ColourPop The Knockout Pressed Powder Face Duo Review, Photos, Swatches
The Knockout
ColourPop The Knockout Pressed Powder Face Duo ($16.00 for 0.52 oz.) features two large face powders–a blush and highlighter–housed in a cardboard palette with an interior mirror. The blush formula is supposed to have “long-wear” with a “soft” and “silky” feel that “can be layered for your desired intensity.” The highlighter formula is supposed to have “high-shine” with a “buttery-soft” feel that has “high colour intensity.” The two shades coordinated well with each other, and despite the difference in textures, actually layered nicely.
In general, ColourPop’s powder blush formula is thinner and can feel a little dusty or powdery, depending on the shade, and has sheerer, more buildable coverage, while the powder highlighter formula is much denser, almost to the point where a dense brush is required to pick up a modicum of product. The upside is the denser quality of the highlighter makes it harder to overdo it from the get-go, so the highlighter has a more buildable glow. I wish their blushes had more of the substance that their matte eyeshadows have, which would give them better adherence and overall coverage.
The Knockout
LELimited Edition. $16.00.
Excuse My French
Excuse My French is a bright, medium orange with warm undertones and a matte finish. It had medium color payoff that was buildable to semi-opaque coverage. The consistency was thin, a little chalky to the touch, and somewhat powdery in the pan. While the texture left something to be desired, it looked a lot better applied–not at all dry. The powder blended out nicely and lasted for eight and a half hours on me.
FURTHER READING: Formula Overview for details on general performance and characteristics (like scent).
Top Dupes
- Tarte Fortunate (LE, $29.00) is lighter (95% similar).
- NARS Luster (P, $30.00) is less shimmery (95% similar).
- Illamasqua Lover (P, $26.00) is lighter (90% similar).
- ColourPop She Devil (LE, $8.00) is warmer (95% similar).
- Tarte Fame (LE, $29.00) is darker, cooler (95% similar).
- Anastasia Miami (PiP, ) is more shimmery (95% similar).
- YSL Rebelle (7) (P, $47.00) is lighter, warmer (90% similar).
- MAC That's Peachy (LE, $30.00) is more shimmery, lighter (90% similar).
- ColourPop Bonus (DC, $8.00) is more shimmery, darker, brighter (90% similar).
- Melt Cosmetics Cali Dream (P, $22.00) is darker, cooler (90% similar).
Formula Overview
$12.00/0.28 oz. - $42.86 Per Ounce
The formula is supposed to go on "smoothly" and have a "natural and healthy flush" that has "long wear" and "can be layered to your desired intensity." It is a lightly to moderately powdery powder blush with semi-sheer to semi-opaque, buildable color payoff. The consistency has a drier, thinner feel and though it feels silky to the touch, I found it the type of powder blush can be tricky to blend out evenly on the skin, depending on one's skin type or base preferences. The drier the skin/base, the better the formula would blend, but any natural oils or slip caused the blush to go on unevenly and was difficult to blend out. The wear was between seven and eight hours on me on average.
Browse all of our ColourPop Pressed Powder Blush swatches.
Ingredients
TALC, BORON NITRIDE, OCTYLDODECYL STEAROYL STEARATE, POLYETHYLENE, ZINC STEARATE, DIMETHICONE, PTFE, PHENOXYETHANOL, CAPRYLYL GLYCOL, OCTOCRYLENE, ETHYLHEXYLGLYCERIN, HEXYLENE GLYCOL, IRON OXIDES (CI 77491, CI 77492), MICA (CI 77019), TITANIUM DIOXIDE (CI 77891).
Disclaimer: Ingredient lists are as available by the brand (or retailer) at the time of publishing. Please always check product packaging, if it exists, for the ingredient list applicable to the product you're purchasing, or the brand or retailer's website for the most up-to-date ingredient list.
Look Using this Product
Excuse My French
LELimited Edition. $12.00.
Like to Watch
Like to Watch is bright, medium gold with strong, warm orange undertones and a frosted finish. It had great pigmentation that applied evenly and smoothly to the skin. The texture was dense like the other powder highlighters in the ColourPop face duos, but it wasn’t as dense, so it was more versatile and easier to use with a variety of brushes. This shade wore well for eight and a half hours on me before fading.
FURTHER READING: Formula Overview for details on general performance and characteristics (like scent).
Top Dupes
- Bobbi Brown Nectar Glow (LE, $48.00) is more muted (95% similar).
- Shiseido Solar Haze (05) (P, $29.00) is more muted (95% similar).
- Becca Topaz Flashes Gilt (LE, $34.00) is darker, cooler (90% similar).
- Sephora Dawn (P, $16.00) is darker, warmer (95% similar).
- Milani Sunglow (P, $10.00) is cooler (90% similar).
- Becca Dreamsicle (LE, $38.00) is darker, warmer (90% similar).
- MAC TheBlonds (LE, $41.00) is less shimmery, darker, cooler (90% similar).
- The Estee Edit 14K Glow (LE, ) is darker (90% similar).
- Charlotte Tilbury Lovegasm Highlight (LE, ) is cooler (90% similar).
- Makeup Geek Nightlight (LE, $20.00) is darker (90% similar).
Formula Overview
$12.00/0.21 oz. - $57.14 Per Ounce
The powder highlighter is supposed to have a "high-shine" finish with "high colour intensity." In general, ColourPop's pressed highlighter powders have a smooth, moderately dense texture that was soft enough to be picked up easily by a brush but not kick up any powder in the pan. The formula was semi-opaque to opaque but easily sheered out for less shine and coverage if desired. There were a few shades within the range that emphasized my skin's natural texture slightly but most did not. The wear ranged from seven and a half hours to nine hours.
Browse all of our ColourPop Pressed Powder Highlighter swatches.
Ingredients
ZINC STEARATE, DIMETHICONE, PTFE, CAPRYLIC/CAPRIC TRIGLYCERIDE, BORON NITRIDE, SYNTHETIC FLUORPHLOGOPITE, SILICA, HDI/TRIMETHYLOL HEXYLLACTONE CROSSPOLYMER, PHENOXYETHANOL, DIMETHICONOL, CAPRYLYL GLYCOL, ETHYLHEXYLGLYCERIN, HEXYLENE GLYCOL, TIN OXIDE, IRON OXIDES (CI 77491), MICA (CI 77019), RED 7 LAKE (CI 15850), TITANIUM DIOXIDE (CI 77891).
Disclaimer: Ingredient lists are as available by the brand (or retailer) at the time of publishing. Please always check product packaging, if it exists, for the ingredient list applicable to the product you're purchasing, or the brand or retailer's website for the most up-to-date ingredient list.
I got this set, and the blush is really hard, will need a dense brush for sure, but the color is pretty. The highlighter is stunning!! It’s yellow gold and orange duo chrome, like a gorgeous sunset or fireball. And the pans are huge, will last me a lifetime. Wish the blush was a bit better formula, but overall, I’m really happy with the colors, will be gorgeous during summer time
I hope CP will do individual blushes/highlighters – I definitely like the highlighter formula a lot more!
I ordered two of the pressed face duos from this collection, and I’m really pleased with them. I really like them, and not that the reviews for them are bad, but I probably would have been scared off by the sheer and powdery descriptions. The blushes ARE definitely sheer and powdery, but I really like them. Love the pairing with a coordinating highlighter, love the packaging, I just like them all around. I really hope to continue to see more of these this year.
Happy to hear you’re enjoying them! I don’t think that sheer is, particularly with blush – plenty of people will find that easier to work, but it can depend on skin tone + your technique!
I totally agree – they are better than they initially seem and I really like mine too! The pigmentation is good, they’re a cinch to apply and layer beautifully. Hard to go wrong with!
I mean, I love NARS but sometimes I have to be careful not to pick up too much product, use the right brush, buff colour in, blend out the edges or whatever but these are just no fuss, easy to use and the pan sizes are huge… I would love to see more mauve, berry and purple tones in this format 🙂
Very pretty but way too warm for me. I’ve got my eye on the new summer collection from NARS. Luckily, I’ve only got one thing for his spring collection but summer looks like it’s going to be a wallet buster for me.
Hope the NARS stuff does well!
I’m not sure if I missed it, but have you posted your review of the shadows you used in your eye look in this review Christine?
Thank you : )
Ashley
Hi Ashley,
There are a lot of shades on the eyes, so I can’t recall if all of the shades have been posted at this time!
I adore that highlight shade!!! it’s so stunning!!!
It is!
How lovely! I didn’t think I needed this duo because of having MAC Cheek Pollen and a bunch of golden hued highlights, but wow! I just might??
It is a pretty duo!
This looks perfect for those of us that love peach blushes. That highlighter is phenomenal looking.
The highlighter was lovely!
Please don’t see this as critical…on my iPad the blush pulls a tad pink. I like straight up orange. Think bite clementine over blood orange or Nars timanfayo. and I see the pink in UD Bang blush, iirc, the name, that is. Does anyone else see the pink in the blush? The highlight is wonderful. If I get one, this will be it….or wait. It’d be nice if CP did a plummy mauve with a silvery, even bluish highlight.
These are a tad too orange for me as a blush but might work well for the peachier eyeshadows I’ve been looking for. Very nice to see such consistency in good products from Colourpop.
Did you notice that on the sleeve of this cheek duo it’s states the product contains 8.0g/0.28oz but behind the initial palette it states it contains 7.5g/0.26oz per powder item, like what is one to believe? This has been happening a lot with their pressed eyeshadows. I bought the shade “Locked & Loaded”, the website states it contains 1.5g/0.05oz of product, when I received the shadow the sleeve states it contains 1.2g/0.04oz of product and when you finally turn the eyeshadow around it’s only 1.0g/0.35oz like what’s up with all this? I understand $5 for an eyeshadow is affordable, but I still feel jipped.
I did notice that! Recent eyeshadows showed 0.05 oz. on the back of them!
Recent, yes but NOT all because I ordered a backup of “Locked & Loaded” and the same happened. I also purchased “Made To Last” and the same thing happened as far as product discrepancy. A week later when they were having Free Shipping on all orders I also bought “Making Moves” and that eyeshadow actually did contain 1.5g/0.0.05oz of product which still baffles me TBH.
I wonder if there’s a mislabeling error or whether there are really inconsistencies in weights! MAC’s Veluxe Pearl finish is 0.04 oz. whereas most are 0.05 oz.