The Kevyn Aucoin contour - cream or powder?

Cream

Powder

Just incase you hadn’t noticed – I love Kevyn Aucoin. He was one of the most talented makeup aritsts, and I have loved every single one of his products I’ve tried.  The infamous sculpting powder now comes in a cream formula as well, and after being asked what the difference between the two was – I’ve jotted down my thoughts.

The powder. Oh, the powder. Pigmented and ‘finely-milled’ (one of those abused phrases). I use the ELF stipple brush, and it diffuses it nicely without much effort. So easy to blend, and pretty hard to overdo - the colour mimics natural shadow. I find powders easier than creams, because you just sweep and go. The highlight with this is what I’ve dubbed a ‘sophisticated’ highlighter – not sparkly, but it just makes your skin look healthy and radiant. Lush.

The cream sculpting duo is seriously teeny tiny – doll sized beauty. The contour section is particularly miniscule, although you need so little product. It’s very creamy, and dries down to a semi-matte finish. It definitely is not dewy (like… Stila convertible colours for example). Once streaked on, you have to blend quickly – I find the easiest way is to use a stippling brush and kind of swirl it in. It’s harder to blend than the powder, and a cream contour is definitely not for a novice. The highlighter is lush – not too much, but just imparts a certain je ne se quois of glowy skin.  I love using this duo when I use cream blush as well, because then it’s a triad of creamy goodness.

The powder for ease and if you’re obsessed with contouring. Like me. The creamy duo if you’ve got drier skin. Like me. Or both. Like me.

There. I promise I’ll stop talking about the sculpting powder now…