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ColourPop Hippo & Monster Super Shock Cheeks Reviews, Photos, Swatches

ColourPop Hippo Super Shock Cheek
ColourPop Hippo Super Shock Cheek

ColourPop Hippo Super Shock Cheek ($8.00 for 0.15 oz.) is described as a “cool-toned icy lavender.” It’s a cool-toned, pinkish-white with a pearly, violet sheen. It had mostly opaque coverage when applied with a fingertip, but the consistency was creamy and smooth, so it was easily blended down to sheer coverage, or you can apply with a brush to achieve less payoff initially. Very fair skin tones could easily wear this alone, but it’ll pop more on darker skin tones when paired with a blush (it looks amazing with Sticky Sweet). On me, this shade lasted for seven and a half hours before fading slightly, which does make it one of the shorter-wearing shades I’ve tried so far. ColourPop Monster (P, $8.00) is less cool-toned, pinker-based, though on my skin tone they appear more similar than not until I turn my cheek, then you get a stronger duochrome sheen out of Monster that’s a smoother, less frosted sheen. Makeup Geek First Love (P, $9.99) is darker, less shimmery. NARS New Order (P, $29.00) is darker. MAC Unconventional (LE, $21.00) is cooler-toned, darker, less shimmery. MAC Full of Joy (P, $21.00) is darker, cooler-toned, less shimmery. MAC Pearl Blossom (LE, $26.00) is warmer, slightly darker. See comparison swatches / compare dupes side-by-side.

ColourPop Monster Super Shock Cheek ($8.00 for 0.15 oz.) is described as a “light pink with highly opalescent duo chrome finish.” It’s a very subtle, pink-tinted white with pink to violet pearly sheen. The duochrome effect is visible, but of course, at angles, so it’s a chameleon of a shade that very much shifts as you move your face or different light sources enter the equation. It’s one of the more complex and interesting highlighters I’ve tried. Like Hippo, it becomes even more interesting when layered with blush, as it can change the way those appear in undertone. On me, this shade lasted for eight hours. ColourPop Hippo (P, $8.00) is cooler-toned, more shimmery. Giorgio Armani No. 08 (P, $59.00) is darker, pinker. MAC Pink Buttercream (LE, $30.00) is darker. MAC Pearl Blossom (LE, $26.00) is warmer. See comparison swatches / compare dupes side-by-side.

Hippo

PPermanent. $10.00.
A
A
9.5
Product
10
Pigmentation
9.5
Texture
8
Longevity
5
Application
93%
Total

Monster

PPermanent. $10.00.
A
A
10
Product
10
Pigmentation
10
Texture
8.5
Longevity
5
Application
97%
Total

See more photos & swatches!

ColourPop Hippo Super Shock Cheek
ColourPop Hippo Super Shock Cheek

ColourPop Hippo Super Shock Cheek
ColourPop Hippo Super Shock Cheek

ColourPop Hippo Super Shock Cheek
ColourPop Hippo Super Shock Cheek

ColourPop Hippo Super Shock Cheek
ColourPop Hippo Super Shock Cheek

ColourPop Hippo Super Shock Cheek
ColourPop Hippo Super Shock Cheek

ColourPop Monster Super Shock Cheek
ColourPop Monster Super Shock Cheek

ColourPop Monster Super Shock Cheek
ColourPop Monster Super Shock Cheek

ColourPop Monster Super Shock Cheek
ColourPop Monster Super Shock Cheek

ColourPop Monster Super Shock Cheek
ColourPop Monster Super Shock Cheek

ColourPop Monster Super Shock Cheek
ColourPop Monster Super Shock Cheek

Makeup Look
On face:
  • Guerlain Parure Gold Foundation
  • Urban Decay Naked Loose Setting Powder
On eyes:
  • Charlotte Tilbury Norma Jean
  • Marie Antoinette
  • Bette
  • Mona Lisa
  • Veruschka
  • and Cleopatra Eyes to Mesmerise Cream Eyeshadows
On lips:
  • Burberry Rose Blush (No. 89) Burberry Kisses Lip Colour

48 Comments

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Catherine Avatar

This is making it difficult to narrow down to 1 or 2 of their highlighters to purchase. They are all so nice!
You find them easier to work with versus their blushes?

Catherine Avatar

Interesting! I have one of their blushes I find that a duo-fibre brush works best. For me anyways.

What do you recommend for the application with these highlighters? Finger tips then blend out with a brush, or just a brush?

Nancy T Avatar

I gotta get my hands on Monster! It’s so complex and looks like it belongs to a HE brand instead of LE/DS! And I love that it can be sheered out, so hopefully it’ll work on me.

Celia Avatar

Beautiful on you! These are the two I reach for most often since I love layering the CP highlighters and mixing them together with Sticky Sweet is my favorite combo so far. I do wish Hippo was more intensely lavender for personal selfish preference and so that it pulled a bit more purple on darker skin tones, but mixing it with Sticky Sweet or a purple blush gives an awesome effect on dark skin. Monster is my top favorite from the highlighter line so far because it is so unique and gives the most interesting duochrome IRL (more of a multichrome really). These two in particular adapt so interestingly to any skin tone and are extra fun for layering.

Nicole Avatar

Ohhh! I love ’em both..you know that! I shied away form these two in my order last week afraid they may be too pale for me. Now that you have reviewed them and they are good to go, they are going to be mine asap. I am dying for Monster though the most! Thanks for reviewing these!

Elizabeth Avatar

Man, the swatch of monster didn’t impress me too much, and I thought my wallet was going to be safe… NOPE. It’s so gorgeous and I can’t wait to have it, especially now you’ve given it a good review. What are some other good Colourpop things to start out with? Any shade recommendations?

Carrie Avatar

I couldn’t decide between Hippo or Monster but ultimately went with Hippo because I have a thing for lavender blushes, now I’m kind of wishing I’d gone for both! Next time 😉

mina Avatar

Hey Christine how do you think Monster will work well with brown skin (Nw43)?????
I’ve been stalking that shade since before the release date. I just do not want it to look ashy

Fran Avatar

I really like both of these! It’s so nice to see highlighters that are really light, and cool-toned, and wonderful that they perform so well. I don’t know how to choose between these two, might end up with both, probably with Sticky Sweet, too, which I think is different enough from IT Magical in Mauve to justify it… I see a Colour Pop order in my near future. I can just never narrow down my eyeshadow selection to a reasonable number of shades when I start filling my cart on their site, lol. I want to try to go for the best-performing blues, greens, and purples, with a few cool neutrals (mainly taupe and silver) thrown in… that already sounds like a lot, doesn’t it? Maybe I should focus on one color per month…

quartzpebble Avatar

These look fantastic! I’m not sure whether I’d use a highlighter enough, though–how do these compare to some of the ColourPop light/pearlescent eyeshadows you’ve tried?

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