Monday, May 16, 2016

The Art of Contouring: NYX Highlight & Contour Pro Palette


I've talked about my recent Boots trip where I picked my newest favourite matte lippies and on the same day I noticed the counters were rearranged; I found myself standing in front of a huge NYX counter and needless to say I was like a kid on a playground. Desperately trying to contain myself, I settled on one of their lip creams, a metallic eyeshadow (because those are trendy!) and their gorgeous contour palette. I am far from being an expert when it comes to contouring (despite spending hours on Youtube trying to master the art behind it), but I love how a bit of bronzer and highlighter completely change my look. I have and always had chubby cheeks, so a little more definition is something I go for almost every day. I am always hitting pan on contour kits so a bigger and more professional palette (even though I'm not one myself) was definitely a needed buy.

The NYX Highlight & Contour Pro Palette retails for £18 and gives you 0.72oz of product. It contains 4 highlight powders in the first row and 4 contour powders in the bottom row. Shades within the palette can be bought individually making so the palette refillable (although I have not found them on the Boots website) and you can rearrange the shades as you wish or remove them. Unfortunately the palette cannot be purchased empty and I personally would have preferred it that way so I could buy only shades that suited my skin tone. There are 4 more shades available (2 highlighters and 2 contour shades) but again, I am not 100% sure these are yet available in the UK; if they are let me know below as I have not been able to track them down.


Onto the pans, 2 of the highlighters are matte and the other 2 are a little shimmery, making the palette versatile and giving something for everyone. On the other hand, all contours have a semi-matte to satin finish, so none were totally matte but they did look extremely natural on the skin without yielding too much sheen. I found all shades to be soft and smooth, but the highlights were powdery and the contours very pigmented, so a light hand is definitely needed when applying them. All highlighting shades lasted around 7 hours on my skin, whilst the contours stay put for 8/9 hours and I believe that’s down to their insane pigmentation.


From left to right, we have the following shades:

Highlighters

Ice Queen: a "pearly pale white"that is so light it works well on my pale skin tone but won't be for everybody. It has cool undertones and a frosted finish. It blends well but can emphasize pores if applied on the bridge of my nose for example.

Soft Light: a "matte nude"that is very light as well but has neutral undertones to it. The finish is matte and despite being soft and smooth, this is one of the powdery ones I mentioned before. This doesn't show up on my skin tone well and can look quite chalky so not a shade I would choose to highlight with personally. 

Cream: a "matte soft yellow"that has warm undertones and a matte finish. I like using this one under my eyes as the yellow undertones help correct my purple dark circles. It is well pigmented and easy to blend despite being quite powdery on the pan too. 

Nectar: a "pearly soft peach"with warm undertones and a frosted shimmer. This is my favourite of the highlighters as it is soft, blendable and not too over the top. 

Contours

Tan: a "matte soft brown"with slight red undertones. This has a satin finish and is well pigmented. It also blends well and I like using it as a transition shade on my crease rather than a contour itself.

Toffee: a "matte neutral brown"with yellow undertones and a satin finish as well. This is the most shimmery of the contour shades (so not actually matte as the description by Nyx) and is a little too dark for my skin tone, but again I can totally use it as eyeshadow too.

Sculpt: a "matte taupe"with grey overtones and orange undertones, making it browner and warmer. This is the shade I love contouring with; it yields a beautifully sculpted look and despite having a little shimmer to it too, it is the most matte of them all (if that makes any sense). I apply this at 6am in the morning and I come home at the end of the day to it still going strong.

Hollow: a "matte deep brown"with red/orange undertones and a satin finish. This is the scariest shade being so dark I only use it along my lash line for a defined eye look. On the skin, it blends well but again, very pigmented and dark for my complexion.


To Recap…

Pros: 
✓ Smooth and soft shades.
✓ Refillable palette and individually sold pans.
✓ Affordable compared to higher end brands.
✓ Good pigmentation and easy to blend.
✓ Good variety of highlighters finish.
✓ Long lasting.
✓ Shades dupe as eyeshadows. 

Cons: 
✖ Contours are non-matte, so their descriptions are misleading.
✖ Matte highlighters are powdery.
✖ Shades are mostly warm. 


All in all, I confess I hadn't heard much about this palette, but it looked like the ABH one which I've had my eyes on forever but never could justify the price tag. The sales assistant assured me it was one of their best sellers and constantly out of stock, so on a whim I picked it up and I haven’t looked back since. It works so well for me and despite not getting much use of some shades, this is a brilliant buy for the amount of product you get for that price tag.

What do you guys think of this palette? Have you tried NYX contouring products? 
Let me know below!

Thanks for reading beauties and wishing us all a nice week ahead!

xoxo

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51 comments

  1. Such a cool palette <3 The shades are so pigmented! Great review, Pam!

    http://www.rakhshanda-chamberofbeauty.com

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  2. Great colours :)
    kisses
    www.prettyinpinkmc.blogspot.pt

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  3. This palette looks really pretty! Especially that Ice Queen highlighter, I love a good pearly one. But I'm not too sure how the warmer shades would work on my skin, as I'm ridiculously pale lol. But I still really want to try this out. I think we have quite similar skin tones, so if it works for you then that's a good sign. I can't actually wait until my local Boots stores stock NYX too.:D

    - www.veebzboo.com
    - www.youtube.com/veebzboo - My Glowing Spring Make-up Look + GIVEAWAY

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  4. I just picked up the Anastasia one, as a push present to myself, so i am in no need to get another palette for the few times I do contour (mainly when recording videos). That one looks to warm for my liking, but maybe that works better when really worked into the face and paired with a cooler foundation?

    Linda, Libra, Loca: Beauty, Baby and Backpacking

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  5. The palette sounds and looks like a lovely one. Being a highlight and contour freak, I think I'd enjoy the versatility of this palette. Definitely loving that these can be used as eyeshadow dupes! Thanks for the review, Pam!

    MAY | WWW.THEMAYDEN.COM

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  6. It would have been great to see what it looked like on. I've heard of this palette. I'll have a look out for it in Boots.

    Mich xx

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  7. I never had those conturing products, but I'm sure I need them :-) Thank you for sharing Pam :-)

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  8. I heard of this palette before and I DESPERATELY wanted it! It was a great dupe for ABH and I could use it on clients. The only thing that holds me back is the price. Because over here, it's $64. Oh gosh ahhh....

    xx Bash |   go say   H E Y   B A S H

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  9. Que blog mais lindo *-*
    Estou seguindo, será bem vinda no meu também!
    Beijos
    http://moon-me.blogspot.com.br/

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  10. I haven't seen this palette before but it looks good. I have the Anastasia Beverly Hills powder contour kit and this looks and sounds like a good affordable alternative. NYX do some great products, I think I need to have another browse next time I'm in Boots. :)

    Samio x
    www.samio.co.uk

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  11. Hmm, I've seen this palette but have been on the fence about purchasing it. And after reading your review, I probably will skip it and invest in something more suited for my needs. Great review, Pam!

    Shireen | Reflection of Sanity

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  12. It looks good, not many cons. Everything I use is from Boits but I haven't seen this palette before
    xxx
    www.travelera.es

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  13. Great review! I think that palettes like that are a bit of a waste of money, though, since mostly only one contour shade works for you and the rest are just sitting there... However, different highlighters can always be used, so maybe it's justified... Also, if you're a makeup artist, that kind of a palette would definitely come in handy... Thanks for sharing :) xx


    BeautyPepTalk
    Make sure you enter my huge celebration giveaway :)

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  14. Nice ! I like so much that brand

    Have a nice day

    xx LL

    www.lalouuula.com

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  15. Love the colors!

    http://sbr-fashion-fashion.blogspot.com/

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  16. São muito giras as cores!

    Isabel Sá
    http://brilhos-da-moda.blogspot.pt

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  17. Nice! I wasn't aware that NYX had a contour kit! I am going to put this on my wishlist!
    http://www.sashaelizabeth.com/

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  18. Great colors!

    www.moorehisstyle.com
    xx

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  19. I am the absolute worst at contouring, so I typically just stick to my cheeks haha. These shades look great, though! :)

    xo, mikéla

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  20. Wow these swatches beautifully! I've heard such mixed reviews but this was a great one. I have to look at this again!

    Jennylovesbeauty.com

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  21. Wasn't aware they had a contour and highlight palette. Such amazing swatches!

    www.sandrafsilva.blogspot.co.uk

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  22. I don't know how to contour my face...it seems so hard for me

    http://butterfly9999.blogspot.ro/

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  23. I loove how this looks, I have to try it! I like your blog by the way, let me know if you want to follow each other! x

    adelelydia.blogspot.com

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  24. Sculpt looks gorgeous! I've had my eye on this for a while but I do not need another contour kit!

    Danielle's Beauty Blog

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  25. Omg I suck at contouring, haha! I tried a couple of times but I failed miserably. This contouring paltte looks really cool, actually. The shades are beautiful although yes, I can see the darker ones can be a bit too dark. The duration is quite impressive, tho! Great review, darling!
    xx

    www.stylebydeb.com

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  26. Great palette! Love the colours!
    Thank you so much for sharing!
    Love, Pisa
    www.inlovewithmyclothes.com

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  27. Great review. I personally prefer to use cool tone shades to contour it looks more natural to me. This looks like a decent palette but I would skip it because of the chalky texture that you mentioned.
    BEAUTETUDE

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  28. Great post! I love this brand!
    xx
    Mademoiselle Coconath
    http://mllecoconath.com

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  29. Wow, the pigmentation is crazy! I love NYX, their lip butters and creams are beautiful :)

    Di from Max The Unicorn

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  30. I actually didn't know NYX had come out with a contour palette! I am for sure going to have to go find it because like you, I love what some highlighter and bronzer do for my face :D

    The Dragonfruit Diaries
    Visit my YouTube channel!

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  31. Oi Como você está?
    Eu realmente gostei da entrada ^^,
    Segui seu blog Você me seguir de volta?
    xoxo
    Obsesión por la lectura

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  32. Love Nyx! & love your blog babe

    http://mollyx.com.au/

    xxMolly

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  33. This is the best palette ever. Love the colors so much!

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  34. This looks like the perfect contour palette, so good! Xx

    www.thefashionfolks.com

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  35. Paleta com cores lindas amei
    Blog:http://arrasandonobatomvermelho.blogspot.com.br/
    Canal:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmO8csZDARM

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  36. Oh, 8 different shades are so many for me, I would use the half as well. I'd like to try this palette out, contouring well can be so helpful to makeup...


    xoxo
    www.bellezzefelici.blogspot.com

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  37. This looks like a great contouring palette! I've heard people saying the powders are bit powdery but as long as they're not chalky and blend nicely then it's not a big deal. x

    Mummy’s Beauty Corner

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  38. What a beautiful contouring palette, now I just need to improve my skills at contouring, I'm afraid its taking a while to perfect!

    Kez | acaciasdreams.com

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  39. Love this palette! Looks great!
    Xoxo,
    Love from www.trangscorner.com {a lifestyle, fashion, beauty, and food blog}

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  40. I've got the same palette and I love it! I really liked your review here and your tips :) I'll keep them in mind for sure :)
    xx, Carmen - http://www.carmitive.com

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  41. I need to go to boots and check out all the new things! I love the look of this and I don't mind warm colours, great review!!
    Have a lovely day :)
    Rosanna x
    Rose's Rooftop

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  42. I've just hit the pan on my ABH one *sobs* so I may need to pick this up to replace it!
    ♥ Fran - www.frannymac.com xx

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  43. i actually really like the palette i am really pale so the highlighters work really well for me. i agree some of the colours (if not all) could be used as eyeshadow

    http://www.carolinapinglo.com/

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  44. I just though in the beginning of may of getting my hands on that palette, and yes, it looks soooo beautiful :)ice queen would probably not work on me, or just for very very small areas, but still it looks and sounds amazing :)
    http://www.youtube.com/c/MissLovelyAttitude
    http://lovelyattitude.com

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  45. I love this newsflash!, I'm also not an expert in make-up but i'm on my way LOL learning from famous Youtube make-up artist, anyways i love this NYX contour, where did you bought it? I hope Thailand has it also, I'm eager to own one..^^

    www.itsbeyondimaginations.blogspot.com

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  46. This palette look so nice! I think I'm going to have to pick it up after reading your post and seeing your swatches! 😂

    Beautifulearful.blogspot.com

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  47. The pros do out way the cons!!! Lovely post! I may just need to try out this palette! <3

    Amelia | http://amelia-g.blogspot.com.au/

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