NYX Highlight and Contour Pro Palette – First impressions

I really didn’t want to do this post today…Friday’s should be light posts….like the one I originally drafted for today (Next Friday it is!), but I thought in case these palettes get sold out by the weekend, at least you’d have a shot at getting one if you felt you wanted one. 

First off…..I am not into contouring at all. I have tried and it ends up looking muddy, so I figure I’m doing it wrong, I don’t have the right shade, I don’t have the right brush, chipmunk cheeks….whatever, it’s just too much for this busy mom to try and tackle.

One day I was binge watching You Tube videos and I’m not sure who hauled this palette out, but it kind of intrigued me. I think what made it even more appealing was then realising it was not available in South Africa. Crazy I know. I don’t contour, but I can’t get that palette here, so now I want it??? Go figure. THEN I saw the announcement that this would indeed be hitting our South African Shores. I started watching the NYX Facebook page like a hawk. I was camping out at Clicks, so much so that they were like…’please stop wasting your petrol, give us your number. Don’t call us, we’ll call you when it arrives. Capiche?’ The waiting began……

A few days ago I got the call…they only got 8 palettes in and they’d put one aside for me. By the time they called me, on the day of receiving stock, there were 4 palettes left. By the time I left the store later that afternoon there was only 1 left. I will admit, I got a bit of a shock when I saw the price…..EEEKKK…drugstore is supposed to be affordable…cheap… R394 doesn’t feel cheap for a midweek pop in at Clicks. Oh well, moving along.

So I get home and unbox this baby…..

Hmmm…..now what? I swatched it and was still a bit confused about what to do with everything. Ah, when in doubt….google…you tube…. and then I got a general idea of what to do with this palette. Heck I’d even try to contour.

So there are 8 colours. Top row, from left to right:

Ice Queen – a white highlighter

Soft Light – A matte neutral toned sort of highlighter

Cream – A banana powder

Nectar – A shimmery peach highlighter

The bottom row consists of your bronzer and contour shades:

Tan, Toffee, Sculpt and Hollow.

These pans all have a lovely soft texture and are very pigmented, but without attacking you with colour. The powder is really finely milled. I feel it blends really well. The one negative…there is a ton of fallout with this product. You swipe and there’s so much loose powder. I see almost everybody online mentions this exact same issue with this palette, but like me, they don’t feel it’s a deal breaker with the palette due to the quality and variety that you get. Another plus is that the pans are removeable so you can replace the colours that you use most frequently without purchasing a whole new palette. I’m not sure if we have the single pans here in SA though. I’ll have to check when I next go to harass the poor ladies at Clicks.

How I used this for my first attempt:

I used Ice queen as my brow, cupid’s bow and inner corner highlight.

The matte powder and the banana powder I used to set my under eye concealer. I also used the matte powder as an eye shadow base.

The peach highlighter on the top of my cheeks…..oh my soul…this is amazing!!! It gave me such a lovely sheen and it was instant. I didn’t have to swipe again and again to get my highlight going. Yes I understand, nobody takes me seriously anymore when I talk about highlighters…..because I love everything. Please don’t make me choose a favourite….please….

I used Toffee to bronze and warm up my face. This shade really impressed me. I’ve always hoped to find a bronzer that makes me see JLo in the mirror. Ladies…let me tell you, today JLo was with me every step of the way….*heart eyes* I loved the way this bronzer warmed up my face.

Sculpt was used to attempt some contour where my big round cheeks are. I think I was very scared of packing it on, so I used a very light hand. I was happy with my attempt and will probably be a bit braver when I next attempt it.

I also used Sculpt in my crease just to warm up my eyes for a simple matte eye shadow look for the office. [Update –  The ‘shadow’ lasted all day.  By 8pm last night I had to remove it, as it was still as I’d applied it the morning. So it speaks to the fact that this is a good quality product.]

I found this palette to be incredibly versatile and despite almost leaving it due to the price, I’m glad I took it. If you’re a beginner with contouring and highlighting….this is definitely a great palette to own. Online, people say it’s better than some high end contour palettes and good value for money, so seeing as I don’t know the value of a good contour palette, I’m going to then say that this is really good value for money.

The butter glosses smelled so good and I loved the swatches, but I am officially broke and will have to wait for Santa to decide I’ve been good and reward me with a few of the shades. There was so much I wanted to buy and try….. *sigh* If I was a rich girl…na na na na na na na na na na…..

Will you be getting your hands on this palette? Have you used it before? Let me know in the comments below.