BeautyUK Ultimate Contour Palette

Looking for a readily available, dedicated cream contour palette is a mean feat, but looking for one in the drugstore is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Yet at the bottom of that haystack, tucked behind a few lipglosses, sat the Ultimate Contour Palette on the BeautyUK stand. I'm a bit of a BeautyUK virgin, as the budget brand doesn't get that much attention on the blogosphere, and there just hasn't been a product to catch my eye. If this wasn't £4.99, it would have been a gamble.

The Ultimate Contour Palette contains three cream shades: a highlight, bronze and contour colour. These aren't the darkest of colours so may not be ideal for deeper skin tones, but for my pale skin? Happy days. They also don't translate too warm or orangey on the skin, essential for a contour akin to a natural shadow. Packaging is a simple affair, housing the product in a similar black cardboard to the Collection eyshadow palettes. Whilst this isn't as pretty or durable, it does make for easier travelling (tip: it could also double up as your concealer!).

The consistency of the creams is light, yet still has a bit of density to yield the kind of staying power you need for a contour product. These are definitely lighter in texture than a concealer, which in my eyes is great because it means zero cakiness, and won't accentuate any troublesome pores. All the shades are well pigmented, although I find the highlight to be the least. This may be due to the fact it is a fab colour match for my skin, I could even use this as a light concealer! 

Now onto the much awaited contour. There is a mini tutorial on the back, which admittedly, I haven't read. I apply these creams with my fingers, starting with the contour shade, mapping a short line from my ear under my cheekbones until I'm parallel with the outer corner of my eye. This line gets blended either with a foundation brush or my fingers. I use the bronze shade to do a more subtle contour on my temples, nose and jawline, then use the highlight on top of my cheekbones, underneath the contour line and down the bridge of the nose. 

This palette works so well for a subtle yet effective contour for daytime, and I was surprised how easy it was (a lot easier than getting it to show up well in a photo!). Some may argue that these creams could be more dense and pigmented, but honestly it just makes for easier blending and foolproof application. I'm sure you could build these up for a more dramatic look if you wanted to.

Overall I'm pretty impressed with my first BeautyUK purchase. I was sceptical beforehand of the quality, but despite the packaging, it didn't feel at all cheap. A great contour makes such a difference to the face, and now it's super simple thanks to the Ultimate Contour Palette. This is a great product to fill the gap before the hotly anticipated UK release of the Anastasia Contour Cream Kit.

Have you tried anything from BeautyUK?