Stila Shape and Shade Custom Contour Duo in Medium

Hello dears!

Here's another swatch post!

I usually contour my nose and cheeks, but I usually use powder rather than cream products as they work better with my oily skin. But my sister gave me this product so might as well blog about it...

Stila Shape and Shade Custom Contour Duo in Medium

I like stila. I have some favorite products that come from the brand, so my expectations were quite high. I was actually very excited to try it out when I received it even if it's a cream type. 

The packaging looks great and I love the slim compact! It looks classy with the matte gold plastic case. I like that the mirror is big as well.

Anyway, let's get to know the product from the description from the labels and the website:

This ultra-creamy, super-soft contour and high-light duo, uniquely, in three shades, is the perfect contouring solution for all skin tones. 

This velvety duo melts into the skin and has a matte finish that blends beautifully with soft focus, line-filling properties that instantly blur imperfections, leaving skin looking so smooth and naturally sculpted you won't know it's the makeup!

Benefits:

Buildable, sheer coverage.

The three shade combinations, tested by Stila artists, offer the perfect duo of shades for three skin tone ranges - light, medium, deep. Sheer, buildable coverage delivers instant color that works on both the fairest and deepest complexions.

Matte contour shades give a natural, sculpted look that won't accentuate oily skin or fine lines. Matte highlighter is the modern way to enhance and bring light to features.

Long-wear, non-transfer, waterproof and sweat-proof.

This Contour Duo comes with an easy to follow how-to guide on sculpting and shading with tips from the Stila Pros.

STILA'S SHAPE & SHADE CUSTOM CONTOUR BRUSH is the perfect tool to complete the look.

Highlights: C12-15 ALKYL BENZOATE, CALCIUM ALUMINUM BOROSILICATE, CERESIN, ETHYLHEXYL PALMITATE, HYDROGENATED CASTOR OIL, HYDROGENATED CASTOR OIL HYDROXYSTEARATE, ISOHEXADECANE, ISOSTEARYL NEOPENTANOATE, OCTYLDODECANOL, PALMITOYL OLIGOPEPTIDE, PARFUM (FRAGRANCE), POLYMETHYL METHACRYLATE, PPG-15 STEARYL ETHER, PPG-25-LAURETH-25, SORBITAN ISOSTEARATE, SYNTHETIC FLUORPHLOGOPITE, TALC, TOCOPHERYL ACETATE, TRIBEHENIN, TRIMETHYLSILOXYPHENYL DIMETHICONE. (+/-) Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499). Yellow 5 ( CI 19140). Contour: CASTOR OIL HYDROXYSTEARATE, ISOHEXADECANE, ISOSTEARYL NEOPENTANOATE, OCTYLDODECANOL, PARFUM (FRAGRANCE), POLYMETHYL METHACRYLATE, PPG-15 STEARYL ETHER, PPG-25-LAURETH-25, SYNTHETIC FLUORPHLOGOPITE, TALC, TOCOPHERYL ACETATE, TRIMETHYLSILOXYPHENYL DIMETHICONE. (+/-) Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492), IRON OXIDES BLACK( CI 77499), RED 7 LAKE (CI 15850).

• High performance technology pigments is a patented process; each pigment is uniquely coated, guaranteeing superior wear, higher-color payoff, and a softer texture.
• For best results, use with the new Stila Shape & Shade Custom Contour Brush, designed to work specifically with these innovative contouring and highlighting formulas, delivering perfect product placement and payoff.
• This Contour Duo comes with an easy to follow how-to guide on sculpting and shading with tips from the Stila Pros.

I like wearing liquid foundations so I thought this would look great on top of my foundation, before I apply my transparent loose powder.  

I appreciate, too, that the contour doesn't have that strong red tone because that doesn't go well with my skin. Unfortunately, I encountered a problem. What was supposed to be a product to highlight wasn't lighter than my skin tone. I think it's too close, or even darker than my skin tone. I think I should use the Light shade instead of Medium.

Here are the swatches:

With just one swatch, I get this result. The pigmentation is great! A little goes a long way so be careful with the amount you apply.

When slightly blended, it looks smooth. It blended smoothly on skin and it feels very light. It's easy to blend and the finish looks soft and natural. I find that brushes work better at blending for me. A beauty blender works good too!

So below you'll see my face and where I usually apply the contour. I didn't use the highlight because it's pretty much the same color as my face. :P

And below is when it's blended...

It gives a soft finish. I don't usually apply much although I know that a darker contour is what's in, especially in Instagram. If you do like a stronger contour, the good news is this product is very buildable! 

Overall, I think it's a decent product. I do like the contour but the highlight is barely used. I'll try to use it on my friends with darker skin tone to see the effect better. Both shades have matte finish and I'd really like to see a matte highlighter in action.

Would I buy it once mine runs out? Uhhhh... maybe not. As much as I think the contour is good, I feel like powder is still better in terms of formula. I find that it's a bit expensive (according to the website) at $40, especially for something that I only use half of the product. 

And that's all for this post! Thoughts on the Stila Shape and Shade Custom Contour Duo?

Cheers,

DAWN