City Color Contour Effects Palette Review

Hi loves!!

How is life going? Mine has got super hectic lately because of awkward working hours in the office. Anyway, the product I am going to review here is a new found gem named City Color Contour Effects Palette. Contouring and highlighting are huge trends in the makeup world. Don’t we all envy the high cheekbones and chiseled nose and jawlines of the runway supermodels? It is easily achievable with little bit help of makeup techniques called contouring and highlighting. The basic idea is, you have to highlight the highest points of your face like tip of your nose; cheekbones etc. and darken the parts where shadow gets created naturally when light falls on your face like hollows of your cheeks, sides of your nose etc.

Normal foundation and powders can leave our face all flat. Here, contouring and highlighting come to our rescue as they add a dimension and warmth to our face! I was always fascinated to try my hands on contouring after seeing thousands of YouTube makeup tutorials, but what was holding me back was the unavailability of good, budget contouring products in the Indian market. Finally, I got this product as a part of my recent haul from the US and this is the most loved one from the lot! So, let’s get started with the review, shall we?

Product Description:
Achieve an ultra-defined and sculpted look with Contour Effects palette. True matte contour and bronzer shades work with all skin tones and blend to a seamless shadow. Add a glowing radiance and lift your cheekbones with the shimmer highlight. This velvety smooth formula is a pressed fine powder that allows for light application with serious color payoff. A beauty-blogger favorite, the Contour Effects palette is perfect for both beginners and professionals, and is ideal for all skin types. Includes an easy-to-follow instruction guide.

Net Weight:
3 x 0.159 oz. / 3 x 4.5 g

Price:
USD 13.99. I got it for USD 7 approximately.

My Experience with City Color Contour Effects Palette:

The product comes in a magnetized cardboard packaging – very sleek, lightweight, and simple yet functional. Once you open it, three round pans will be there inside containing three different products: one for contouring, bronzer and highlighter in the same order as you use them, but there is no mirror. Instead, there is a set of instructions and illustrations given on how to contour your face using these product, which is very helpful for beginners like me. I personally have no issues with the absence of mirror as I do not contour my face on the go. So far, so good!

Coming to the actual product, all three are really smooth, not at all chalky or powdery and super blend-able. The contour shade is the darkest of all with warm brown undertone, not ashy which is good for olive Indian skin! The bronze shade is lighter than the contour shade and warmer too. It is supposed to add warm, sun kissed glow to your skin. The highlighter shade is a pearly white one with little bit of shimmer and absolutely gorgeous. Both contour and bronzing shades are completely matte, exactly what I desired!

Now the tricky part is that all three powders are ridiculously pigmented and if they are given too much time to settle before blending, they might leave a harsh brown streak on your face. To avoid this, it is advisable to start with a light hand and gradually build the intensity up, if and as required. Again, I feel that the contour shade will look too harsh on pale skin and highlighting shade will look too white on darker skin. But, when the product is as fantastic as this, you can find other alternate ways to use them, right?

How I Like to Use This Palette:
Bronze is a perfect contouring shade for my NC30 complexion. Highlight is a perfect highlighter for cheekbones on top of blushes and brow bones. Sometimes, I use it alone on my T-zone for more natural look. Contour is a very pigmented matte brown shade, I use it to fill my eyebrows too with an angular brush and as a transition shadow for creating smokey eyes.

Overall, it is a fantastic budget product and I am happy with my purchase!

Pros of City Color Contour Effects Palette:

• Functional and travel friendly packaging
• All three pans contains huge amount of product which will last for quite some time
• Easy to blend
• All powders are fine and silky, not chalky at all
• Awesome pigmentation
• Helpful instruction set given
• Lasts for 6+ hours on my combination skin without primer
• Inexpensive

Cons of City Color Contour Effects Palette:

• Does not include a mirror which makes touch ups difficult
• Not available in India

Would I Repurchase/Recommend City Color Contour Effects Palette?
Highly recommended!! Get it if you can lay your hands on it. You won’t regret! This single pan will last me really long since the amount is huge and I do not contour my face every single day. Product is really nice, but I would like to try some other brand next time.

IMBB Rating:
4.8/5 (-.2 because of insane pigmentation which is difficult to control at times)

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