Happy Girls Are Pretty

A few years ago I discovered this thing called contouring and it has changed my life. No cheekbones and a double chin? A bit of contouring can solve that problem straight away!

I am always interested in new palettes and the Anastasia Beverly Hills products are - of course - on my wish list, but I am also interested in what the drugstore has to offer.

This contouring set from Essence was part of their A/W collection and since I already knew that they were bringing out this range (a few of the advantages of working for a magazine) I could get my hands on one quite easily.

Now the packaging itself is very simple, but I do like the engraved words in the powders. It looks so cool and in case you have no idea how to tell the two powders apart, now you know!

I had high hopes for this product. Contouring has been one of the biggest make-up trends, so I thought it was quite fun that a drugstore brand like Essence would bring out a product like this. I just don't think they did a great job at it.

Despite the fact that there is only one shade to choose from, I don't like the formula of these powders at all. The highlighter is very powdery and has a few tiny sparkles that hardly show up on the skin. When I use a highlighter I like to have the most amazing shimmer on my cheekbones. One that looks natural and silky, not powdery and cakey.

The matte bronzer is fine, but I am not the biggest fan of the pigmentation. I like to get the job done and not reapply a hundred times. The contour powder also feels very powdery, so overall it’s not the best product.

I also compared the two powders to the highlighter and contour powder in my Sleek Face Form Kit and there was a huge difference. Especially the highlighters were so different. As the Sleek powder is shimmery and gorgeous and the Essence powder just gives a very, very subtle sheen. The contour powders don't look as different, but you can feel that the consistency of the Sleek powder is way silkier that the Essence one.

I was so excited when I purchased this contour set, but I kind of feel like I am never going to use it ever again. In the end it's definitely not my best buy, but maybe I can use it on my eyes or something?

Have your tried this Essence palette before? Do you have any other recommendation from Essence?

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