Contour recs

[SweetSweetIrony]

So I'm very pale (NW5 maybe?) with serious pink undertones. I'm looking for a contour product, preferably cream. Powder could work but it always seems patchy to me.

Also how do you guys apply and blend your contour products?


This is me.

 

[shellygrrl]

Cream recs: OCC Creme Colour Concentrate in John Doe or Illamasqua Cream Pigment in Hollow. (I use the former, personally, but the latter is also a good cream for contouring paler skins.) Powder recs: MAC eyeshadow in Omega, Illamasqua eyeshadow in Heroine, Anastasia eyeshadow in Stone, NYX blush in Taupe, MAC blush in Next to Skin (this was LE this past fall/autumn, but if you can find it, or if they repromote it, I definitely recommend it). I don't, personally, recommend bronzer for doing this, especially not for those of us with paler skin. Most bronzers made for us tend to be on the orangey side, which is not natural. There are some pale-to-light-skinned people who love stuff like MAC blush in Strada (discontinued in 2010) or NARS Contour Powder in Olympia to do their contouring. It may do for you, it may not. (I used to use Strada for contouring, but it's a bit too rosy for my taste.) The natural hollows of the face tend to be quite ashy. For creams, most of the time I apply product with my finger, then blend. Sometimes I use a brush to blend or do both (I like Real Techniques' Expert Face Brush for this). Another thing you can try is apply your cream contour before foundation (if you use foundation... I know how hard it is to find one for pale skins, as I'm a palie myself!). When you put your foundation over the top it'll blend the cream contour in. An angle foundation brush (e.g., MAC 193, Real Techniques Foundation Brush (the one sold separately)) would work, too. Apply the product to the shorter bristles, then let the longer ones help blend the product out. For powders, I like using a paddle-shaped brush. I find they apply and blend product better than using a round/dome-shaped brush (e.g., MAC 109). A few options are: RT Expert Face Brush, Nars Ita Brush, Zoeva 109. Another option is to use an angled brush that's not super fluffy (options: Hakuhodo G504, Rae Morris Ultimate Cheekbone (#3), Chanel #2). This video shows you how you'd use an angled brush to do contouring. [video]https://vimeo.com/80853524[/video]

 

[Sexy Sadie]

I am just as light skinned as you and use Inglot matte eye shadow #358 (a cold brownish grey) as contour.

 

[suciarubia]

Speaking as a pale girl, I find that a more gray-brown shade seems to flatter me the most. MAC Omega eyeshadow comes to mind! I also like how ELFs blush/powder duo in St Lucia looks (especially for the price!), although it does show up with a more orangeish cast Omega. Definitely not as bad as MACs Blunt, which I know is a popular contour shade- that looks straight up orange on me. I apply with an ELFs small tapered brush for everywhere except my nose- for that I use their small studio contour brush (dome shaped). As for cream, I use Graftobian neutral shades, applied with a damp beauty blender

 

[Maris Crane]

Illamasqua Hollow? I don't love it (the texture is nice, though!) but it is very, very light. I think it's almost too light, for me TBH.

 

[Sexy Sadie]

I use a matte light grey eye shadow from Inglot for shading and contour.

 

[gabriela225]

I 1000% recommend the Smashbox Contour Kit. It's amazing and works on all skin tones!

 

[BandNerdChic]

Ben NYE has some really excellent contour shades..a bit difficult to find, but I am NW20 and used contour No.1 until I found MAC Next To Skin, which would be especially great for pale ladies. I've heard a lot of good things about Illamasqua Hollow For application, I like to use a Hakuhodo J5521 (very dense, but soft and gentle, great for applying pigmented shades lightly), Sonia Kashuk Small Powder brush (medium density), or Real Techniques Expert Face brush (very dense, good for applying less pigmented shades).

 

[Arlandria]

I actually got Next to Skin because of Specktra - and its soooo perfect! If you have a chance of buying it, you should I'm wondering about buying Illamasqua Hollow, and I'm pretty sure that would work for you as well.

A nice drugstore option is the Nyx Blush in Taupe! I used to use it all the time until NTS.

I aggree with the tip on not using bronzer to contour when you're pale. I sometimes do though, just not my cheekbones. I really like the Body Shop Honey Bronzer in 01 (or was it 02? They are very similar!). Its light enough for me and doesnt show up orange on me.

 

[llconfident]

Hoola by Benefit! Not too dark, would be suitable for lighter skin