Sleek MakeUP - Face Contour Kit

The Sleek MakeUP machine keeps a turning! This face contour kit has been out for a while, I remember looking at it before Christmas and thinking it looked ok but I was not in the market for a contouring powder. I prefer to do contouring using foundations or concealers of the cream variety.

I think this product is really great for a quick swipe here and there but it is not easy to blend or very precise. It can often just make your face look blotchy. The powders themselves are soft, well pigmented and very dark, girls if you're Caucasian, this isn't for you. Sleek MakeUP does cater really well for my skin tone, I have not been brave enough to try any of their foundations yet but I think on my next trip to London I might pick up a couple of shades to try.

I took some photographs today in natural daylight, before and after contouring. To apply the contouring powder I used several brushes - a small round domed brush for the eye area, an angled cheek brush for the cheek and then blended with my foundation brush and in the end resorted to fingers as it was blotchy.

There is noticeable definition under the cheek bones and some around the eyes. I found the eye area the most tricky in fact but I think the result of a softer, flatter and more open eye worked quite well. But if you're wearing eye shadow isn't necessary.

I liked using it along my jaw bone, it worked well to give it definition and was quite subtle after much blending. So my considered opinion on the shader is that it is a great colour for large areas but still blotchy. A cautious note though, if you're on the side of oilier skinned this is going to look terrible unless you have already set your foundation with powder.

The highlighter is quite silvery in this kit, which does no favours for my skin tone. It is smooth and creamy but there is also a chunky/sticky quality to it. This sticky quality (not lipgloss sticky) means that it will sit in any flaws on your skin. Which is why I don't recommend powder highlighters to people with skin issues (bumps, scars, wrinkles etc). Cream or liquid highlighters (of which Sleek MakeUp do a very nice illuminating fluid) are much better. Some powder highlighters can also irritate and this one did make my chin itchy.

You'll see immediately where the highlighter was used on the browbone, inner corner, top of the cheek, outer lip corners, chin ando the cupids bow of the lips. I only applied a small amount but you can see it looks odd on my skin. This is because my skin tone doesn't go well with silver, it really needs gold to be an effective highlight colour.

So all in all I think it's a great little compact better than the MAC shade and sculpt in terms of pigmentation. The Sleek one has a more orange undertone and the highlighter does actually highlight if a little too well!

Sleek MakeUP, thank you for sending it to me to review but this product leaves me cold. I wonder if you'd consider making a cream contouring palette with washable sponge wedge instead?

Sleek MakeUP Face Contour Kit is £5.99 from Superdrug.

Do you like contouring products, how do you find using them?