Dior’s Skyline Collection for Fall 2016 has some truly spectacular pieces and one of the standouts for me are these Diorblush Contour & Light Sculpting Stick Duos (CAN $48.00/each, limited edition). Trend factor aside, contouring & highlighting (I refuse to use the word ‘strobing’.Ugh) is actually nothing new, as artists of all genres have been incorporating shadow and light techniques – on canvas as well as face makeup – for decades. Eons, in fact; I’m pretty sure if you look closely at the Lascaux cave paintings, you’re sure to find traces of this effect.
Previously reviewed from this collection:
Dior | Diorblush Light & Contour Sculpting Stick Duo
Dior | Diorblush Light & Contour Sculpting Stick Duo swatches
So what makes these duos so awesome? For starters, they’re portable and combine both the shade (contour) and light (highlight) portions conveniently in one dual-ended stick. I also love the fact that they’re retractible – safer & more hygienic that way. Secondly, the texture of each end is ultra creamy and blends so seamlessly into the skin. The finish on the contour is described as matte, but not of the flat variety; there’s the barest hint of a sheen to keep things from looking muddy. The shimmer of the highlight is very refined and can be either blended out for the barest whisper of a glow, or amped up by layering for major impact. Another bonus to this texture is that regardless of whether you use your fingers, a dense brush, or a beauty sponge for application, they all result in excellent results.
PRO TIPS: Use the shadow stick anywhere you want to redefine facial contours (hollows of the cheeks, jawline, temples) by either dotting or drawing lines then blending out. Use the light stick to emphasize prominent points of the face. These techniques can help detract from any flaws, as well as give the illusion of volume (in a subtle, good way).
Shadow/Contour | Matte contour in a stick formula that comes to a smooth powdery finish when blended out along the skin.
- 001 Soft Contour Shadow – light tan with a rosy undertone
- 002 Medium Contour Shadow – camel with a golden undertone
- 003 Intense Contour Shadow – toffee with a mix of both gold & rose in the base
Dior | Diorblush Light & Contour Sculpting Stick Duo (shadow/contour)
Dior | Diorblush Light & Contour Sculpting Stick Duo (shadow/contour swatches)
Dior | Diorblush Light & Contour Sculpting Stick Duo (light/highlight)
Light/Highlight | Shimmer highlighter in cream stick form that can be applied to the high points of the face (upper cheeks, bridge of the nose, cupid’s bow) or even layered over bronzer/contour for extra depth.
- 001 Soft Contour Light – champagne with a soft rosy tint
- 002 Medium Contour Light – oyster pink
- 003 Intense Contour Light – palest mauve shimmer
Dior | Diorblush Light & Contour Sculpting Stick Duo (light/highlight)
Dior | Diorblush Light & Contour Sculpting Stick Duo (light/highlight swatches)
Dior | Diorblush Light & Contour Sculpting Stick Duo
You can blame social media for having given contouring & highlighting a bit of a bad rap; with the plethora of “beauty gurus” out there and their highly exaggerated techniques, it’s sometimes hard to understand the benefits that strategic contouring and/or highlighting can provide. Diorblush Light & Contour sticks actually make the job not only easy to use but to also create the effect you may have admired on others but never thought you could recreate on your own. You can, believe me. Let’s face it; this trend is going nowhere anytime in the foreseeable future and regardless of whether you’re a novice or a pro, a fan of powders over creams, I still say you need to check these out because they are in a word: AMAZING. I seriously don’t get why they’re limited edition as these duos totally need to become permanent. Are you listening, Dior?
Available at The Bay & select Dior counters
Provided courtesy of Dior for review consideration/All opinions are my own
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