Animal Crossing X ColourPop Collection Review

Price: $125.00

Full set available at ColourPop

Cruelty Free

(Some products in the collection are Vegan)

Brand Controversy(ies): ColourPop and music artist Becky G released their second collab collection called "Hola Chola." Another brand by the same name claimed that the artist stole its intellectual property. Hola Chola Inc., founded by Susana Gonzalez, sells clothing and accessories that commemorate the same 1990’s Mexican-American Chola culture that Becky G’s collection tributes. Complete with La Virgencita denim jackets and “Hola Chola” jewelry and accessories, Gonzalez even once met with Becky G’s team to discuss a collaboration. When Hola Chola Inc.’s followers saw Becky G’s collection, they called out Becky G for ripping Gonzalez off. The LA-based indie company began calling on fans to spread the word to their friends not to support Becky G’s collection. The collection was immediately removed pending legal action against Becky G and ColourPop.

In 2016, three deeper shades of the line’s Sculpting Stix are called “Yikes,” “Dume” and “Typo.” While the contouring products were released in June of that year, many consumers noticed — and addressed — the names in social media posts this week after an eagle-eyed tweeter noticed it. ColourPop has apologized and changed the names of the products in question. It hasn't happened again as far as I'm aware of.

ColourPop has been criticized heavily for how they have handled certain releases for highly coveted collections, such as the Sailor Moon Collaboration (which I covered extensively in my Facebook Live Video). Many fans have asked ColourPop to set the collection as a pre-order and to have a purchasing limit as Ebay scalpers have been purchasing a lot of the products and reselling them at a much higher markup.

Most Recently, ColourPop has rightfully come under fire for their latest Summer Collection, Sandstone in which the packaging design was culturally misappropriated and stolen from several Indigenous Tribes whom those patterns belong to. ColourPop has apologized and is working on repackaging the collection with a different design.

ColourPop is again facing criticism for releasing new products that cater almost exclusively to lighter skin tones and not being inclusive across the board, including the Animal Crossing X ColourPop Collection.

When I first heard of this collaboration and saw the sneak peek on Trendmood, I was so excited! Having Tom Nook and friends on a makeup collection was a great and fun idea to introduce Nintendo to makeup and to new fans! However, that excitement was only momentary because the minute the full collection came out...disappointed doesn't begin to cover it.

Let's get one item out of the way, the packaging is gorgeous and fun. ColourPop always excels at packaging, that is a fact and having Nintendo working with them on this collaboration was a smart move.

So right here, in terms of packaging, the score is 10/10.

However, the other items I need to talk about separately because there is a lot I need to say:

I will go ahead and start with the Lippie Stix Mini Lip Tint Bundle. (Vegan and Cruelty Free)

I was not expecting to love this item as much as I did! The Lippie Stix have a had a bad reputation for smelling weird. The bundle actually smells like the fruits on the island and its not a heavy smell either, it's light and pleasant! It's also one of the few items in the collection that caters to all skin tones! The tint is very lovely and the application is very smooth and comfortable to wear. I also appreciate that the pencil point allows me to be accurate in application which I love. My only complaint and this is probably me being nitpicky is that I wish the fruits were colored in and that the caps are a little hard to open, but that could also double as a good thing if you have this item in your pocket or bag for everyday use.

Other than that this bundle gets a solid 10/10.

Balloon Pop Super Shock Shadow - A sparkly, rose gold color. (Cruelty Free)

The Super Shock Shadows tend to be a hit or miss for a lot of people and understandably so. The formula can be hard to work with for a lot of people and can be really messy. Personally, I see the Super Shock shadows as creamy shadows due to the formula and its best to apply creamy shadows with your finger rather than a brush. This is also one of the few products that is inclusive to everyone. It is very shimmery, pigmented and I personally love the formula but I also know its not going to be a favorite for everyone. The item did arrive crushed in the pan but that was an easy fix for me.

This gets a 9 out of 10.

Glitterally Obsessed Glitter Gel in Bellionaire (Cruelty Free and Vegan)

I felt that this particular item wasn't necessary and preferred that the color was a Super Shock Shadow instead. However, the glitter gel was a smarter move. It is nice to apply and it is multidimensional and fun. My only issue with it is that glitter is harmful to environment and that maybe ColourPop can lead the way in using biodegradable glitter. Also, there are plenty of glitter gels in the market that have this similar color that can also be purchased from other brands. This is one of the last items in the Collection that is inclusive to all skin tones.

Other than that, I give this one a 9 out 10

Garden Wagon Pressed Powder Blush Set with Flower Tender and Flower Power (Cruelty Free, Flower Power is Cruelty Free and Vegan)

These blushes...oh these blushes. Don't get me wrong, they are beautiful. That's really the nicest thing I can say about them before I get to roasting them. While it does go on smoothly, it is not pigmented at all. If you look at the swatches I did you can see that these are not pigmented at all and will not work on deeper skin tones. If something does not show up on my pale white skin and I have to really work hard to make it work, then you know it really sucks. Flower Tender is really the only that I can maybe work with but Flower Power was so disappointing and it made my skin look really ruddy. I really wish ColourPop went the cream blush route because with a cream blush, you can really make it vibrant and bright and really blend it out to get the finish you want.

I rate this one a 5 out of 10

True Friends Shadow Palette Kit (all of them are Cruelty Free, What A Hoot and Nook Inc are Vegan)

I have mixed feelings about these palettes. On the one hand, I understand why the colors selected for these palettes were picked. On the other hand, I'm very frustrated. First of all, Pressed Glitters can not be used in the immediate eye area at all! This was a missed opportunity to use a Super Shock Shadow or a bright, vivid bold eye shadow color in its place that was pigmented, to go with the bright and tropical vibe of New Horizons.

Secondly, pastels are pretty but they do not work for everyone! I am pale as hell and pastels are not my friend, so I typically stay away from pastels. Nook Inc and What A Hoot are fine palettes because at the very least, they a have a darker matte shade in each, but the pressed glitters can't really be used at all except on the brow bone. The palette that disappointed me the most was Labelle of the Ball. How could the Able Sisters get screwed over like this?! The colors are pretty but, a blue shade could have really made this palette pop! It was also the hardest for me to work with because of the pastel shades.

The shadows are bendable and apply nicely but there is something I do need to address.

I have an hypothesis and this may very well be a controversial statement. Nintendo had a lot more control over the color selection than ColourPop did and Nintendo picked the colors that they felt would work for everyone (Nintendo is also notorious for having one of the most expensive licensing fees). I'm not saying that excluding deeper skin tones was on purpose on Nintendo's part but what I am suggesting is that Nintendo didn't consider all deeper skin tones when they partnered with ColourPop. When Eurocentric Beauty standards have been the default for centuries in all aspects of culture, unconsciously, they went with the default, which is something that needs to need to drastically change.

The eyeshadow palettes could have been inclusive and fantastic. Bright, Bold, with a sprinkle of pastel in the mix, instead we have...this.

Frustrated, disappointed doesn't even begin to cover how I feel about this. The only palettes that I can see working for everyone in this collection are Nook Inc and What A Hoot.

ColourPop, Nintendo, you need to do better.

I give this a 6 out of 10.

Pricing:

As far as pricing goes, this was one of the most expensive collaborations. The Disney collaborations were much more affordable than this one was! This collection was on the more expensive scale and the fault lies with Nintendo on that one.

The pricing gets a 3 out 10.

Before I give my overall score of the Full Collection, I want to say this. ColourPop really needs to be inclusive across the board. You can't claim to be inclusive in foundations when you are not inclusive elsewhere, that's not how it works at all! It's 2021, all makeup brands need to be inclusive across the board. There is no excuse anymore. Take a cue from Uoma Beauty and Juvia's Place! They are brands that cater to everyone and skin tone! ColourPop, you need to do better, black people deserve to have affordable, high quality makeup too!

My overall score for the collection is:

7 bags of bells out of 10

I really expected better from ColourPop and Nintendo on this one.

#nintendo, #colourpop, #animalcrossing, #makeupreview, #maricruzmakeupreviews