on my eyes. Some people can pull these shades off, but I think they make me look ill. So I purchased the palette more for collection purposes, though there are a couple shades I can and will wear.
The palette contains nine shades: five mattes and four shimmery metallics. One of the shimmers, Seedling, arrived broken. But it wasn’t enough of a problem for me to ask for a replacement. I pressed the shadow back into the pan using a freshly washed finger, and it’ll be fine.
Let’s take a look at the swatches on my arm:
As you can see in the swatches, the mattes are a little patchy. They’re not quite as pigmented as the shimmers, which are very buttery and shiny. I think Pretty One, the shimmery lilac, is my favorite color in the palette.
Four of the shades (Rebloom, Ada, Buddies, and Nuh Uh) have the ol’ asterisk cautioning that those shades are not intended for use in the immediate eye area. I roll my eyes every time I see this on an eyeshadow palette. I know they’re probably fine to use, but when you put that warning on the package I don’t really want to put this stuff near my eyes. Those shades actually aren’t ones I particularly want to wear on my lids anyway, as even the purples in this palette are a little red for my taste. But I think they’d be really pretty lip colors, so I may try patting them over some lip balm and see how that looks.
The Blush
The Pressed Powder Blush in Just My Pluck is a dusty lilac. The color is more accurate in the photo at the top of this post than in the below pic, where it appears warmer than it really is. The shade is very subtle, which I really like…I tend to use a light hand with makeup so I appreciate a blush that I can build up if necessary. This shade will likely not show up too well on darker skin tones.
The Lippie and Eye Stix
I do love pinks and berries on my lips, so I bought two of the three Lippie Stix from this collection. Dancing Lady (a common name for some Oncidium orchids) is described as a bold matte boysenberry, and Orchis (a type of terrestrial orchid) is described as a deep wine. Both will be SO good for fall! Lippie Stix are a tad dry for my taste, but they’re not as drying as a liquid matte lip. This formula is very pigmented, and it’s also long wearing.
I also bought the only Colour Stix eyeshadow crayon shade that I thought I might wear (the other two were pinks). U Grow Girl is described as a deep plum. I think I’ll avoid wearing it on my lower lash line, since it veers a little red. But it will be pretty as a pop of color on my upper lash line.
Swatch time:
Below is a bonus photo of Linus, who always helps me out when I’m photographing products. He knows to gravitate to the sunny spots in our house, which happen to be the good spots for taking photos. Linus is a curious fellow and likes to inspect my products to make sure they meet his standards.
Final Thoughts
Though I probably won’t get a lot of use out of the eyeshadow palette, it was worth spending $14 to have an orchid-themed palette in my collection. I’ll get more use out of the blush, Lippie Stix, and Colour Stix, especially this fall and winter. I didn’t discuss the lashes or brow pen here, because this was really more about the orchid goodies! I don’t wear lashes much— when we’re not a pandemic I may wear a pair once every year or two. But I may try the lashes on Halloween…we shall see. 🙂
Have you come across any makeup collections that you weren’t sure you’d wear but couldn’t resist adding to your stash?
