Review: Contour with Clarins | Face Contour Trio Palette

~ Simply Sorcha

Back in February, I was invited along to the launch of Clarins’ Spring collection where they unveiled a gorgeous new face contour palette which I was very kindly given on the day to try out. 

I know that’s a few months ago now, but as you may know if you’ve been following my blog posts, I had to take a few weeks away from blogging due to some personal reasons, and as a result, am only getting around to reviewing it now even though I’ve been using it a lot over the past few weeks.


Firstly, I want to say how impressed I’ve been lately by some of Clarins’ new launches. Their Valentine’s inspired blushers which I wrote about in February, were amazing and I haven’t stopped using them since. And that’s also true for this contour palette.


The shades in this palette are three very distinct shades, all for a particular purpose: to contour, sculpt and highlight. Sure, that’s what you would expect from any contour palette really, but what I particularly like about this one is, it’s got all your face prep in the one place.


The first shade is a very fine, soft cream shade which Clarins recommend using as a skin illuminator. I’m not sure that I really find it illuminating to be honest, but I am finding it great as a base finishing powder. Because it is so light, it gives gorgeous coverage over my foundation (I’ve tried it over both my Bourjois City Radiance and Armani Luminous Silk foundations) and it has been equally nice over both.


I don’t know about you, but sometimes I find face/finishing powders are too heavy over foundation and can give a kind of cakey look, but this doesn’t do that at all, and is very light and smooth to apply.

The second powder is the contour powder, which again is finely milled, but has an incredible pigment. One swatch of this gives very high impact and therefore you do have to be careful when applying not to make it too dark, because let’s be honest, that’s not a good look for anyone.


The other thing I’ve noticed with the contour shade is, you need to blend pretty quickly after application in order to get a light, even application. Initially, I used the small angled applicator brush that comes with the palette, but if I’m honest, I felt I got a better blend using my trusty MAC 129, small powder brush so therefore, I would recommend using a powder brush instead.


The last shade in the palette is the blush shade, and the star of the show in my opinion. I just love it! It is the most beautiful warm-toned, rose shade with a matte finish, that finishes off the face and contour look perfectly. Like the other two shades, it is light, maybe even slightly lighter than the others, and therefore blends like a dream once applied.


I’ve been wearing this shade a lot, and one thing I’m realising is that, between this and the Valentine’s inspired Skin Illusion Blush that I mentioned earlier; I am a big fan of Clarins blushers! They really have lovely pigment that isn’t too light or overpowering, and they give a lovely finishing pop of colour to the cheeks.


The palette isn’t cheap, it costs €45, so you’d have to really use each shade to get the value out of it. But in saying that, you get three really great powders in one, and you’d probably spend close to that, if not more, on each of these products separately, so because of that I think it’s good value.


Of course, it’s on the higher end price wise so it won’t be for everyone, but if you like Clarins, and you like investing in good powders, then I don’t think you’ll be disappointed with this.

What are your views on contouring? Are you in the yay or nay bracket?! I’m not massively into it I have to say, but I do like a bit of definition on my face so this is great for that.

Sorcha x

22 thoughts on “Review: Contour with Clarins | Face Contour Trio Palette”

    1. Ooh Clarins products are so nice. I’d definitely recommend, though they are on the pricer side so good for a treat! Yes, the break was definitely good and helped me refocus! Thanks so much for your lovely comment! 😘

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  8. Love the shades on your skin! But I feel there are so many more products in the market which are less than half the price of this one which I feel would do the job equally good ! What do you think? As a student I cant afford to spend such hefty amounts on these palettes and I’m always looking for cheaper options.. Although I do splurge (A LOT) but I feel for this there are lots of alternatives too!

    https://inyourfacebymaleeha.wordpress.com/2016/07/11/when-the-in-laws-come-to-meet/ – do read this and let me know what you feel about the products I used!!

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. Such a good point and I totally agree with you, there are lots more budget friendly options that do equally as good a job! The NYX face contour is fab, and I really like the Sleek contour palette also so they could be great options – I use them all the time. With this one, it’s definitely a treat yo’self purchase, but the powder and finish are just such amazing quality that I had to review. And, I think it’s a definitely a good investment if you’re specifically looking to buy something high end. X

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      1. Yes of course, you get the quality of when you pay the price. Absolutely! I’ll definitely look into this one! But I’m head over heels my hoola bronzer by benefit. I have medium to olive skin tone so that shows up great on me!

        Liked by 1 person

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