Ben Nye Contour Powder and Blush.

               Get Cheek bones like Kate Moss & Mark Francis

I always find contour powders that have an actual grey tone (grey to mimic shadows) impossible to find on the high street and don't get me started on bronzers they are all so orange! Enter Ben Nye Contour powders- realistic colours at high street prices. 

Ben Nye speicalises in theatrical make up but don't let that put you off, they have become so popular with the general population as well as makeup artists they've started to develop products for the mainstream beauty market. Their products are very pigmented (because originally make up needed to stand out to the back row audience and long lasting to withstand hot theatre lights) and are generally cheaper than high end brands such as MAC or Make Up For Ever but their quality is just as good. Fortunately as they have become popular they haven't t raised their prices.

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                                          Left contour no 1 and Right Contour no 2.

The contour powders come in 3 shades: Contour no 1, no 2 and no 3. Yes not original, but use for theatres didn't really require any fancy names. I have no 1 and no 2 because I'm a tan shade and didn't know which one would show up or suit me better. I needn't have worried both are extremely pigmented. Contour no 1 is cooler and has a grey tone to it so suits contouring while no 2 is warmer so is best suited to bronzing. They last all day although I haven't tested them in the hot summer heat. 

The packaging is a basic black snap close case although the matte rubber is similar to Nars packaging. The downside to this is they are difficult to keep clean.The pans contain more product than Kevyn Aucoin's famous sculpting powder (3.5g vs 3.1g) and is so much cheaper at £11.22 each. 

The only drawback is that Ben Nye is not as widely available as established mainstream make up brands.

I bought these from Treasure House of Make Up which is based in the UK here, if you look under powder rouge you'll find the contour powders. They are under the pre-order drop down menu but I actually didn't find that it took that much longer to arrive (perhaps an extra 7 days.)

Ben Nye also do contour creams in very similar shades to those above, however they do contain Ozokerite wax (which my skin cheeks does not like.)

My other purchase was Ben Nye Powder Rouge in Dark Tech DR-9.

Contrary to the name this blush is not dark. On the website this looks like a muted orange but it's a bright coral colour in person. This is actually the colour I wanted but in the pan it looks so scary like the colour red clown cheeks and noses. On the cheeks it does give that summer coral blush but careful this blush is so intensely pigmented you have to apply just the tiniest bit on your blush and make sure you tap away all the excess so that you don't overdo it. I'd recommend washing your blush brush soon after so it doesn't stain the brush. Since this is so pigmented i'd recommend using a fan brush or a synthetic brush that doesn't pick up or apply as much blush. This lasts all day and the pan would last you a very long time like a year or much longer.

I bought this as a refill pan so while the packaging looks basic and a little unattractive it's actually quite functional- there's a sponge that keeps the pan in place which can be thrown away and the pan added into another palette. Unlike other packaging that houses refills the plastic case is sturdy and practical, I've had refills in really flimsy packaging before that you have to move immediately before the whole thing disintegrates. 

The refill pan contains  3.5g and costs £8.98 and is available at Treasure House of Makeup here