High End Let Downs

Higher prices tend to command higher expectations, so it's more of a downer than usual when expensive products turn out to be disappointments. I don't like to keep any products I actively dislike, but when they cost a pretty penny, it's harder to bring myself to get rid of them. These six items mostly just take up space and spark the occasional moment of regret and annoyance when I see them.

Kevyn Aucoin The Sculpting Powder in Medium
I thought this would be the be all and end all of contouring powders. The price put me off, but after encountering many a rave and seeing The Sculpting Powder work its magic on people's faces, I bit the bullet. This doesn't look right on me. I think it suits pink-toned, pale complexions only. If you're more yellow and light-to-medium, it pulls very cool brownish grey (read: muddy). I've tried every brush under the sun, I've tried a light application, heavier application, different placement. It's not flattering or believable. It either is too subtle and therefore useless, or makes me look like I have a dirty stripe where I wish my cheekbone was. Swatches here.

MAC Eye Kohl in Powersurge

MAC Eye Kohl in Powersurge
There's nothing hugely offensive about this pencil eyeliner, except it's so unremarkable and overpriced for the quality. I was willing to pay a premium for the colour, but once I actually tried it on my lower lash line, I realised it wasn't anything special. A medium khaki-ish (greeny) gold. I have plenty of similar coloured eyeshadows which I could apply with a pencil brush to my lower lash line if I wanted identical effect. Pigmentation is not woeful, but could be better. The metallic quality is relatively subdued and not particularly intense or lustrous. The main problem is the texture. It's fairly hard, doesn't glide on and isn't that creamy. Lasting power is also extremely ordinary. There are SO many cheaper eyeliners that are superior in every respect (e.g. Savvy by DB Soft Glide Eyeliner, Kiko Glamorous Eye Pencil, Rimmel Scandaleyes Waterproof Kohl Kajal) that nothing can justify the $32 price tag for the MAC. I wish I'd bought another 217 Blending Brush instead.

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Dim Light
I weep a little thinking about the $62 I bid farewell to when I bought this powder. I was expecting this to be a skin-perfecting finishing powder, but it's so BROWN and PINK and DARK that it's virtually unusable. It's not even something I can use to "warm up" or darken my skin if my foundation's too light, since it doesn't match my natural skin colour anyway. It's far too pink-toned. It also doesn't impart any brightening luminosity to my face except the subtlest whitish pearl. I more or less never reach for Dim Light since I have other powders that do the job I wanted it to (Chanel Les Beiges Healthy Glow Sheer Powder, Guerlain Météorites Compact Light-Revealing Powder). I should've bought Diffused Light instead. Original review here.

Estée Lauder Sumptuous Extreme Lash Multiplying Volume Mascara
Granted, this was a magazine freebie, but I was super excited to try out a high end mascara since I don't tend to buy them. Sadly, this was a complete flop. This mascara did absolutely nothing for my lashes. No curl, no lift, no volume, no separation, no lengthening. All the times I've applied it, I've either hated it, or abandoned it mid-way to grab something that actually works.

l-r (top to bottom row): Caught in the Act Courtney, Feisty Felicia, Insane Jane, Bossy Bobbi, Makeout Mary, Just This Once Jamie, Mischievous Marissa, Tempting Tara, Devilish Danielle

theBalm Shady Lady Vol. 2
I truly dislike this palette. The first two darker shades with glitter (Caught in the Act Courtney and Feisty Felicia) are dry, patchy, poorly pigmented and have huge amounts of fall out. Some of the other shades (Mischievous Marissa, Tempting Tara, Devilish Danielle) are really powdery even if they have strong colour payoff. But the main problem with Shady Lady Vol. 2 is none of the colours are flattering on me. None. This isn't a palette I want to reach for. It's not a palette that houses colours I'm excited to use. Since it came into my possession, I don't think I've ever used it, except maybe the darker shades to deepen an eye look. Also, the shade names are gross (Makeout Mary? Just This Once Jamie??).

l-r (top to bottom row): In the Buff, Birthday Suit, Pink Cheeks, Pillow Talk, Like a Virgin, Satin Sheets, Unmentionables, Lap Dance, Stiletto

Too Faced Naked Eye Palette
I possibly dislike this palette more than Shady Lady Vol. 2, which is saying a lot. At least the eyeshadows in Shady Lady Vol. 2 are visible on my lids. Almost half of the shadows in Naked Eye are invisible, including all 3 of the larger pans. In the Buff, Birthday Suit, Pink Cheeks and Pillow Talk are rubbish. Maybe if you're very fair, they'll have some kind of effect, but on my light-to-medium (NC 20 to 25) skin, they're useless. (Looks like I'm not the only one that feels that way.) I bought Naked Eye early on in my "makeup journey", back when I didn't realise cool-toned eyeshadows and I don't mix. Lap Dance and Unmentionables swatch nicely, but are so dirty/ashy/muddy on my lids and drain my complexion. Satin Sheets is admittedly very pretty and super pigmented, but I wish it were more of a gold-pink rather than a bright white gold on me. Like a Virgin is the only shade I use in this whole palette, and even then, it's a cool-toned grey that isn't as flattering as a warmer brown shade with yellow or orange tones. Given I love both my other Too Faced (Chocolate Bar) palettes, Naked Eye seems especially a waste.

Budget to Luxe: Contouring

I recently saw a video where someone contoured their nose and cheekbones with Milani Shadow Eyez Eyeshadow Pencil in Brown Deluxe, using the remnant product left on their finger after first blending the cream shadow onto their eyelids. After seeing that, it occurred to me that so long as you find what works for you — anything can be used to contour. (Of course, having an enviable underlying bone structure doesn't hurt.) Still, for the rest of us that might not be so resourceful or genetically blessed, a dedicated contouring product (cream or powder) usually does the trick. I've rummaged through my collection and dug out four products I've bought, from cheap and cheerful to hideously expensive, in my quest to cheat some dimension and shape to my plump, flat face.

NYX Blush in Taupe
One of the very first contouring powders I'd heard about back in the day. Taupe was famed and coveted due to its reputation as a "drugstore" product that was distinctly cool-toned and grey, in contrast to the usual warmer, orangey bronzers out there. I bought it for $10 from a trade-only event over 3 years ago when NYX wasn't yet stocked at Target in Australia. Since then, I've only reached for it maybe 5 times? It's just too grey and too cool-toned for me. It might be a winner on paler skin tones (I imagine being in possession of actual cheekbones also goes a long way in liking/using the product), but it's never appeared effective or natural on me. It has a unique pinkish undertone when swatched, but it veers dangerously close to muddy and ashy on my skin. It looks more like I'm applying a dark grey eyeshadow to my face than anything else. Probably desirable if you're looking for a noticeable effect in photos, but otherwise a little jarring and odd in "real life".

Maybelline Master Sculpt Contour Palette in Medium/Dark
My favourite of the bunch, and the cheapest one to boot (I bought it on sale for $9.97). Like I said in my original review, it reminds me of a slightly more ashy Benefit Hoola. I wasn't expecting anything from a more affordable contouring powder, but was pleasantly surprised by how much I ended up liking it. It's more of a darker matte brown (mimicking the colour of a tan) than an artificial shadow painted in grey. It doesn't look murky or bruised on my face, but defining and natural. It's easy to blend but hard to overdo while still remaining nicely pigmented.

Illasmaqua Cream Pigment in Hollow
I'd seen the Pixiwoo girls use this a few times in their earlier videos, so while in a contouring craze a few months ago, I purchased it from Myer for just under $30. I was curious about how a cream contour would perform compared with a powder, and Hollow seemed to enjoy near cult status. I really had high expectations and wanted to love it, but the colour let me down. Firstly, it's a bit too light to be truly effective at sculpting my face. Secondly, it applies like a subtle, putty/concrete grey on me, almost like a shadowy, milky mink, which both clashes with and disappears into my yellow-toned skin. It does blend effortlessly and isn't too opaque so it can be gradually built up with the fingers, but I need something darker and more brown.

Kevyn Aucoin The Sculpting Powder in Medium
I held off buying this for ages because the price tag made me uncomfortable. But seeing it used in this Lisa Eldridge video was the final straw. (It also popped up in a few of Tanya Burr's videos and always looked utterly transformative on her.) I couldn't wait to slap some of this on myself, hopeful it'd work the same miracles on me. Sadly, as is a recurring theme in this post, the colour wasn't right. This time, while it's not overly grey (it's definitely more brown), it's too dark and cool-toned for my liking. If you put too little on, there isn't much of an effect, but if you put enough that you can see it doing something, it looks unattractively muddy and dirty. Maybe my technique and placement isn't right, or maybe the bark brown just doesn't mesh with my skin tone. Either way, this was an expensive fail.

l-r: Illamasqua Hollow, NYX Taupe, Maybelline Contour (Medium/Dark), Kevyn Aucoin Medium

l-r: Illamasqua Hollow, NYX Taupe, Maybelline Contour (Medium/Dark), Kevyn Aucoin Medium

After my experience with various contour powders/creams from every point of the price spectrum, I've concluded the best out there for me is a tie between two bronzers: Benefit Hoola and the Sculpt shade in Charlotte Tilbury Filmstar Bronze & Glow. Warmer medium brown shades work better for me than cool grey or taupes. Oh, and the tools you use are equally, if not more important. My picks: Charlotte Tilbury Powder & Sculpt or Models Prefer Mystique Blush Brush. Both made of soft natural hairs, they pick up pigment well and make the task of placement and blending easy.