I can't quite wrap my head around the huge popularity of different contouring palettes that make-up brands have been coming out with in the past couple of months. Not only do they seem majorly too ORANGE to me, but really, why does an ordinary woman doing her own make-up need a whole palette to contour her face? To me, you only need one, ONE contouring powder that really suits your skintone for all your sculpting needs. All those other shades included in the palettes? Soon, you're probably going to wonder why you spent the extra $$$ for the untouched pans and bulky packaging.
Anyway, rant over. It's not that I'm against contouring - IF you know what you're doing, which isn't all that easy in itself. For the longest time, I've been quite satisfied with only one contouring product in my stash, the famous
NYX Powder Blush in Taupe. But, on a recent trip to the Inglot store, I've noticed they came out with a whole new range of
HD Sculpting Powders ($15 for 5.5g/ 0.19 oz), and I grabbed the shade
504 to try out.
In the store I went to in Warsaw, they had a lot more shades on display than the five available on the US website, ranging from highlighting shades (including the popular banana/ yellow shades) to contouring shades, divided into warm, neutral and cool undertones. I thought that was super helpful, but I was surprised to see that for skin with a cool undertone, they only had one shade available (yes, the no. 504), where for skin with warm undertones, they had at least five shades in different depth, depending on whether your skintone is light or dark. It made me feel that cool undertones were being marginalized; but on the other hand, it made my decision process a lot easier.
The HD Scultping Powders are available in the Freedom System, meaning that you have to purchase the refills and the palette separately. I only got the refill pan, intending to keep it in my Z-Palette. The product itself is unscented and has a smooth satin finish in the pan; under fluorescent lights especially, you can see teeny tiny particles of shimmer running through the powder. That worried me from the start - aren't we always told that contouring products have to be matte? However, a helpful sales associate explained to me that on the skin, you can't see any of the shimmer, and the satin formula translates into a natural, flawless (HD?) look. I decided to trust her on that one (which I rarely do...), and for once, yes, she was absolutely right.
The actual texture of the powder is very similar to the Inglot matte eyeshadow formula, meaning: silky, creamy, quite loosely packed (but doesn't kick up as much powder as the eyeshadows). In my swatches however, you can see that it's less pigmented than the Matte Eyeshadow no. 344, which means it's easier to control and blend seamlessly into the skin. I really like the formula of this HD Sculpting Powder: it looks virtually undetectable on and just melds into the skin.
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| L-R: Inglot Sculpting Powder no. 504, NYX Powder Blush in Taupe, Benefit Hoola Bronzer, Inglot Matte Eyeshadow no. 344, Rouge Bunny Rouge Matt Eyeshadow in Chestnut Napped Appalis |
As for the shade I've chosen, I do think it works well on my fair skin with a cool undertone. Hopefully, you can see in my photos that 504 pulls almost mauvey/ rosy, which manages to look like a natural shadow on the skin without pulling too ashy. It's not miles away from the NYX Taupe blush, but I do prefer the formula of Inglot's. I'm pretty happy with this purchase: it has satisfied my need to ride the contouring bandwagon, but without spending an arm and a leg in the process, or adding a large palette to my already bursting make-up drawers.
What do you think of the contouring & highlighting trend? Have you bought any of the newly released sets and palettes, or do you have an eye on one in particular? Or are you too scared of ending up looking like Kim K?
This is so good on you Monica! I new Inglot has these powders, I think they released it last year, but hadn't had a chance to take a look. Definitely worth a swatch for the way it looks on you! :-)
ReplyDeleteThank you! Give them a swatch, Divya, I'm sure they have something that would suit your skintone! Can't beat the quality/ price ratio on these Inglot products :)
DeleteOOO killer cheek bones indeed! I'm with you on this whole contouring palette business. I'm just not sure non-pros need that many contouring/highlighting options in their stash. In all honesty, I am not on board with this over-contouring business. A little is great, but sometimes it could look so elaborate! Personally, I highlight a little more often, but I don't even do that systematically. I do use two different products for my brow bones and top of the cheek bones because I prefer different finishes for those two purposes.
ReplyDeleteI think a lot of make-up trends that are becoming mainstream these days would do much better to stay in the realm for pros only. It's fun to experiment with contouring and highlighting for a night out or something, but every day, I don't think it's even realistic. Hahah, my favorite highlighters are the super subtle ones that can be used both on the cheeks and the browbone, but I've never attempted the middle of forehead/ bridge of the nose. That's where I need to powder to mattify my natural glow, lol.
DeleteMmmh I have the INGLOT Store in front of my doors, but I still don't know their complete product palette. I had a look onto our online store and yes, we have a lot of shades available!
ReplyDeleteSo, do you think Nyx Taupe is quite the same? More brown? More taupe? It is hard to make out a difference in your swatched.
I totally agree, that noone needs a whole palette for conturing the face. I need a darker shade for conturing - A light vanilla shade for my browbones - A shimmery apricot shade as highlighter on my cheekbones. Its a pity that INGLOT doesn't have that one perfect highlighter shade for me. Last time I went there, we had to mix up 3 highlighters in order to get a good result. But I don't want to buy 3 products. I am still looking for that perfect one.
Hi Lila! :) To be completely honest, on the skin (when blended in properly etc), I'm pretty sure the Inglot 504 and NYX Taupe look exactly the same. In the pan, Inglot is more mauvey, NYX is more taupe/ grey brown.
DeleteI don't own any highlighters from Inglot, but I know that they have these Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick-esque stripey highlighters that are supposed to be really good, and because you get a mixture of different shades in there, you can customize it a bit more. But I understand that it's sometimes very difficult to get the perfect highlight shade, on my fair skin most popular highlighters are just too dark :/
Thank you, Monika! Mmmh I think I should try that NYX one, when I'm finished with the rest of my eyeshadow ^^
DeleteWe have also tried these shimmer bricks but none of these looked good on me. The lightest one is too silvery, the second one is already too dark and golden. Besides, I could only wear the 2-3 lightest shades of the shimmer bricks at all. We had to combine both and correct them with white (!!) powder. Of course this is no solution for everyday. I've recently been to high end stores, but they also don't have a correct shade for my undertone. MAC Lightscapade is too silver and light, the others are too dark. Neither benefit sun beam nor high beam fits. Even bare mineral's new highlighter is too dark for me. Light olive cold undertones can be a mess -.-"
agreed. i think once you find the one colour, i don't understand why you would need more (unless your colour changed through the seasons but still...one colour per season right?) instead of having three different skin tones worth of powder in a palette, i'd rather a brand create separate colour combos so you'd only have to buy the one you needed. i guess the multi packs are good for artists though.
ReplyDeletei've been using nyx's taupe as well and it works for me. that sort of greyish contour shade seems to make the most natural shadowing and yea...tooo orange is no good. this one looks similar enough that it would probably work as well which is weird since i'm warm toned. i like that its in pan form and so affordable!
Yes, I get that you may possibly need a different shade if you get more tan in the summer, but I never get tan enough to need separate products :) I think some brands got it right by making duos with one contouring and one highlighting shade (Marc Jacobs, the Wet n'Wild dupes for MJ), those seem a lot more reasonable to me.
DeleteI've seen a Polish make-up artist use no. 504 as well, and she's a lot more yellow/ olive than me. Weird, huh? I think the warm shades in this HD range must be for really really warm toned folks :)
Looks so interesting!! I really don't get the hype around those palettes either. And I stepped off the whole 'bronzer as a contour' thing, it just NEVER looks natural and too orange. But on my yellow face NYX Taupe looked too rosy, will this be too pink as well, you think?
ReplyDeleteYep, I think bronzers are meant to warm up the face and maybe give a bit of dimension, but they're not supposed to create shadowy areas. If the NYX Taupe is too rosy for you, this one will definitely be too rosy as well - but Inglot has lots of warm shades of these Sculpting Powders for more yellow/ olive skintones as well. Give them a swatch if you have an Inglot store nearby!
DeleteI really don't like the contouring trend (as an NW8/10, most things are wayyyy too dark or warm for me) but you are selling it! This doesn't look obvious on you at all. Can I ask what it looks like in profile, and how you blend so you don't have a harsh line?
ReplyDeleteHi Adele! Hmm, it doesn't look too different in profile than what you can see in the photo I posted, this angle actually accentuates my cheekbones a bit more than in profile, if that makes any sense. I've used the Zoeva Face Paint brush to apply and blend, but if you're scared of it looking too harsh, you could always go back and blend some more with a kabuki/ buffing brush. Hope that helps, let me know if you have any more questions!
DeleteI find that with contour palettes only one, maybe two shades are suitable for my skintone. I see them as a useful tool for makeup artists, but not the average woman so their recently popularity doesn't make sense to me. I'm pretty pale and not a huge fan of a heavy contour, but this looks lovely on you! I'm heading out to the Inglot store in NY in a couple of weeks and I think I'll check this out ;)
ReplyDeleteOooh, are you going to be in NYC? There's an Inglot store right in Times Square, with a huge neon on top :D Let me know if you have any NYC-related questions!
DeleteNone of these are quite grey enough for my ultra-olive skin tone, but it works so beautifully on you!
ReplyDeleteSuch a great color. I use Taupe from NYX and I like it a lot x
ReplyDeleteWow, yes, this one looks really good on you!! Inglot is another brand I've never tried/came across, but sounds v. promising indeed!
ReplyDeletehmmm....interesting! This is something worth trying out. I was impressed with its qualities and it seems easy and simple to work with. Will do check on this one.....
ReplyDeleteI'm medium fair with a rosy undertone. I find most sculpting and bronzing products look ruddy or too orange on my skin. If someone made a sculpting powder that was just a few shades darker than my foundation, I think it would be perfect. Haven't found it yet
ReplyDeleteWow just look at that cheekbone definition! Gorgeous bone structure :) The powder you picked out suits your skin tone very well and looks natural but still very sculpting. I want to get into contouring but I have a pretty flat and large face so whatever I do looks odd. I think bronzing is probably more "natural" while still going some way towards giving my face some shape. NYX Taupe is such a cult classic but I think it perhaps only works well for pale skin tones - it looks terrible on me yet I can't bear to let it go from my collection haha :p
ReplyDeleteI'm a mega-fan of this one and it does wonders on my medium olive skin too. Bravo, INGLOT!
ReplyDeleteI hear you on the contouring palettes! I'd get it if you were a makeup artist, but having a palette (and sometimes multiple palettes) just seems... excessive. The constant blathering on about contouring annoys me too -- I do it, I get the appeal, but it's not the be all and end all! Anyway, I've read your Inglot reviews with interest. Aaaaand you look stunning -- this shade works perfectly on you.
ReplyDeleteThis whole contouring craze is a bit strange, these days everyone is a MUA ;) As for this Inglot - I think it looks great on you, and I will probably pick it up when I am near Inglot net time. Thanks for the rec.
ReplyDeleteAbout the lack of shades for cool skintones; I think that people with cooler skintones are mainly on the light side. I could be wrong, but I get the impression that darker skintones tend to be warm. Maybe that's the reason they didn't have as much selection? Anyway, I think a contouring shade should also be cooler than your skin, because shades tend to be cool.
ReplyDeleteI do love contouring, when done right it can work wonders. As an example, I love how Karima from Shameless Fripperies does her contour, and I love yours as well. Meaning I like subtle contouring. The super-done contouring and highlighting trend doesn't really go with me, even though it looks good on some girls. I would feel too made up for my personal taste. And I'm still yet figuring how to properly contour for my face, lol.
I love Inglot Cosmetics from Majorbrands – it mixes both roguish and sweet characteristics and looks perfect! Hot fashion is always admirable.
ReplyDeleteHi!! Your contour looks "on point". I must ask what brush do you use for contouring? And that shade looks great on you. I'm a NC25 a more warm tone girl, do you think I'd be the powder 505?
ReplyDeleteHi Paula, thank you! I think I used the Zoeva Face Paint brush - it looks like the NARS Ita. Gosh, the Inglot website is a pain to use when you're trying to figure out your shade... Check out my friend's 10am Beauty post with swatches of 502 and 505, she says 505 is a great option for everyday and she has more of an olive undertone - so probably closer to your skintone than my pink skin :) Hugs!
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