Barry M | Chisel Cheeks Contour Kit

With contour palettes like the Kat Von D Shade & Light Pallette and Anastasia Contour Kit going for around $40 on Sephora.com, who knew that £5.49 could get you such a steal? The new Barry M Chisel Cheeks Contour Kit is truly awesome value for money and has been all I've used to contour since I picked it up last week.

Now, I'm not a heavy contour kinda gal by any means. Whilst I love me a full face of makeup on the weekends, I rarely get past two eye-shadow colours for work and the whole contour, sculpt and highlight thing is just a bit much for me to deal with when I'm prepping for a day in the office. Add to that the fact that I have incredibly pale skin and it's often a hassle that just isn't worth it. However, this week I decided that for the sake of testing out the Barry M Chisel Cheeks Countor Kit (phew, that's a mouthful!) I would up it a bit for work and attempt to use all three shades in the palette in my daily routine. I've been thoroughly impressed with the results!


The packaging is cute, practical and small enough to throw in a bag or take with you on the go. When you open it up, the top lid has a a handy illustration showing you exactly where and how to apply each shade. I like this idea, and prefer it to a mirror because I'm likely to be using my large vanity mirror anyway, and let's face it, if you're taking a contour palette on the go with you, chances are you've got a compact mirror with you too. But given that this is probably going to be a palette for the slightly younger market, I think a good guide to work from is a great idea.

So, if we review the shades one by one what do we get? Well let's start with the one we're all here for, shall we: the contour shade. The contour shade is the dark brown on the right, and the one I'm most impressed with. As mentioned, I'm a pasty one, so contour shades can be a real pain to get right on me. Up until now, I've been using Next to Skin by Mac, a very light greyish brown (actually it's more like a brownish grey) that I haven't been in love with. It's done the job, but I haven't considered it anything special. Now I wouldn't say I'm in love with the Barry M one either, but I do prefer it, and that means they're definitely doing something right. It's quite a dark shade, which worried me at first, but you can't fault it's blendability. It blends down to a wearable, shadowy tone that even my see-through complexion can get away with and the lasting power is pretty darn good to! Yes, it will fade a little throughout the day, but if you're going out for dinner or you have an event and don't intend to wear a heavy contour for eight solid hours, you'll be just fine with this. I don't find the power choppy, and more importantly I don't find the shade to be too warm, which means you definitely avoid looking like you've just used bronzer to contour your cheekbones - a big no-no ladies! Speaking of bronzer...

The middle shade in the palette is intended as a bronzer, and is the warmer, lighter of the two brown shades. This is also the one that I'm least excited by, and towards the end of the week I found myself reaching for my regular bronzer instead because the Barry M one is a little too yellow on my skin and doesn't have great lasting power - the only shade I had this problem with. It was the only shade that I had to be a tad careful with, because I could start to look a bit muddy if I used too much. But hey, if you're on a tight budget then don't forget that this is three products in one here! Is this bronzer okay? Yeah, sure. Is it my favourite? No. But I'm willing to overlook that because of the success of the other shades, and I'm also aware that more olive skin tones or darker skin tones than mine (so everyone basically) might look significantly better with the bronzing shade, it just didn't outdo my current bronzer and I don't think it's the reason you should buy this palette.

The highlight shade though... another winner! It's very subtle, so if Mary-Lou Manizer is your thing, this probably won't make the cut. But this is Barry M we're talking about, a company who's main target market will be young girls, perhaps looking for an understated way to bring a bit of extra dimension into their face and add a pretty glow. This highlight is subtle enough that it's very work appropriate, but even better, school appropriate (if you don't go mental with it) and adds a barely there sheen to the skin. I like a stronger highlight personally, so I've been building it up over the top of Benefit's High Beam once my powder has dulled it down a bit. Unlike High Beam though, the Barry M highlight shade is so universally flattering. In the pan, and in my swatch it looks really quite yellow based, but in reality it's not too pink, or too golden, or too silvery - it appears to have little undertone at all when it's actually on the skin. Just like the contour shade, it's seemingly an all rounder for most skin tones.

So overall, I'm massively impressed with this palette. If you're serious about sculpting, you'll probably want to pick out a custom contour colour from a brand like Anastasia, and you'll definitely want a more visible highlight. But I think the Barry M Chisel Cheeks Contour Palette is perfect for younger girls who want to enter the world of contouring in a subtle, more every day way. The two important shades are fairly hard to go overboard with, would suit most skin tones, and it's extremely budget friendly. Result!