ColourPop’s latest Disney collaboration first launched in mid-March to coincide with the planned theatrical release of the live-action Mulan film. On launch day, I bought up the Pressed Powder Palette and Crème Lux Lipstick from the collection before they sold out…and then got an email from ColourPop that all orders were on hold due to the closure of their processing and distribution centers as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. When orders began shipping again in May, I anxiously awaited the arrival of the Mulan eyeshadow palette and lipstick I had been thinking about for two months. After all the hype and delay, let’s get down to business (to defeat the Huns! Anyone else know the movie well enough to sing along with me?)
Price: Shadow Palette $22, Crème Lux Lipstick $9
Find them HERE and HERE (respectively)
Tested June 2020
I was nine years old when Disney’s animated Mulan was released, and I quickly fell in love with it. I still know the words to all the songs, and it was the perfect storm of girl power and comedy that also reflected themes of family, honor and defying expectations to, you know, save the Emperor and all of China. I was already excited about the live-action remake, and then I heard ColourPop was doing a Mulan collaboration with Disney. I couldn’t be more in.
If money were no object, I would absolutely have purchased the whole Mulan collection. There’s a new Jasmine face milk, a sparkly gloss and a red liquid lip, two blushes, a lip mask and even a fan, but I only bought the two items I thought I would get the most use out of: the 15-pan Pressed Powder Palette and the Crème Lux Lipstick in Hua Mulan.
I think the packaging of the eyeshadow palette and lipstick is probably my favorite of all the ColourPop makeup I own. The eyeshadow palette has a beautiful red exterior with embossed gold accents and the inner cover has an image of warrior Mulan and gold lettering that reads “Loyal” “Brave” and “True.”
The shades in the shadow palette are a mix of mattes, metallics and foils in primarily warm tones, although there are definitely a few cooler tones too, like Imperial, Warrior, Like A Girl and True.
Lots of browns here, with two really unique reds: Loyal, a fire red-orange shimmer and Undefeated, a metallic red that leans maroon. In general, however, if you like brown eyeshadows and glitter, chances are you’ll also like this palette. I love it a lot.
All the eye looks in this post were created using only this palette. I can do easy, everyday looks using Imperial or Fighter in the crease and a swipe of Warrior across the lid, or amp up the fun with the glittery Like A Girl pressed all over, as I did below.
At first, I was a little unsure about how to incorporate the red shades into something that felt wearable for me. I was pleasantly surprised by how easy it was to use them with the brown shades as a base. For example, I used Honor in the crease, applied Undefeated at the outer corner, and then brushed Warrior from the inner corner of the eye across most of the lid and tapped the tiniest bit of Strike A Match just at the center near the lash line to create this look.
Defiant, a black shimmer, really called to me as a liner shade, so I used it to create winged liner.
I first applied Honor all over the lid and then used a thin, flat eyeshadow brush to press True, the darkest brown, into the lash line to try to cover up the blonde roots of my lashes and create a tightline. Next, I wet a small eyeshadow brush, dipped into Defiant and drew it across the lash line, winging out the end quite a bit. I noticed that in tapping the excess off my brush before applying (which I almost always do with dark shades), I lost most of the glitter and ended up with a more generic matte black, which is a little disappointing.
To finish off the look, I applied a little bit of Strike A Match in the inner corner and then wished I could hit “undo” because I thought it looked a little too stark and glittery with this particular look. I feel like a good inner corner highlight shade is what’s missing from this palette on the whole.
The formula of these shadows is mostly a home run, although Strike A Match can be a little chunky. As in most situations, the glittery shades are best applied using your fingertip instead of a brush. The mattes are incredibly blendable and super pigmented, the foil glitters are highly reflective and the metallics are smooth and buttery. I did have a lot of powder kick back when I tapped my brushes into the pans, and there was quite a bit of fallout during application, especially with the darker colors. I did my eyeshadow before my face makeup when testing this palette so that it was easier to clean up under the eyes.
During these days of wearing masks in public, playing up the eyes has been a great way for me to still have fun with makeup while I’m not wearing much else on the face. The Mulan eyeshadow palette has made it possible for me to do a lot of different things with its 15 shades, and I’m really happy with its quality and versatility.
When I do wear lip color now (one easy way to look a little more awake and put together on a Zoom call!), I want something just like the Crème Lux Lipstick in Hua Mulan. I would call this a warm mauve, and I think it’s a gorgeous shade to wear on a day-to-day basis. It brightens my face, defines my lips, and the bullet is even shaped like the blade of Mulan’s sword!
In terms of wear, the lipstick loses some of its creamy finish after a couple of hours. It did last through an entire beverage that I drank with a straw, but not through eating lunch. For $9, this is an impressively good lipstick. I love the natural-looking shade, the pointed shape of the bullet makes defining the cupid’s bow easy, and the metallic red packaging is pretty fierce.
Hua Mulan also pairs so well with the shades in the eyeshadow palette. All the times I applied it while also wearing the eyeshadow, I was really happy with my overall look. The lipstick pulls from the warm tones in the palette, but is neutral enough that I could probably wear it with almost anything.
At the time that I write this, I’m sorry to report that the Mulan collection is sold out on the ColourPop website. I hope it comes back in stock soon because if you can get your hands on this shadow palette and lipstick, do it! Disney’s new Mulan film is supposed to come out in late July, and while I won’t be going into a traditional movie theatre any time soon (coronavirus hasn’t gone away, after all!), there’s a drive-in theatre nearby. I plan on being there, wearing this eyeshadow palette and lipstick, in honor of my favorite Disney warrior.
Leave a Reply