NYX WonderStick Review

Short and sweet review to start out this super busy week!  Since the last two contour products I wrote about (KVD and Anastasia) weren't the best IMO I thought I would tell you about one that IS!!

Plus this is an affordable and super simple one to use.  This goes for $11.99 US at Ulta and comes in a variety of shades.  I am going to show you the Universal shade today as I truly think it is one every skin tone can use.  Unless you are very dark skinned, then I will suggest the deep shade.

The NYX Wonderstick is also something you can easily pop in your makeup bag for travel or if you need to touch up after work to go out.

One side is the highlighter and one side is the contour color.  Do you see the wonder?? :)

The contour swatch is true to color, it is not orange at all on me but the highlight swatch does not do it justice.

It is absolutely beautiful.  It is natural and it is not overly shimmery.  I personally feel like it offers the exact dewy look that we try to achieve with a highlight product.  I use my Real Techniques Expert Face brush to blend, blend, blend after I apply the contour color and my Beauty Blender for the highlight color.  Extreme contouring is something that I personally think is losing its novelty, but if you are a beginner then a product like this is pretty fool proof :)

I have to say NYX is really stepping up their game as of late.  I never used to be attracted to their products and lately I find myself quickly opening their emails when they announce a new product.

In fact, they just released a palette that I have heard is comparable to the Anastasia Beverly Hills contour palette and at a  cheaper cost.

If you are able to get your hands on the Wonderstick let me know what you think?  Do you already have this? Love it or hate it?

Let me know in the comments below!!

Have a great day!! xo

Kat Von D Shade and Light Contour Palette Review

Happy Monday Loves!!! I have a great week of reviews coming for you.  I want to start out with a palette that I really had high hopes for.  I have admired Kat Von D since Miami Ink.  Her artistry and talent is unsurpassed. So I love her makeup line.  Bold and vibrant and on the edge.

Love the art work

I was super excited about the Shade and Light palette as I am a fan of contouring but I do love cream palettes.  You all know how the Anastasia Beverly Hills palette turned out for me though. Read HERE if you don't!

This palette comes with three highlight and three contour shades and retails for $46.00 US.  There is a contour brush that is sold separately (the box is coffin shaped which is really neat) and that retails for $36.00 US.

Contour shades are larger than highlight shades

Courtesy of MissGrumpleBottom.com

Unfortunately for me, this palette also pulled through orange on me and the highlight shades really did not show up at all.  I have a very frustrating skin tone!!  For reference, I am NC20 in Mac, warm yellow undertones, sometimes neutral.  Levitation and Shadowplay are the only warm colors in the palette and the only ones I have really been able to use.  If I am going to spend $46 on a product, I want to be able to use the whole product, aside from the box it comes with.

The colors are listed above as they reflect in the pan.  Lucid is a cool pinkish nude, Lyric is a neutral yellow beige and Levitation is a warm soft peach.  Sombre is a cool toned taupe, Shadowplay is a warm soft brown and Subconscious is a cool deep brown.  Even on the white background above you can see orange coming through, IMO.

I have tried mixing both contour colors with ShadowPlay to create a more shadowy effect and it just muddles the colors and looks terribly ashy and dirty on my skin.  The highlights are merely setting powders and don't really offer any significant "light".

I will be returning this to the store and picking up Too Faced's new Contour Palette.  Like I said, I really had high hopes for this product but I can't see just making do with it.  So far Smashbox is still numero uno in my box in terms of versatility with only two shades yet they are true to color.

Have you gotten this palette?  Are you in love with it?  What is your skin tone?

Let me know in the comments below!!

Have a great day!! xo

Anastasia Beverly Hills Cream Contour Kit in Light Review

So I wanted to get this review up pretty quickly because even when I Google "Anastasia Cream Contour Kit", nothing comes up.....there are no reviews and minimal info.  You will find out MAYBE that this cream contour kit was released at 12pm CT on 2/17/15 in shades light, medium and deep.  This also SOLD OUT that day and is no longer available on their site with no word yet as to when it will be re-released.

From ABH Instagram Page

I prefer a cream to powder contour.  However, I am still on the hunt for the HOLY GRAIL cream product.  Unfortunately, I am STILL on that hunt......

Here is what the palette looks like.  It is gorgeous.  Now quickly refer to the above swatches for the light kit.  I contemplated the medium kit merely for that coral color which is to die for.  But I figured it would be overall too dark, even though I knew I could not pull off that pink with my yellow undertones.

Outside

Inside

Now, here are the swatches on my skin.

Bleck.....

Notice anything? How about the fact that they all pull orange on my skin?? I was so upset. The vanilla color is a closer match to a foundation color than a contrasting highlight color.

I wanted so badly to love this but it just didn't happen.  The colors were easily blendable enough and creamy and the packaging was very travel friendly. And for only $40, the value based on the amount of product you get is great.  If these colors work for you, you will be reaching for this quite often.

I really had to blend, blend, blend to get this photograph!

This palette is also being sold at Macy's, but only deep is still online ( I believe it will end up being $50 shipped) so call your local store to check availability.

Did you get your hands on this?

What are your thoughts?

Let me know in the comments below!!

Have a great day!! xo

Contouring Done Easy

The last time I did a poll on what my followers wanted to know about, contouring was the number one request.  Truth be told, this was one of the first things I researched when I got into makeup.   Makeup should be fun and if you know what you are doing, can transform you!  When you put foundation on, yes you are evening your skin and masking imperfections, but you are also making your face one dimensional.

There are SO many how-to's and tutorials online.  So many that it can be overwhelming.  Plus, some are quite hard to follow and offer too much information (yes, there is such a thing).

So here are my tips and techniques.  First, do you know what your face shape is? Pull your hair back in a ponytail and look in the mirror and use the below as a guide.

This can help you determine how to enhance your best features and essentially hide, the ones you are not so fond of.  For me, I wish my cheekbones were more pronounced and my nose was more defined.  This is where contouring comes in hand.

Now let's get to supplies.  I did go ahead and order IT Cosmetics Contour palette so that I could do the leg work for you and show you the difference in using what you have and using a palette geared for contouring.  I was not too pleased with the kit.

It comes with six shades (two are highlights) that are supposed to be flattering to everyone.

I tried them all and only the darkest one really showed up on me.  With the highlighters, one is shimmer and one is matte.  The matte one did not show up on me at all and I am medium toned.  While the shimmer one is beautiful, it is so hard to blend and make look natural, it really is more a pain to use then anything.  I love the IT brand but this kit really wasn't worth the hefty price tag.  If it came with a brush, we might be able to make it work.  So overall, the best part was the contour pull out guide.  This is very helpful if you are a beginner to contouring.

Highlight-You want a shade that is one to two shades darker than your foundation.  This is used for areas on your face that the sun would hit naturally and helps create brightness and illuminate those areas.

Here is what I have at home.

Benefit's High Beam
Benefit's Girl Meets Pearl
Yves Saint Laurent Touche Eclat (used in pictures)
Laura Mercier Highlighter (used in pictures)

Contour-You want a shade that is one to two shades darker than your foundation.  This is used for areas that you want to create shadows and dimension on and essentially soften these features.  I recommend matte products.  They can be powder or cream, that is your preference.

The KEY to contouring is BLENDING.  NOTHING is worse than "makeup mask".  Ya know, when your face is a different color than your neck?  And if you find yourself questioning at all if it is noticeable, IT IS!  Friends don't let friends be clowns.

Here is what I have at home.

Benefit's Hoola Bronzer (used in pictures)
Jouer Moisturizing Tint in Dark Bronze
e.l.f.'s Contour Palette
CoverGirl Bronzer

Blush-Blush is used to simulate the natural glow of your face by adding a flushed, just pinched look. Don't get crazy or it will look like you are sun burned.

Here is what I have at home.

Benefit's Rose colored tint-Benetint
CoverGirl's Cheekers in Coral (used in pictures)
e.l.f.'s Contour Palette
La Bella Donna Highlighting Cream

Brushes-I use a beauty blender for my foundation and blending anywhere else that needs it after I have used my brushes.  I use a fan brush for highlighting powders and an angled brush for blush.  I use a flat rectangular brush for my contour and then a small stippling brush for blending.

Remember the C's and E's for your face.

This means when you contour you want to create an "E" shape on the sides of your face, starting at your hair line.  Then to the cheekbones and then to the jawline.

For highlighting, you want to create a "C" shape, starting under your "E" near your hairline and then circling your eyes to above the "E" on your cheekbones to your nose.

I also highlight between my eyebrows, down my nose, my cupids bow and the center of my chin. Remember, this is where the sun kisses you.

Here is the contour guide again so ya don't have to scroll up :)

So here is my face before anything.  Clearly, we have all gotten quite close here ;)

Here is after foundation and where I highlight.

Here is where I contour and my blush goes on directly above my contour but not quite all the way to the apples of my cheeks.

Again, blending is key.  You never want to see the harsh lines of any products.  Experiment with both powders and creams until you know what works best for you.

I hope this was helpful! Let me know if you have any questions that I can help with.

Are you already a contouring pro? Let me know what your go to products are and what tips you have in the comments below!

Have a great day!