Maybe it’s just me, but I feel like hardly a week goes by without Colourpop launching a new palette. The nonstop parade of eyeshadow collections means I tend to skip the new releases, cuz let’s be honest, at this point it’s probably nothing we haven’t seen before. But when I saw Colourpop’s new Garden Variety palette, I thought, now here’s something interesting.
- Colourpop Garden Variety Palette Overview
- Colourpop Garden Variety Palette Review
- Cruelty-Free and Vegan Status
- Where to Buy the Colorpop Garden Variety Palette
- Final Thoughts
Colourpop Garden Variety Palette Overview
The Colourpop Garden Variety palette is an 15 color eyeshadow palette that retails for $20. The shadows are smaller than the standard Colourpop singles and there’s a total of 0.6 oz of product.
The shadows come in a slim cardboard palette with a magnetic closure and embossed letters on the floral background. The Garden Variety palette is limited edition, as is the rest of the collection.
Colourpop Garden Variety Palette Review
Color Story
When I looked at the palette I see three distinct color schemes. There are some earthy tones like warm browns and a couple pops of green. Then there’s a trio of orchid colored shadows. And finally, there’s a selection of peachy shades.
I think they did a good job of creating a complete palette because there’s a range of matte and shimmers, and light to dark shades.
I also like that there are enough staple neutrals to act as a base, and you can take the look in several different directions from there.
The palette could also create a fairly colorful look if you wanted to mix the greens with the purples. I think if you wanted to dip your toe in color this would be a good option because none of the shades are outrageously bright.
The color scheme is overall pretty warm so if you prefer cooler tones this probably wouldn’t be for you.
Formula
So with all praise I’ve got for the shade selection, it was pretty disappointing to discover that the quality of the shadows wasn’t all there.
I don’t really have any complaints about the matte shadows, they all seem fairly consistent with the rest of Colourpop’s mattes. The deeper shades in particular performed very well, which is surprising because deep mattes can sometimes be the hardest shades to properly execute.
The two shades labeled Succa 4 U, and Clay Day are essentially matte shades with loose silver particles. The sparkle doesn’t really add anything because it’s too scattered to create a reflective finish. I feel like they could have just left the shimmer out and we’d have two perfectly good crease shades in beautiful tones of mauve and plum.
The real issue I had was with the shimmer shades, as well as the inclusion of one Supershock shade.
The shade labeled Wavelength had a softer texture than the rest of the shadows but the color intensity wasn’t bad if you packed it on.
The rest of the shimmer shades just seemed patchy and uneven in pigmentation. I guess you could build them up somewhat but the texture was kind of crumbly. Overall the pigmentation was just more sheer than I would have liked and the shadows did not apply smoothly.
As far as the shade called Don’t Leaf (can’t fault them for the names) is concerned, it’s definitely got the texture of a Supershock shadow, but again is just more sheer and patchy then it should be. It’s not the same caliber as say, the Supershock shadow called Nillionaire if you’re familiar with it. This one is less opaque and a just a bit flakey.
Does it look nice on the eyes? Sure. Is it the type of texture I enjoy working with? That would be a no.
Swatches
Cruelty-Free and Vegan Status
Colourpop is a cruelty-free brand. Both they and their suppliers do not test ingredients or finished products on animals, and neither do any third-parties. They don’t sell their products in countries that require animal testing by law.
The Garden Variety palette is not vegan. It’s listed among the non vegan products on Colourpop’s website.
Where to Buy the Colourpop Garden Variety Palette
- Colourpop – Free shipping on orders over $30. International delivery available.
- Ulta – Free shipping on orders over $35
Final Thoughts
Well this was disappointing. They have a great, unique color scheme, one that tried I unsuccessfully to dupe. It’s just a real shame that the textures of the shimmers was so subpar. Other than that, the palette had everything going for it, compact packaging, affordable price tag, beautiful shades.
If you’re dead set on a combo of orchids, peach, and green in one palette and you don’t mind working with the shadows then you may like the Garden Variety. But if you want a quality formula of shadows then I’d suggest building your own palette using Colourpop’s singles. They have lots of similar shades that are smooth, pigmented, easy to blend, and long-wearing.
Pros
- Unique color story
- Good mix of matte and shimmer
- Good range of light, medium, dark
- Includes basic neutral shades
- Deeper mattes are pigmented and easy to blend
Cons
- Shimmer shades had weak pigmentation
- Shimmer shades had flaky, crumbly texture
- Includes a Supershock shadow that was sheer and could potentially dry out over time
- Two shades contained scattered silver sparkle which did not look consistent
Thanks for reading, feel free to leave a comment below.
Bye now,
