Do You Need the Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Kit?

There once was a time where I would just put on foundation, concealer where I needed it, and powder along with the other fifty million things I put on my face (blush, eyeshadow, etc.) and that was enough for a pretty makeup look. And then somehow my routine wound up adding in so many more elements because I love to highlight and contour (I like a slightly more modest highlight/contour on myself) and now I’ve got like three different colored foundations and three different powders to set them. Not that my makeup loving self is complaining—somehow more is more to me when it comes to product. SMH and LOL.

So of course a kit or palette would be like the ultimate, right? There’s tons of foundation and powder palettes available for the professional makeup artist (Ben Nye, Cinema Secrets, Mehron, the list goes on and on) but with brands that cater to consumers, you don’t see them that often. Enter Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Kit (which was sent to me by the brand’s PR). Can I first just say that I LOVE all the new products coming from Anastasia over the last few years—they’re soooo not just about brows, ya know? ANYWAY, so the brand came out with a Contour Kit with six powders to help highlight and contour your way to a snatched face.

The six shades include a matte light pale pink, a matte light pale yellow (very similar to Ben Nye Banana Powder though it’s a smidgen lighter and didn’t settle into my skin like Ben Nye does–whcih by the way I think the Banana is way too light for me and I use Coco Tan), a shimmery champagne, a matte medium brown, a matte taupe brown, and a matte medium brown with slight reddish undertones.

I like the quality of the powders—one could get away with highlighting and contouring with just the powders (though I personally like to do a concealer/foundation combo first and then set with the appropriate powders). More than highlighting your face, you could also use some of these as eyeshadow and to define your eyes and crease (layer and use a base underneath). The three brown shades make for great neutrals for my skin tone and will likely make their way into my routine that way.

The only thing though is if you’re looking to really use this to highlight and contour, if you have dark skin, this palette won’t cut it. The shades are too light to highlight and not deep enough to contour. This palette would work best if you have NC45/NW40 skin or lighter (though I know some NC45 ladies who prefer a much deeper contour color than what’s in this kit).

Perhaps Anastasia will come out with a second palette with deeper colors—after all this is a new product so who knows—perhaps demand will call for them to make one.

(from the release—specific shade names are Vanilla, Banana, Sand, Java, Fawn and Havanna)

Bottom line: Great palette—but only if you’re NC45/NW40 or lighter.

Price and where to buy: $40, exclusively on Anastasia.net.