Worth The Hype? Beautiful Brows Contour Kit - Review & Swatches

Contouring is arguably one of the biggest makeup trends of the last couple of years, so it's no surprise that contour kits have been flying off the shelves.

I love playing around with contouring. Whenever I have the time to sit down and do my makeup properly, I really enjoy nothing more than pulling out various shades, kits, and brushes to see what I can do. It's that appeal of an instant transformation which got me interested in makeup in the first place, and of course, contouring, when done right, has the power to hide a multitude of sins. A quick stroke of a darker shade underneath the cheekbones can give the illusion of a slimmer face, likewise for down the nose, and a little highlight here and there can make you look brighter and more youthful in seconds. It's makeup trickery at its very best!

It's no surprise then to see almost every makeup brand these days releasing a contour kit, and my beauty stash boasts a good mix of these that I use on a regular basis. A new one that I've been experimenting with lately comes from a British brand called Beautiful Brows.

Packaged in a slim, magnetic plastic compact, the Beautiful Brows Contour Kit has six cream shades; three highlighters and three contours. I have to admit that the packaging is a bit love/hate as I'm so used to having hinges and proper lids on my palettes, but it is functional with a secure magnetic closure that makes it very travel-friendly (I've thrown it into my travel bag a couple of times to test this out and it's happily survived every trip so far!). The kit is refillable, and the pans are a large, generous size, so it's definitely one of those investment makeup pieces that will last you a long time if you're picking it up for personal use.

Included with the kit is a little fold-out instruction booklet giving application tips and advice on how to get the most out of it. This is a great idea for those new to contouring to provide some guidance as it can be quite daunting if you don't know what you're doing.

Most of the contour kits that I own often have one or two shades that I rarely touch in them, mainly because they're either too dark or too light for my complexion. It's difficult to find one where every single shade will suit you unless you're building your own custom palette. The Beautiful Brows Contour Kit is the same in that Nude is far too light for me, but surprisingly, I can get all of the other colours to work with some blending and mixing.

The shades in this kit are:-

• Caramel: Warm lighter brown contour. Suits my light olive/medium skin tone very well for a subtle contour as it's similar to a bronzer shade. Pulls a little orange if I apply too much, but I can avoid this by mixing it with a little Mocha. 
• Nude: Very pale pink highlight, best suited for fairer, lighter skin ones than mine. 
• Champagne: Gorgeous classic peachy gold highlighter - look at that shimmer! Super flattering on and I imagine it'll work with a range of skin tones. 
• Chocolate: Medium/dark brown contour. I thought this was going to be initially too dark for me but it blends beautifully and gives great definition. 
• Vanilla: Pale yellow highlight - the best shade for brightening up the undereye area and doing some serious Kim K style highlighting all over with. 
• Mocha: Cool brown with a grey undertone. Perfect for a more subtle contour underneath the cheekbones.

Overall thoughts

All of the shades are very pigmented, creamy and easy to work with. I can blend them with my fingers, sponge or a brush, and they last well throughout the day. Overall I'm very impressed with this kit and would recommend it equally to hardcore contouring fans, makeup artists and beginners because it's just so easy to use. It is on the pricey side for a cruelty-free brand that's not particularly well known, but the quality is comparable to some mid to high end versions that I've tried, and the pans are a really big size so you're getting a lot of product for your money.

Beautiful Brows Contour Kit* is priced at £40 and is available from beautifulbrows.co.uk

Are you a fan of contouring?

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