contour and highlight ft mac sculpting and shaping powders vs anastasia contour kit

Seems everyone like myself is fascinated about sculpting the face and creating a more perfect flawless face. 

That is if you want to make the illusion of a smaller forehead, a slimmer or shorter nose, a longer face, a more chiseled jawline or cheekbones,  voluptuous lips and or cleavage. You get it 

Everything is possible the possibilities are endless. 

Highlighting; to PULL FORWARD to brighten  and enhance your features. Usually the high planes of your face where the sun naturally hits.

I call it *spotlight* (2-3 shades LIGHTER than your skin tone)

Here's some areas to highlight*

center of your forhead

bridge of your nose 

Cupid's bow

Center of the chin

Cheekbones

Above ends of brow 

contour; to PULL BACK/to define and enhance your bone structure and create an illusion by creating a shadow  (2-3 shades DARKER than your skin tone)

Here are some areas to contour-

Sides do the nose/tip of nose 

Gallows of the cheeks

Forehead hairline /temples 

Jawline blending down to neck 

Let's get to this review....

Here is one of the many options there is for contouring and highlighting the face (powders) 

To the left we have the M.A.C palette I customized myself vs the right Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour palett.

  

Here I swatched each powder on my forearm without and with flash

Just by observing these two palettes side by side we see the ABH palette is half size smaller than the Mac palette. 

Each MAC pan contains 6g/0.21oz vs ABH 3g/0.11oz each which means double the product. 

Mac price $16.50 for each pan can only be purchase online or at a Mac Pro Store.That is a total of $99.00 for 6 pans without the palette and insert.

http://www.maccosmetics.com/product/shaded/8681/1624/Pro-Products/Face/Shaping-Powder-Pro-Palette/index.tmpl

ABH contour pallet is $40 for the complete palette and downside is that it can only be bought for a limited time at ulta store or online at ABH site.

http://www.anastasia.net/Contour-Kit.html

What I love about this palette it's that it's great for travel and there is no mirror to worry about breaking. 

My personal opinion (price) is you're a makeup artist I'll def go with the mac palette because you'll get your pro discount if you apply and you have a wide range of shades and variety for your clientele.

If it's for your personal needs then definitely go with ABH you won't have to worry about locating a pro store or paying for shipping fees.

 So if you're still doubting about a contour palette just DONT! everyone needs one no matter your age you NEED this in your life. 

If you're a beginner I recommend you to start with a matte bronzer. 

If you're on the mature side you'll need to be careful about the shimmer on highlights because they can accentuate your fine line/wrinkles. 

 Both palettes are finely milled and are blendable and buildable. You can order refills on your favorite highlight and contour powders. BOTH ARE great quality palettes. 

I like to start with a lighter shade a more warmer tone another + (skip my bronzer) by using a warm tone from the same palette and add warmth to my face. A little goes a long way. I like to work with layers and end with definition by adding a more cool gray tone to create a shadow on my contour.

***If you are a dark skin beauty your best bet is to go for a Mac sculpting shade or wait until ABH launches their darker shades to best suit your skin. 

Here are my favorite brushes to contour and highlight 

MY CURRENT FAVORITE CONTOUR BRUSHES

Sigma P84 to contour the sides of my nose. The angle makes it especially easy to contour my nose so I mainly use it for this. 

http://www.sigmabeauty.com/Precision_Angled_P84_p/p84.htm

Nars Ita kabuki brush to create a sharp defined high cheek (unavailable) can be purchased on nars online or nordstrom. 

Morphe Brushes M460 I love this especially to do cream contour. 

http://morphebrushes.com/index.php?dispatch=products.view&product_id=924

Mac 168 Angeles contour brush

I like how dense it is and like to use it for an everyday makeup look 

http://www.maccosmetics.com/product/146/324/168-Large-Angled-Contour-Brush/index.tmpl

MY CURRENT FAVORITE HIGHLIGHTING/setting BRUSHES FOR POWDER

Real Techniques setting brush 

I live this brush especially for loose setting powders

http://www.ulta.com/ulta/browse/productDetail.jsp;jsessionid=20091F250E50EC0C44F114A79C2E25CC.pr-a3-app1?productId=xlsImpprod4260019

Bdellium Tools 944 tapered pointed contour brush

You can use it for both contour and highlighting just like many tools are multitasking. But this one I like to use especially for setting my highlight 

https://bdelliumtools.com/studio-944-tapered-contour.html

Mac 184 fan brush

This is like to dust some shimmer glowy powders on the cheekbones for that radiant look 

http://www.maccosmetics.com/product/146/1345/Products/Brushes/Face/184-Duo-Fibre-Fan-Brush/index.tmpl