Review (and rant): Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Palette

I am not ashamed to admit that I buy many products based on the recommendations of other bloggers and YouTube reviews. Some are good, some are OK, and some just don’t work for me. Today, I want to talk about one of those.

This is my Anastasia BH Contour Palette in the shade Light to medium.

The instructions in the back suggest that we can use the 6 powders to highlight and contour, »expertly emphasize our eyes, cheekbones, nose and jawline«. The product is cruelty free.

As you can see, I’ve used it quite a lot. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get it any nicer for the photos, because the palette itself is made of a cardboard and similar to some other palettes, you’ll find that the matte outside will get pretty dirty, and so will the inside. The palette uses a magnetic closing, which is quite nice and practical. I also like the fact that the individual pans can be replaced if needed.

The top row has 3 powder highlighting shades: Vanilla, Banana, and Sand. Only Sand is shimmer while others are matte. The bottom row has 3 powder contouring shades: Java, Fawn, and Havana. Basically, just looking at this, it’s a great palette with a nice variety of shades. Each of the pans holds 3 grams of product.

 

This time, I won’t blame the swatches on my camera, but rather on the product itself. Both Vanilla and Sand have horrible pigmentation. I can possibly use Sand as a highlighter, if I apply it in vast quantities, but Vanilla doesn’t show up on my skin at all.

The darker shades are all very soft and creamy, which is nice, but being so soft means that they also produce quite a lot of fallout. I was originally most excited about Fawn since it looks like a great contour color for those with lighter skin, such as myself, but again, the pigmentation is just not there. Java and Havana are much better in that respect, but way too orange for me to contour with them.

Let’s talk some dupes. First thing that came to mind was comparing Banana from this Palette to Ben Nye Luxury Powder in Banana.

 

They are pretty much the same thing, but the Ben Nye product is a bit more softer and carries a lot more pigmentation.

The whole bottle of product (42 grams) costs about 25 € but even if you use it every day all over your face, I doubt you would be able to finish it off sooner than in a couple of years.

The other comparison that came to my mind was Fawn vs. NYX Taupe. The latter is technically a blush, but I use it as a contour shade.

Both of these powders have developed a slight film over them which I tried to scrape of in order to get something out of the products. I think I’ll have to start waiting longer for all my skincare to soak in before I start on my makeup. Between the serum, moisturizer, and SPF my skin is probably still tacky when I start on foundation. I probably have never noticed because I always use a make-up sponge, but I am obviously applying a lot of that moisture onto my face products.

 

 

These two are not as similar. Fawn is a bit darker and earthy, while Taupe has a bit of a gray undertone and is a bit rosier. Still, I don’t see a massive difference when they are on my face.
Verdict: I am sorry I bought this palette. I don’t do heavy contouring, but if I want this to even show on my face, I have to apply so much that it feels caked and I hate that feeling. In my opinion, it’s not worth the price. I paid 40 $ for this palette, but in Slovenia it costs 74 € on Licila.si, so you’re 12 € in for each of the 3-gram pans.

Alternative: remember when I talked about the Makeup Revolution Ultra Sculpt and Contour Kit? For a fraction of a cost, go get it and thank me later. I’ve been using it on and off for the past two months and I love it, especially the bronzer and highlight (the blush scares me a bit, but if you like darker blushes, you’ll probably love this one as well).

Do you have this palette? What are your experiences with it – does it work for you?

Until next time, stay beautiful!