Colourpop Lippie Stix & Lip Pencils

Top to Bottom: Bound (stix), Bound lip pencil, Brink, Lumiere, Heart On, I Heart This (lip pencil), I Heart This (stix), Pitch (stix), Pitch (lip pencil)

At 5 dollars a pop, how can you say no? Yes, everything from Colourpop from their eyeshadows, to their lippie stix, to their brand spankin' new blushes are only 5 dollars per. I was super skeptical as I'm a firm believer in the "You get what you paid for" mindset, but I'm happy to say that I was pleasantly surprised!

I was a little stodgy with the packaging -- as in the actual shipping materials. They came in a standard shipping envelope with each pencil and stix singly packed, so most of the boxes were distorted. Not a big deal as I'll eventually throw the packaging away, but I was kind of turned-off and surprised as most of the swatch videos I'd watched (AKA all 20 of them) showed artists' hauls in cute little white and blue cardboard boxes. I figured I probably didn't buy enough to warrant a box and shrugged it off as a novice misstep: Colourpop is a fairly new company, and I wasn't expecting pristine packaging from a company that doesn't accept returns. 

Anyway, like I said, the packaging was a minor blip. The quality of the lippie stix and pencils and the actual product packaging more than made up for it! The formula is super creamy and smells like a heavenly vanilla cupcake not to mention the color payoff is incredible. You really only need one swipe for an opaque finish. I was also super (pleasantly) surprised by the longevity of the stix + pencil combo: about 4-5 hours on average with food and drink -- that is, Shake Shack cheesy fries, Ethiopian food, and hot tea. No promises if you use them alone, though! Actually, I whole-heartedly advise always pairing your stix with a pencil. It doesn't have to be its mate, but I found that pencils did not wear well without (see Pitch). 

You'll see with the swatches below that some of the pencils and stix are twins and others are cousins (see Bound). That's the great thing about Colourpop: their pencils and stix are designed to . Don't like the original pairing? That's fine, just mix and match as you will! I'm usually pretty stringent when it comes to following instructions -- AKA when you designate a mate, I buy the mate -- but having yellow undertones, I didn't want to risk washing myself out, so I took the darkest and most attractive lip pencil (Bound) and paired it with all the nudes. Needless to say that I'm extremely happy!

   

The product packaging is so adorable. I love the simple white, plastic casing and the foiling on both the boxes and the actual stix. The stix are retractable and have a slanted tip for easy application; though the pencils can seem a bit confusing because they're plastic, they're meant to be sharpened like any other lip pencil.

Onto the swatches! 

Bare lips: exfoliated with a homemade brown sugar scrub and moisturized with Fresh's SPF Sugar Lip Treatment.

Bound lip pencil // described as a "light nude pink."

Bound stix, glossy // described as a "light nude pink.

Bound lip pencil & stix

Bound lip pencil & Brink stix

Brink stix, matte // described as a “warm dusty taupe in a matte finish” 

Lumiere stix, matte // described as a “dusty mauve pink”

Bound lip pencil & Lumiere stix

Nars Never Say Never lip pencil

Heart On stix, matte // described as a “bright cool toned magenta."

Nars Never Say Never lip pencil & Heart On stix

Flawless stix, satin // described as a “deep red violet.”

Never Say Never lip pencil & Flawless stix

I Heart This lip pencil

I Heart This stix, matte // described as a “red based fuchsia."

I Heart This lip pencil & stix

Pitch lip pencil

Pitch stix, matte // described as a “rich blackened chocolate brown"

Pitch lip pencil & stix

Final Food For Thought

Colourpop, in my opinion, is a fantastic alternative to fraught-with-controversy LimeCrime. They have a wider yet just as unique color selection -- from bright green to the nudest of nudes -- not to mention that you can buy four CP products for the price of one LC and CP's not in perpetual restock mode like LC. Pitch may be a comparable dupe to Salem, and CP just announced a greige color for their spring line which I'm really hoping will be a dupe for LC's ultra popular Cashmere. However, CP products are only comparable in color to LC's long-lasting, super-duper matte Velvetines. If you're looking for ultra matte lipsticks, you won't find them with Colourpop; in fact, their mattes have more of a standard satin finish. However, CP's lippie stix stand perfectly well (maybe even better, in some respect) on their own. 

Of course the 5 dollar price tag comes with its misgivings, but I mean... at 5 dollars, there's honestly little to complain about. The formula, though super creamy upon application, can be a bit drying, especially with darker colors, which also might sink into creases and feather quite easily without a lip pencil. The processing and shipping times are also kind of obscene. The Colourpop FAQ states an "average" of 3-5 business days to process and 3-5 business days to ship, but mine took a week to process and another four days to arrive on my doorstep. I probably wouldn't even bother if I were international.

Where some lipsticks can be applied with slightly dry lips, I definitely recommend exfoliating and moisturizing prior to applying either lippie stix or pencils. One other important note that I mentioned before is that Colourpop advertises its stix and pencils as being standalone or mated; that is, their stix and pencils can either be used together or on their own. However, I wouldn't advise this. You could probably get away with using the stix on their own, however, definitely expect them to feather quicker on your lips. The pencils on their own are both a little too drying and easily sink into creases on your lips; they give your lips a slightly unflattering, pruning look.

Don't let my nitpicking deter you. The fact of the matter is that you can run into any of the above problems with any lipstick -- high-end or otherwise. All in all, I'm super impressed with Colourpop! They've managed to manufacture one of the best quality, budget-friendly lipsticks you can get your hands on. And don't let the $5 price tag fool you! Whether you like to put your faith in high-end products or prefer them cheap, don't underestimate the lippie stix!