Illamasqua Sculpting Powder Duo | Review

Hello there lovelies! Today I’ve got a review on a wonderful product I started lusting after when I saw it on two of my favourite bloggers’ sites; the beautiful Beth at Bird’s Words (Link) and Katie from Katie’s Beauty Blog (Link). Both of these gorgeous girls had very positive things to say about the duo, and after reading more about them, I decided I absolutely NEEDED it! I really love face products over any other kind of product. I’m far more desperate for a new concealer or face powder than a new eye shadow or lippy, so this duo was right up my street. I’m a massive fan of the NARS blush/bronzer duos, and I have always loved them for the convenience factor. This duo by Illamasqua looks like my new one stop shop for sculpting my face and adding that ethereal glow I’ve been such a fan of recently.

The packaging is just beautiful; so elegant and luxurious, and I adore the curved edges. Despite it being a little large and a little bulky, it is nice and handy because it contains two products in one. There are two shades, a natural matte contour shade called Heliopolis, and the shimmering, pale highlight shade Lumos. Both portions are decent sized, and so so so sssooooo beautiful. The shades are absolutely ideal for my NC15 skin tone, which can be an absolute mission to find when speaking in terms of a natural looking contour colour. Being pretty pale (especially in winter), contour shades can tend to look extremely orange which is highly unflattering, or a blackish purple, suggesting I have sustained punches to the face, attractive!

As you can see in the swatches below, the shade Heliopolis (contour) is wonderfully subtle and natural, and can be built to create a more defined contour. I find this shade perfect for day time, but if you’re wanting to make the contour less obvious, you can always use a subtle bronzer to warm up most of your face and add the contour lightly over the top. It’s not orangey at all, and would make a convincing, natural looking shadow under your cheekbones. In terms of texture, I can’t fault the product. It’s quite rare I come across a powder product that glides on so creamily and then blends out so seamlessly. Matte shades can tend to be quite dry and go patchy during application, but this powder is so smooth and wonderful, you’d struggle to get patchy areas with it. I take this shade on a Large Angled Contour Brush by Sigma, or my NARS Ita Kabuki Brush and create a line just beneath my cheekbone, then blending it out to look more like a shadow. If it’s a night look, I’ll amp up the drama and definition and stick on a couple of more layers.

As for Lumos, the gorgeous, glistening highlight shade, I’d have to say I’m so far liking this more than NARS’s highlight Albatross. It is a very pale beigey nudey shade, which is also completely natural looking aside from the subtle shimmer. The shimmer causes light to reflect off the points on your face where the highlight has been applied, making them look higher or closer. Lumos is best applied above the cheekbones, down the nose, on the cupid’s bow (instant lip plumping effect) and above the brows on the forehead. These then look more defined, and when used with a contour, can also have a slimming effect on the face. I use this shade with a RealTechniques Setting Brush or a Large Angled Contour Brush by Sigma, and lightly dust it over the areas I want to accentuate. Again, for a night look, I lay it on thicker to create more depth and drama.

This palette allows you to basically do plastic surgery on your own face! It’s perfect for those of you who like that subtle everyday contouring look, but it can be built up to replicate Kim Kardashian’s iconic definition. I got this 20% off in MYER, but it is usually AUD$39. I think this is really reasonable for a gorgeous duo with two such high quality shades with amazing pigmentation and blendability. The shades are long-lasting, creamy, natural and so easy to use. I genuinely don’t have anything negative to say about this duo and I’m so glad I picked it up. It’s a great buy for someone who is a seasoned contourer as it’s so convenient and high quality. But it’s also perfect for someone who’s just starting out because you’re given everything you need to create that defined look. As someone who has always loved a good duo, and as someone who likes to accentuate their cheekbones when applying makeup, this product is suuuuch an instant favourite of mine and it has made a welcome addition to my collection.