This week involves a whole lot of swatches of my Colourpop collection as well as the one highlighter I own. I have collected a range of Ultra Satin Lips, Ultra Matte Lips, Ultra Glossy Lips and their well-known Lippie Stix.

For those of you that don't know, Colourpop is an affordable online-only brand from America. Prices range from $5-$8 USD and they are 100% cruelty free. Shipping can be expensive so I suggest you partner up with a friend and order together!

Now lets dive into the products I own.

Highlighter

Shade: Lunch Money

Description: a soft light gold with a reflective golden duo chrome finish.

Ultra Glossy Lip

Shade: Weho

(sample size)

Description: creamy beige

Shade: Piranha

(sample size)

Description: a sheer baby pastel pink

Shade: Tight Fit

Description: a light peachy pink which highlights of pink, silver and gold shimmer.

Ultra Satin Lip
Shade: Echo Park

Description: warm peachy nude

Shade: Magic Wand

Description: Light nude

Ultra Matte Lip
Please keep in mind that these do dry a little darker than they appear. For the purpose of this post and ease of removal photos were taken before they were 100% dried down. Refer to my related posts below to see more swatches and reviews.

Shade: Midi

Description: Soft neutral beige

Shade: Clueless

Description: Dusy mauve pink

Shade: Beeper

Description: Warm mid-tone taupe

Shade: Platform

*This is no longer on their site.

Shade: Succulent

Description: Electric neon orange red

Lippie Stix
Shade: Cookie (matte)

Description: True nude beige

Shade: Button (satin)

Description: Pale creamy peach nude

Shade: Lumiere (matte)

Description: Dusty mauve pink

Shade: Oh Snap (matte)

Description: Pale dirty nude pink

Shade: Cami (matte X)

Description: Neutral mauve pink

Shade: Brink (matte)

Description: Warm dusty taupe

Shade: Aquarius (creme)

Description: A soft pinky nude

Shade: Poppin' (matte X)

Description: Vibrant raspberry

My favourites

Out of all Colourpop products their lippie stix are a definite favourite of mine. Specifically the shades cookie, lumiere and cami. They're comfortable to wear and come in a wide range of finishes and colours.

I am also a big fan of their glosses. They're not sticky whatsoever and the cream [finish] colour payoff is amazing!! I am almost completely out of my sample sized Weho.

Related posts

Best & Worst Liquid Lipsticks - Most current review. Features CP Ultra Satin and Matte lips

Comparison: Colourpop & Stila Liquid Lipsticks - Wear test of Clueless (ultra matte lip) against Stila's liquid lipstick

Colourpop Highlighter - Buy or Bye? - Review + more swatches

Colourpop Ultra Matte Lip Review - my first ever review on the ultra matte lips

This weeks post is a little more personal. I wanted you all to get to know me a little better so I found a tag that would be perfect for that! So let's begin...

1. What is your middle name?
My mum gave me two middle names because one wasn't enough lol, its Josephine-Kate. They were chosen because they are my grandmothers - nonna to me, i'm Italian - name/middle name. 

2. What is your favourite colour?

Definitely turquoise and aqua but I do think light pink is also pretty (hence the theme I have going on with my blog).

3. Who was your first best friend?

I don't even remember back then but i'm going to go with a typical "wog" answer and say my cousins, since technically they were my first ever "friends".

4. How tall are you?

I'm a shorty, only 5'1" and fun fact my boyfriend is 6'2" so heels are my life.

5. Cats or Dogs?

100000% dogs, I am a crazy dog lady. I have a maltese terrier and she is my baby. I already have a list of the dogs I'd love to own when I move out of home starting with a Great Dane!!

6. Funniest moment throughout school?

One day my friends and I thought it would be a great idea to do the jelly bean challenge with those gross flavoured ones. Watching everyone's fears and reactions when they got the bad one was priceless. Do not recommend as they were pretty bad, especially rotten egg flavour.

7. How many countries have you visited?

I've travelled in Australia but I don't think that counts so 4 other countries other than my own. I've been to Bali, Malaysia, Italy and Croatia.

8. Are you in/gone to college?

We call it University here in Australia and yes I go. This half of the year I deferred so I could change to a new Uni starting next year. I'm studying to be a primary teacher :)

9. What was your favourite/worst subject in High School?

My favourites were equally English and Psychology, I love reading and writing a lot more than having to think and work out problems. In saying that, maths was definitely my worst subject ever. Maths and I do not get along.

10. What is your favourite drink?

Peppermint tea! Any other tea lovers reading this??

11. What is your favourite animal?

I am obsessed with elephants, if you saw my bedroom it is literally filled with them. I even have an elephant fruit bowl for my future house.

12. What is your favourite perfume?

I have two favourites depending on my mood and the weather; Marc Jacobs "Daisy" and Narciso Rodriguez "Narciso".

13. Tea or Coffee?

Tea, I don't like or drink anything that has caffiene in it because I will never sleep again.

14. What would you (or have you) name your children?

Having children is still a long, long way away for me but I like the names Noah, Isiah, Analise and Madeline for the time being. I'm sure i'll like other names in the future because i'm always changing my mind.

15. What sports do you play/have you played?

Like maths I don't like sport either. There is only one sport that I tolerate and actually enjoy which is swimming. In the past I did swimming, dancing and netball but now the only sport I do is walking up and down my stairs.

16. What is your favourite book?

The Guardian by Nicholas Sparks, it makes me experience so many emotions and I love it.

17. Who are some of your favourite YouTubers?

I like a lot of youtubers so in no particular order these are the mains I religiously will watch - KathleenLights, Shaaanxo, Nicole Guerriero, Carly Bybel, Bronte Jones, Shani Grimmond, Bella Fiori, Jamie Paige, Alex Faction (my fave for halloween!), Elanna Percherle, Brittney Lee Saunders, Chloe Morello, Desi Perkins, LustureLux, CoffeeBreakwithDani, Allana Davison, BeautyWithEmilyFox and Laura Lee.

As you can tell I clearly have no life but at least you might find a new youtuber to watch yourself!

18. What is your favourite movie?

In December it is strictly ELF otherwise I like The Notebook. I'm more of a TV show person over movies so I don't really have favourites.

19. Are you Single or Taken?

Taken, i've been with my boyfriend for almost 3 years. We actually met back when we were 14 years old at highschool and we were together for a while then broke up and then back together a year later, now we have been together ever since.

20. Whats your idea of an ideal first date?

The zoo! This was actually me and my boyfriends first date. I think the zoo is a wonderful place to go on a date to, or a picnic.

21. How many girlfriends/boyfriends have you had?

I've only ever had one serious boyfriend which is who i'm with now.

22. Favourite memory from childhood?

I have a lot of good memories that I could go on forever but I have a funny one that I'll share. My family have a house up at the beach that backs a bush and one time my cousins, my brother and I thought we would go camping in our backyard. The boys all went in the big proper tent and I slept alone in the smaller, more of a kids play tent, because I'm the only girl in the family. When I woke up my tent was full of bugs and ants everywhere that I ran outside early in the morning screaming while taking my pyjamas off because I was covered in ants and ended up woking up everyone inside the house. I had a very long shower and refused to pack up the tent because it was infested. Safe to say I won't be camping ever again but at least it makes for a funny story.

23. Do you speak any different languages and how well?

I completely understand and can read Italian, I can also speak it pretty well but not fluently.

24. Do you have any siblings?

I have a younger brother who is 16 years old.

25. How would you describe your fashion sense?

Whatever-I-feel-like-on-that-day. I don't really restrict myself to one sort of style, I just put on whatever I'm feeling.

26. What is your favourite restaurant?

Quattrocento Gradi/400 Gradi - it is an amazing Italian restaurant.

27. What are some of your favourite tv shows?

Once Upon a Time, One Tree Hill, Gossip Girl and House Hunters!

28. PC or mac?
Mac

29. What phone do you have? (iOS v Android?)

Huawei p8 which is an android. I take 98% of my photos using it.

30. Tell us one of your bad habits

Pretty gross but I enjoy it a lot - popping pimples and removing blackheads! Although I don't really do that no more because I've finally learnt that it will only spread and create more pimples.

Another bad habit is creating a pile of clothes at the end of my bed and not putting them away for about a week, sorry mum.

Thats the end of this tag and I hope you've gotten to know me a little better! I tag anyone and everyone to do this because I love getting to know people, plus it is a fun tag. Here is a bonus throwback photo of me when I first discovered my artistic talent (not):

Christmas is definitely creeping up on us, I can't believe it is just over a week away! Here are a few last minute "stocking stuffer" gifts at a range of prices.

The straightening hair brush

Ok so this one probably can't fit in your usual stockings, but if its one big stocking why not go all out and get them a fancy hairbrush?! This would be perfect for women who are constantly on-the-go or simply don't want to damage their hair by using a straightening iron.

Chi Chi gift sets

One of my favourite brands who always smash the gift sets every year is Chi Chi. From eyes to lips to nails and even fragrances they have you covered. At affordable prices too!!

Adorn Cosmetics Samples

If you have a family member or friend who is slowly getting into the cosmetic scene Adorn Cosmetics offer samples which are 100% stocking friendly. Plus they're natural/organics and cruelty free!

You are able to choose between lipsticks, blush, complexion products, eye shadows or to take away the hassle of choosing shades yourself they have pre-made sets ready to order. The image I have attached shows the sizes of the lip/shadow samples you get. They really are generous with how much product you get.

Nails 💅

Know someone who is OBSESSED with nails? Nail kits or even nail polish is a perfect option to toss into their stocking. My all time favourite nail polish brand is China Glaze 😊

Hair Masks

Who doesn't love the feeling of soft hair? Hair masks come in small, practical and cute packaging that are ideal for stuffing stockings with. A few options are Brite Organix and Hello Hair.

Face Masks

Following on from hair masks next idea is face masks. Why not fill their stocking with products they can completely pamper themselves with? I'm sure the lucky recipient will thank you for them!

There are so many to choose from so you really have endless options here: Trefiel, NKDBODY, reCLAYm are a few I can think of.

Beauty Tools

Every beauty addict will appreciate this one. Makeup brush kits or even sponges will go well in a stocking. My favourite and one I really want in my own stocking is the Blend Friends Trio Makeup Sponges by Australis!

Gift Cards

Last but definitely not least are gift cards. You can pick out their favourite shops and let them choose whatever they like from there. Or you can get a gift card from Red Balloon, they have over 3000 adventurous gift ideas.

I hope this post was helpful and gave you a few ideas on what you can fill a (beauty lovers) stocking with. You can also give these gifts all year round not only for Christmas.

The liquid lipstick trend doesn't look like it is going to die down anytime soon so I thought I would go through my collection and list my liquid lipsticks from favourite to least favourite. Instead of sticking to only a matte finish I also included the Colourpop Ultra Satin Lips as a less "drying" option. Hopefully this will be helpful and please remember that everyone has their own opinions and preferences so this is based off my own. I even went out of my way to purchase a few extra brands to include in this review and wanted to incorporate more affordable and readily available brands for us in Australia.

I wore each of these liquid lipsticks for an entire day so I will include two images - the first is when it was initially applied as well as updates to see how it held up throughout the day. My usual day consists of drinking 2L of water from a bottle and a sandwhich, rice or pasta for lunch. So lets get straight into my ranking starting from my least favourite:

10. Chi Chi Creamy Matte Liquid Lipstick

This is last because it isn't matte nor is it a satin finish even when it claims to be "matte". I'm a little confused with this product because it is more like a pigmented lipgloss and I am not a lipgloss fan at all. It also gets all over my teeth and people notice which is pretty embarrassing.

You will notice in the pictures that it does last pretty well so if you don't like a matte, velvet or satin finish at all and gloss is your preference then go for this. If this were marketed as a glossy finish it would be one of my top "glosses" as it is very comfortable and not sticky.

9. Colourpop Ultra Matte Lip

I had to retry this one twice. The first time I applied it within 10 minutes I had to remove it because it was literally balling up and flaking off my lips. I will include an image to show you what happened but I didn't want to give up on it.

I saw somewhere online that putting the tube under hot water may help so that is what I did. The second time around my results were slightly better but I still wasn't very impressed. Once applied it settles pretty badly in every single line you will have on your lips, it also feels tight and drying (lip balm will help but takes away from the matte finish). This does not transfer whatsoever.

In the first update you will notice that is has started to flake off and become patchy after one meal - I had pasta and I am a pretty messy eater. By this time it no longer felt drying but it didn't look great.

The second photo was taken only after 4 hours of wear and it was the max time I could put up with it on my lips. It was pretty much all off my lips, very patchy, uneven, textured and uncomfortable. I had to go to work and there was no way I was going to go with this on. Some people love this product and I own so many shades but I cannot wear them without a gloss or lip balm. You may as well buy the Ultra Satins as they look a lot more appealing and comfortable on the lips.

**UPDATE**
I did a lot of research on ways to make these matte liquid lipsticks work and I found a way! I will include a photo of how my lips looked when using this method. The photo was taken after about an hour of wear. The method was - exfoliate your lips the night before and day of when wearing this liquid lipstick. You can make your own with coconut oil and sugar or even use your tooth brush gently. Then apply a lip balm as your base, you don't want one too moisturising or it won't dry matte, EOS lip balms work amazingly for this. After a few minutes apply the liquid lipstick and it still dries matte but not as drying as usual.

8. Stila Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick

Everyone loves the shade Patina so I went and got Patina not taking into account my skin tone. Unfortunately I do not like it on myself at all unless I am (rarely) in the mood for a darker lip. For some reason it dries dark on me and clashes with my complexion, which upsets me because I should have gone with the nude lol. I either lost the photo of me wearing this one or didn't even take one because that is how much I dislike the shade. Putting the colour aside the formula isn't too bad.

It has a thick, creamy consistency and one dip of the applicator is more than enough to cover your upper and bottom lip. A little bit goes a long way and it is very fast drying. The feel it has on the lips is very similar to the Fiinx liquid lipsticks so if you are looking to save $ I would go with them (plus Fiinx are cruelty free, Stila isn't).

Once the liquid lipstick has dried it is noticeable on the lips especially if you smile. A major bonus is that it doesn't settle into fine lines on your lips. This one is so far down in my list because of the shade and not being cruelty free.

7.  Colourpop Ultra Satin Lip

This liquid lipstick option does not dry matte so it transfers a lot. When applying it is very slippery making it hard to stay in the lines of your lips so I definitely recommend using a lip liner first. Once applied it has a gloss-like feeling on the lips but not sticky whatsoever.

By the 3 hour mark this was all over my teeth! Luckily only my mum noticed but it was bad. After that I blotted it with a tissue because I didn't want any more of it on my teeth for when I went to work. This made it more matte and I feel like the longer you wear this product the better it looks. It lasted throughout lunch and barely wore off.

After 6 hours of wear it was completely gone. This liquid lip lasts well for 5 hours but not any longer for me personally. It is comfortable but a little messy.

6. Australis Velourlips Matte Lip Cream

Please excuse the images as I was doing a face mask the day I tested this liquid lippie out. Anyway into the review! 

When I was applying this liquid lipstick I noticed it being a little patchy and streaky, I think this is because it is such a bold, fluro type of pink shade not that my photo shows it for some reason. Once you build it up it is completely fine and even. This one is also fast drying but gives you the opportunity to add more layers without flaking off. It smells good too which is a bonus!

This one lasted most of the day pretty well, I was impressed. After two hours and a meal later it was slightly flaking off on the inner rim but other than that it held up well. 5 hours later is when I really noticed the differences. The edges as you can see were kind of bleeding and looked blurred (no longer sharp/precise edges) however I did have a face mask on and ended up showering in this liquid lipstick. It was very comfortable to wear but it did start to ball up at the 5 hour mark. I was pretty impressed with this one and I would purchase it in other shades.

5. MODE Matte Lip Cream

Please excuse the little symbol on my lips above, I have no idea why that is there when its not on the original image, anyway moving on to the review. This is cheapest one of them all and is a hidden gem so if you can get your hands on it I think its 100% worth the money ($3).

This liquid lipstick has a thick, opaque and creamy formula because of this it does take a while to dry - about 10 minutes. Initially it does feel sticky on your lips but only when you purposely press your lips together. When it has dried down completely there is no transfer and it doesn't feel drying whatsoever.

You will notice with my first update that the inner rim of my bottom lip was starting to wear off but not as badly as a few of the others in this review. By this time it was not sticky at all like I mentioned previously. After 6 or so hours the top lip was still in great condition, it was just the bottom lip that was continuing to wear off. I actually forgot I was wearing this one throughout the day and only realised I had it on when I looked at myself in the mirror.

4. NYX Liquid Suede

Unlike the Colourpop satin lip I find the NYX suedes dry down to more of a matte finish but very comfortable. It does leave a slight tacky feeling to your lips and settles into fine lines (this is only noticeable up close).

After one meal (shown above) majority of the colour has worn off on the bottom lip, the shade I tested out was close to my lip colour so it looks more forgiving. I do find the longer you wear this product the better it looks and feels. It loses its tacky feeling and transfers a lot less. You will also be able to see that it slightly flakes but my lips were very dry this day.

The above after image was taken 3 hours after wear.

3. FiinxUk Matte Lip Cream

This liquid lipstick won the award of the most long-wearing out of them all! It has a creamy formula however once applied and dried you can feel it on your lips. This isn't necessarily a bad thing as it isn't a drying feeling its more like you are aware that you have something on and you will be mindful of it when you eat/drink. Initially its not one of those liquid lipsticks that you forget you are even wearing.

In saying that, throughout the day I actually did forget I was wearing it hence the very late update photo. At this time I only had a slight "white line" on the inner rim of my lips, other than that it looked pretty much the same even after one meal and water.

By 7pm, 2L of water and two meals later it started to look a little worn off on the inside. It was also a little difficult to remove with micellar water but coconut oil or an oil based cleanser works best. I was very impressed with the longevity and it would be perfect for a night out!

2. 3ina Longwear Lipstick

I completely forgot to take a before photo with this one as I had a very busy day the day I wore it. 

The 3ina longwear lipstick has a very thin consistency which makes it a little hard to ensure sharp edges to your lips. I recommend wearing this one with lip liner to ease the application. Other than that it dries fast, isn't tight feeling on the lips, in fact it feels like nothing is on, and doesn't settle too badly into fine lines.

This liquid lipstick wore off after a meal and continuous drinking however because of the consistency you are able to reapply without it going patchy or flaking. You will notice in this review that personally longevity isn't what i'm after, comfort is.

1. The Balm Long Lasting Liquid Lipstick

Upon application this liquid lipstick feels very fresh and minty on the lips. It has a thin yet pigmented consistency which (unlike a few others) can be layered. It does take awhile to completely dry however once it does it does not leave your lips feeling tight at all. Also, compared to the other liquid lipsticks I tried this doesn't emphasise the lines on my lips too badly. This one slightly transfers however once completely dried it doesn't.

Although this isn't the longest lasting (depends what you eat alters the wear-time) as you can tell from the pictures it is still my favourite simply because it is the most comfortable liquid matte lip I have ever tried and sat the nicest on my lips. It never felt drying, it didn't ball up and I love that you can reapply or layer it. I love how it made my lips look too! 

If you want something that will last throughout the day and meals then the one by FiinxUk is a better option - for comfort definitely this one.

I can't find the link for purchasing this from Target but definitely check out your local target because its most affordable there. Its $41 at Sephora pretty sure and I only paid $20 at Target! So search before you buy!!

Hybrid option - NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream
If you like the look of matte lips without the tight/dry feeling these are a great option. They aren't as matte as your traditional liquid lipsticks but they last a fair amount of time.

Disclaimer - Please remember these are ordered based off my own experience and personal preferences. You may prefer some over others and I understand that people have different experiences with liquid lipsticks.