Affordable finds: City Color Contour & Define Palette and Contour Brush

Jul 1

I admit I can still be a snoot sometimes when it comes to makeup. I tend to judge an unfamiliar brand by the price tag, which is silly, because I of all people should know that there are so many affordable and good cosmetics out there. Forgive me. I am spoiled for choice considering my job and I really should know better!

I haven't heard of City Color Cosmetics before Maye of Makeupholics sent me a few products. It's not yet that popular here in the Philippines but it's very promising, considering the quality and the price tag! City Color is apparently a Canadian drugstore brand that launched in 2011. It boasts of highly pigmented colors and a wide selection of products to make any makeup nerd's heart skip a beat. Still, I wasn't impressed, until I got to try my first City Color loot!

I got the City Color Contour & Define Palette (P530 from Makeupholics) and Contour Dual-Ended Brush (P450). The packaging of the palette is rather blah but the shades and the formula of the powders are verrrry nice! It has a warm brown Contour shade (matte), a light neutral tan Bronzer (also matte), a peachy earthy Blush (sateen), and a white champagne Highlighter (shimmer). Used together, these make my face look sculpted to perfection!

The staying power is also great. The Blush and Highlight last about 4-5 hours on me, while the Contour and Bronzer stays on for 5-6 hours. The texture is a bit powdery but it goes on smoothly with no streaking. Each pan has about 3.88 grams of product, almost as much as a full-sized blush for example.

At first I was using the Contour color to contour my face, but I realized it's much too intense for my skin tone. It's a bit hard to control because of the pigmentation! I've found that the Bronzer does a much better, natural-looking job. It's actually darker on skin compared to the pan. I use it to sculpt under my cheekbones and the sides of my nose, while I use Contour for my jawline since I need a lot of contrast in that area.

The Blush doesn't show up in the photo below but it's pretty on my skin tone. It rather blends too well because of the earthy undertone though; I would prefer something more pink or peachy but it looks good nonetheless. The Highlight blends nicely and doesn't look too harsh on my cheekbones and bridge of the nose.

I'd say it all looks lovely! Let's talk about the Contour Dual-Ended Brush. Honestly, I don't like the angled, flat-top side - never did like this shape for contouring my face - but the wide tapered edge is perfect, and I mean PERFECT for contouring the nose. The best nose contouring brush I've found so far is the MAC 217, but it requires a controlled hand, a lotta layering, and a lotta blending. With the City Color nose brush, I just line my nose, blend any visible edge outwards, and I'm done! I LOVE IT.

It would be really cool if City Color just sells this brush separately. You must get one if you love shaping your nose!

http://www.shopatmakeupholics.comOverall, I highly recommend the City Color Contour & Define Palette and Contour Brush (at least the nose part) to anyone who loves creating dimension on their face. The pigmentation, texture, and staying power of the powder is ace, while the nose brush is my new best friend. Love 'em! The brush btw is on sale at P338 instead of P450. The contour palette is not available online for now but it can be found in the retail locations below.

Thoughts? Do you like contouring your face?