Tuesday 6 October 2015

On cream contouring: contouring kits and alternative products


Cover FX Contour Kit in P Light-Medium

Today I'm going to review and compare cream contour products that are in my possession with only two of them being contour sets in the strict sense and the remaining products were adapted by me to serve the purpose.

Cover FX Contour Kit in P Light-Medium

The first one is probably the most famous of them all. I was hesitating between a cream contour kit from Anastasia Beverly Hills and this Cover FX Contour Kit, but since I had a powder contour set by Anastasia I thought I'd give the one by Cover FX a go. 
What needs to be said about this product is that I had a very hard time picking my shade and I'm still not sure whether I was right, but there was no better choice for fair cool skin tone. I went for P Light-Medium as the bronzers seemed the coolest of them all. 
Another thing that I need to mention is that this set is made up from Cover FX cream foundations, which will have some consequences upon performance.

Cover FX Contour Kit in P Light-Medium

1. P10 is a very fair shade which is a very good highlight for fair skin tones. It really does show on pale skin, which is quite rare.
2.Moonlight is a champagne shimmery shade which I do appreciate and use on nights out
3. P50 is a slightly cool-toned shade which is barely darker than my skin tone after summer.
4. P70 is a total mistake. This is supposed to be a shade that would imitate shadows, but it's a cool-toned foundation shade, just a bit darker than the previous one. This is not a contour shade at all.

I'm not a fan of this palette. The bright sides are fair, near white highlighter and a shimmery one as well, but the bronzer and contour shades are terrible. Shade 3 doesn't offer any serious colour payoff and bear in mind that this is a thick and heavy cream foundation, which means that building up results in a cake face instantly. And shade 4 is no good to contour at all.

On my oily skin these cause unnecessary product build-up and offer no oil control. 
My advice is choose a different shade and don't pick this up if you have oily skin.


Smashbox Step-by-Step Contour Stick Trio

The second set is actually one of my favourites here. The Smashbox Step-by Step Contour Stick Trio is such an underestimated product. This consists of 3 pencils which have cream-to-powder formula, are nicely pigmented and blend incredibly well without feeling heavy and tacky. 

Smashbox Step-by-Step Contour Stick Trio

The highlight shade is a nice light beige, though fair skins may find it not light enough to show on their skin. On mine it does highlight, but with no theatrical effect.
The bronze shade is all right, but I rarely use it. I usually don't have enough time to contour, highlight and bronze my face. I also find that bronsers interfere with my blush, so I avoid piling up products.
The contour shade is my favourite out of the whole bunch. It's a taupeish brown, but doesn't look muddy or dirty on my skin. It blends easily with fingers or a small brush, offering a daytime-appropriate subtle contour. but you may build it up if you want.

Smashbox Step-by-Step Contour Stick Trio

These three pencils are travel-friendly, hardly need any tools to apply, they aren't heavy, so they don't add texture to the skin. 

L'Oreal True MAtch Concealer in N1-2-3 and N 6-7-8

The next set is of my own making and it consists of 2 L'Oreal True Match concealers in N 1-2-3 for highlight and N 6-7-8 to contour.
The matte highlight shade is really light and would satisfy even the palest of pale, while the one I meant for contour is too warm for that purpose, but makes a very nice bronzer. This duo is an affordable alternative to the Smashbox kit, though a good contour shade will be hard to find among concealers and foundations. 

L'Oreal True MAtch Concealer in N1-2-3 and N 6-7-8

Nars Matte Multiple in Altai is a versatile product that can serve as a contour and a bronzer.

Nars Matte Multiple in Altai

This is a chubby twist-up product that is really easy to use and blend, offers a matte, cream-to-powder finish that doesn't disturb my make-up or make my skin more oily.

Nars Matte Multiple in Altai

The shade is rather cool-toned, but not ashy or muddy, matches my complexion well and can be used to contour and warm up my complexion in a very natural way. This can be used on the lips as well and while when I bought this product it never crossed my mind to put this on my lips, now that the '90s are back, I feel I might actually use it this way.

Nars Matte Multiple in Altai

The next item is a concealer for fair skin. Naked Skin Concealer in Light Warm is one of the best concealers on the market, but I hardly ever use it cause it's too drying for my ageing undereye area, that's why I've put it to another use.

Naked Skin Concealer in Light Warm

This high coverage, yet non-oily and long-lasting liquid concealer looks great on my cheek bones, down my nose and my jawline. This kind of product also helps adjust the shade of foundation which is too dark.

Naked Skin Concealer in Light Warm

And finally, the most unusual product in this selection, which is a matte MAC lipstick in Stone. 

MAC lipstick in Stone

Although I adore the shade, I find it unwearable on my lips. However, it makes a lovely, natural, yet well-defined contour. Strangely enough, this lipstick blends very well on my cheeks and being a matte one doesn't  look greasy. I apply it directly onto my cheeks or heavily onto the back of my hand and then using a buffing brush onto my face.
This product is very definitely a contour, not a bronzer shade.

MAC lipstick in Stone


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