Ah, Colourpop. I remember the time when you first splashed on the scene with your array of Super Shock Eyeshadows, Lippie Stixes, Super Shock Highlighters, etc. And they were all ridiculously cheap.

And you hit the scene at the start of MAC’s death-by-a-thousand-cuts by MakeupGeek over eyeshadow (at least, that’s how I saw the whole thing go down). You also offered an array of colors that were somewhat badly needed (and I do mean this subjectively) at a time when neutrals were all the rage. And MAC eyeshadow was still comparably expensive.

Then, slowly but surely, you built a sizable audience, until a quip nearly sent you on a meteor crash course – the infamous Kylie’s-lip-kits-are-made-by-Colourpop’s-manufacturers. This set the whole beauty scene ablaze with endless whispers and pieces about the reality of markups, private labels, and denials by the Kardashian-Jenner camp in their (somewhat futile) attempt to protect their brand.

And once you finally found your footing, Colourpop,  that’s when you slowly started leaning more towards neutrals. Don’t get it twisted – you still have colorful offerings in your products, but your neutral palettes are front and center when one goes to your website (unless you have an ongoing collab).

And then… the collabs. Holy shit, the collabs. One after another, with barely any breathing room between. Somehow, to me, you morphed into the fast fashion equivalent for makeup.

At some point, one of us peaked. The other grew up. Every now and then, I like to pop in to see what offerings you have. And then I either close the browser window or open another tab and close yours.

Eventually, the rat race stops being fun.