Welcome to Deep Reviews—your one-stop destination to discover the absolute best products and brands the beauty industry has to offer. The Who What Wear staffers you already know and trust will research, test, and review the market’s most sought-after and buzzed-about products to see which formulas (of the hundreds up for consideration) are truly worth your hard-earned money and attention. You can expect honest, completely uncensored feedback and no-BS recommendations our hard-to-please testers endorse without reservations.
The majority of our Deep Reviews will feature our editors’ honest, ultra-hot takes on entire product categories or multiple products from a particular beauty brand, but every so often, we’ll sprinkle in a special single-product format called Honestly, I Love It. As the name suggests, these reviews will hone in on one standout beauty formula our editors quite literally can’t shut up about. This time around, I’m highlighting the Colourpop Super Shock Eyeshadows ($7).
A few weeks ago during a very unproductive day, I decided to post a selfie to Instagram wearing a lot more makeup than I normally do. Let me just say people were hyped. The number of messages I received—from people I haven’t talked to in years, from people I don’t even know!—was honestly bonkers. Everyone demanded to know what I used and exactly how. I was completely flattered, but part of me felt like a fraud. Despite working in the beauty industry, I’m not a skilled makeup user. If anything, I’m a self-proclaimed lazy makeup wearer! My secret is that I rely on products that make it seem like I know what I’m doing, and the Colourpop Super Shock Eye Shadows ($7) do just that.
As someone who has never been adventurous with makeup (products in stick form are my jam), I appreciate how legit the Super Shock shadows look despite their application method. It’s all because of their unique texture. It almost feels like a creamy mousse, but it dries down to a powder finish, making it extremely easy to apply with your fingers or a brush. But to me, when brushes aren’t required, the stakes are lower.
Even though I’m only reviewing eight shades in this story, don’t be fooled—there are more than 85 total. Ritz is a beautiful sheer nude with glitter; Rose Garden is a metallic violet with a hint of blue; Rooftop Cocktails is a warm, rusty terra-cotta undertone with a bright blue-green duo chrome finish; Frog is an icy, silvery baby pink with rainbow glitter; Bae is a metallic eggplant with navy flecks; Ripple is a metallic, vivid violet with blue duo chrome; Tassel is a metallic, icy white; and Ladybird is a soft ivory with multidimensional silver glitter. Here, I used Ripple all over my lids and Ritz on the inner corners of my eyes.
I first used my fingers to apply Ripple, but I wanted the color to pop more, so I went back over with a brush, tapping the shadow in. I used a smaller brush to add an eye-light with Ritz. The color payoff was no joke, there was no creasing, and there really wasn’t any fallout after application even though the shades were ultra glittery.
The shadows come in four different finishes: matte, satin, ultra glitter, and ultra metallic. They have a unique, bouncy texture that delivers seriously bold color no matter the finish. I’m honestly surprised that the ultra-glitter shades are as pigmented as they are. Sure, they might not be as intense as the matte shades, but they work as an all-over lid shade or can even be used as an eye shadow topper or an inner-corner highlight. They’re versatile, so it’s really up to you and the desired effect you’re going for. Just know that they’re completely bulletproof and will not budge once they’re on. (This look lasted for more than 10 hours!)
What makes it unique: “The color payoff is amazing, they blend out seamlessly, and they don’t fade throughout the day. Even though Super Shock shadows are only $7, they feel and perform like they’re way more expensive. They have a super-unique cream-to-powder formula that makes them super easy to apply—I even use a finger sometimes. This also means they don’t cause any fallout that will ruin your makeup, and once they dry down, they will last.”
Favorite shade: “My favorite shade is a light blue called Dream Much! I actually wore it to the premiere of Selena Gomez’s documentary My Mind & Me.“
Most versatile shade: “Ladybird is the ultimate highlight shade that you can wear on its own or layer with other shadows. And it looks good on all skin tones!”
Perfect shade combo: “Summer is around the corner, and nothing is hotter than a shimmery, bronze eye. I would lay down DGAF from lid to crease and then pop a bit of Ladybird in the center of the eyelid and at the inner corner of the eye. Throw on two coats of mascara, and you’re good to go!”
Up next: “You’re Glowing” and Other Nice Compliments I Get When I Use This Highlighter