Review | Pupa Milano Contouring & Strobing Powder Palette

Pupa Milano have just launched their own line of Contouring & Strobing Powder Palettes. All makeup junkies know about these two techniques that are meant to structure the face and further enhance our best features according to our face shape.

I had the chance to test this new palette for a good few weeks and now I am here to share my thoughts with you all. First of all, a word about the packaging. I have yet to find a Pupa Milano product for which I have something negative to say about the packaging. I think we all agree that this palette looks very sleek, stylish and elegant with black and silver casing. It is slim enough to carry around and yet it contains everything you need to achieve the perfect #READY4SELFIE look. In fact, I took this with me on my recent travels. The palettes comes in three different shades to suit every skin tone. The one I have is 002 Medium Skin.

Inside the palette, there is a highlight shade, a light contour shade, a medium contour shade and a dark contour shade as well as a nice-sized mirror. If you're unsure how to use the palette, Pupa has that covered too for there is a pictorial right at the back of the outer box which guides you to contour and strobe according to your face shape!

I find that all four shades in the palette, are very pigmented yet they are very easy to blend to achieve that flawless contoured look and highlight to slay all day ;) Here are swatches and a makeup look where I have used this palette.

The Pupa Milano Contouring & Strobing Palette really has everything you need and at €19.90 for four products, I think it's worth a try.

You can find Pupa Milano products at various pharmacies and authorized stockists around Malta & Gozo.

PR Sample

Review | Makeup Revolution Ultra Cream Contour Palette

A few weeks ago I had posted a review on the Makeup Revolution Ultra Contour Palette which I purchased as I was on the lookout for a good contour palette and the said palette has met my requirements; yet, I still needed a cream contour palette for they are easier to blend.

Thus when Makeup Revolution announced the arrival of a new cream contour palette I went ahead and bought it straight away! I am a big fan of the packaging of these palettes including the outer box with the rose gold lettering and the actual palette with its glossy black casing and again, rose gold lettering - all so sleek!

The Ultra Cream Contour Palette comes with 8 pans of cream products, 4 of which are contour shades and the other 4 are highlighters. They can also be used as cream concealers! The palette also comes with a mirror. The shades in this palette correspond to the ones in the Ultra Contour Palette in which all shades are in powder form. I personally think this is a great idea because you can set your cream product with the corresponding powder to render it longer lasting.

All 8 shades in the palette have very good pigmentation and I would recommend this palette to makeup artists especially because you have every shade you could possibly need to achieve a perfectly contoured look on just about anyone! The consistency of all the creams in this palette is perfect for blending into the skin to avoid any harsh lines.

My favourite ones are the first and second ones on the bottom left row and the third one from left in the top row. I feel that this palette does a better job at contouring as you can really blend the product for a more natural finish. That being said, I like the powder palette to set the cream products and give a more defined look.

   Makeup Revolution Ultra Contour Palette (top) vs
Makeup Revolution Ultra Cream Contour Palette (bottom)

The Makeup Revolution Ultra Cream Contour Palette retails for €11.18 from the Makeup Revolution website.

Review | Makeup Revolution Ultra Contour Palette

Following my review on the Ultra Base Corrector Palette from Makeup Revolution, I wanted to share with you the other palette I got in the same order; that is the Ultra Contour Palette which as the name implies has everything you need for achieving the perfect contour and highlight (strobing in more recent terms).

The palette comes in a box which has a picture of all the shades at the back. The palette per se is very sleek and contains 8 pans of bronzers and illuminators including 2 baked highlighters, all in pressed powder form. You also get a full sized mirror and the products are protected with a piece of plastic film.

The colours in the palette are possibly everything you need for contouring and highlighting, be it if you're pale or if you're slightly darker. Here is a short description of each:

Top Row (left to right)

- Salmon Pink (matte) ideal to brighten up your complexion or setting under eye concealer

- Yellow Beige (matte) works exceptionally well with the yellow corrector from the Ultra Base Corretor palette to conceal dark circles

- Pearl Pink with a hint of golden shimmer to illuminate the skin 

- Baked Pearl White and Gold Highlighter is an extremely pigmented highlighter ideal for use on cheekbones or brow bones

Bottom Row (left to right)

- Medium Brown (matte) bronzer for medium to dark skin tones

- Light Brown (matte) bronzer for light to medium skin tones

- Dark Brown (matte) bronzer for dark skin tones

- Baked Bronzer that suits all skin types and has a hint of shimmer

The reason I like this palette is that three bronzers are actually matte, thus giving you a more natural look than shimmery ones. All powders are very well pigmented and last well throughout the day. I find that I achieve a better result when I set my under eye concealer with either of the first two shades in the top row and I am really pleased that all colours blend beautifully into the skin to give a seamless application of the product.

I think this palette would look good in any makeup artist's kit and it is also very convenient for the amateur user as well.

You can buy the Makeup Revolution Ultra Contour Palette from the Makeup Revolution website for £8/€10.95.

Review | E.L.F. Studio Tapered Brush

A few months ago I placed an order on the E.L.F. cosmetics website...something I didn't do in ages but they had some new stuff I wanted to try out, amongst which is this new addition to their Studio line brushes, the Small Tapered Brush.

Packaging is the same as for all the other Studio line brushes...a plastic sleeve with a card including product information and a plastic brush guard is also included. The brush itself is all black and I think it looks much more expensive than the €4.51 I paid for it.

 

 

The bristles are made out of Taklon which E.L.F. claim to be antibacterial and they feel really soft against the skin. Their tapered shape and overall size of the brush make it ideal for contouring and I'm glad I finally found a brush that fits the hollows of my cheeks perfectly.

 

 

I also like to use this brush to set under-eye concealer with translucent powder. Due to it being so small, I wouldn't recommend using this brush to apply liquid foundation and I personally prefer to keep it for use with powder products but mostly for contouring. 

I have washed this brush multiple times and till now it has not shed a hair and the ferrule feels quite sturdy so all in all I think this is a very good addition to any brush collection.

You can get the E.L.F. Studio Small Tapered Brush from the E.L.F. Cosmetics website and right now they have a 50% off and Free Shipping promotion going on if you feel like treating yourself!