I am not ashamed to admit that I buy many
products based on the recommendations of other bloggers and YouTube reviews.
Some are good, some are OK, and some just don't work for me. Today, I want to
talk about one of those.
This is my Anastasia BH Contour Palette in the
shade Light to medium.
The instructions in the back suggest that we
can use the 6 powders to highlight and contour, »expertly emphasize our eyes,
cheekbones, nose and jawline«. The
product is cruelty free.
As you
can see, I've used it quite a lot. Unfortunately, I couldn't get it any nicer
for the photos, because the palette itself is made of a cardboard and similar
to some other palettes, you'll find that the matte outside will get pretty dirty,
and so will the inside. The palette uses a magnetic closing, which is quite
nice and practical. I also like the fact that the individual pans can be
replaced if needed.
The top row has 3 powder highlighting shades:
Vanilla, Banana, and Sand. Only Sand is shimmer while others are matte. The
bottom row has 3 powder contouring shades: Java, Fawn, and Havana. Basically, just
looking at this, it's a great palette with a nice variety of shades. Each of
the pans holds 3 grams of product.
This time, I won't blame the swatches on my
camera, but rather on the product itself. Both Vanilla and Sand have horrible
pigmentation. I can possibly use Sand as a highlighter, if I apply it in vast
quantities, but Vanilla doesn't show up on my skin at all.
The darker shades are all very soft and
creamy, which is nice, but being so soft means that they also produce quite a
lot of fallout. I was originally most excited about Fawn since it looks like a
great contour color for those with lighter skin, such as myself, but again, the
pigmentation is just not there. Java and Havana are much better in that
respect, but way too orange for me to contour with them.
Let's talk some dupes. First thing that came
to mind was comparing Banana from this Palette to Ben Nye Luxury Powder in
Banana.
They are pretty much the same thing, but the
Ben Nye product is a bit more softer and carries a lot more pigmentation.
The whole bottle of product (42 grams) costs
about 25 € but even if you use it every day all over your face, I doubt you
would be able to finish it off sooner than in a couple of years.
The other comparison that came to my mind was
Fawn vs. NYX Taupe. The latter is technically a blush, but I use it as a
contour shade.
Both of these powders have
developed a slight film over them which I tried to scrape of in order to get
something out of the products. I think I'll have to start waiting longer for
all my skincare to soak in before I start on my makeup. Between the
serum, moisturizer, and SPF my skin is probably still tacky when I start on
foundation. I probably have never noticed because I always use a
make-up sponge, but I am obviously applying a lot of that moisture onto
my face products.
These two are not as similar. Fawn is a bit
darker and earthy, while Taupe has a bit of a gray undertone and is a bit
rosier. Still, I don't see a massive difference when they are on my face.
Verdict: I am sorry I bought this palette. I
don't do heavy contouring, but if I want this to even show on my face, I have
to apply so much that it feels caked and I hate that feeling. In my opinion,
it's not worth the price. I paid 40 $ for this palette, but in Slovenia it
costs 74 € on Licila.si, so you're 12 € in for each of the 3-gram pans.
Alternative: remember when I talked about the
Makeup Revolution Ultra Sculpt and Contour Kit? For a fraction of a cost, go
get it and thank me later. I've been using it on and off for the past two
months and I love it, especially the bronzer and highlight (the blush scares me a bit, but if you like
darker blushes, you'll probably love this one as well).
Do you have this palette? What are your
experiences with it – does it work for you?
Until next time, stay beautiful!
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