Makeup Geek seem to be on a roll with their new product releases, with one after the other. First, the Duo Chromes which I reviewed here, then the Sparklers ( not such a fan of loose glitter) and now the contour powders which I feel has come at the nick of time. My holy grail Kevin Aucoin The Sculpting Powder came to an untimely end when it shattered in my makeup bag and I’ve been holding off repurchasing it as it’s so painfully expensive. Then there’s the contour shade from my Kat Von D Shade and Light Contour Palette that fell out of the palette and guess what? Shattered all over my cream carpet (trust me when I said I scrubbed for days!). My last port of call for the past couple of months, the Smashbox Step by Step Contour Kit, I’ve hit pan on big time so a new contour powder is long overdue! Cue Makeup Geek to the rescue!
There are 8 shades available in the Makeup Geek Contour Powders: 4 warm tones and 4 cool tones, ranging from the the lightest for those with porcelain skin, to the darkest for those with a much more deep, richer complexion. Being a huge fan of the aforementioned products, I do like a contour shade that runs on the cool side and inherently grey in tone. For me, grey tinged contours best mimic the shadow on my face (maybe not for everyone) and makes for the most natural looking contour. On that note, I kind of dismissed Marlena’s (founder of Makeup Geek) logic (cool tones for those with cooler, pink undertones and warm tones for those with warmer, more yellow tones in the skin) went for a cool toned contour powder aimed for cooler skin tones in the shade ‘infidelity’, aimed at those with a light complexion. Now I would normally go for medium or something in between but the medium, cool toned shade, ‘Complicated’, looked a little too dark and the model featured definitely had more of a tanned skin tone compared to mine right now. Possibly one for when I do have a bit more colour to me?
Now I had nothing but high expectations for these powders because being a big fan of Makeup Geek eyeshadows, I knew that the quality was going to be nothing less than great. And I was right. Currently, the contour powders are only available in the individual pans so great for those who like to hold their makeup in z palettes. I would have preferred it in an individual compact I think as I only use Z Palettes when I travel but hey ho, you get what you are given. The powders are the same size as their blushes with 4.25 grams per pan. The texture, as expected, is smooth but powdery so expect a little fall out. I’d recommend tapping off the excess before applying to the face. As a result, the colour is very richly pigmented. I tend to start off lightly and build to the level of intensity that I want. Being such smooth textures, they blend very easily, although I always make sure I apply it to a powder base to ensure optimum application and finish (I find that without this step, the powder can sometimes skip and apply rather patchy). The result is a natural looking shadow although if applied heavily, you can achieve a very sharp, fierce contour. The queens out there would love this. The powders last much of the day. I found that it wore well for 7-8 hours before it started to get patchy, which for me, is pretty darn good.
Overall I really like the new Makeup Geek Contour Powder and can’t wait for the release of the cream ones. Watch this space…