As far as product names go, I think this one takes the cake! The NYX ‘Love Contours All’ palette is possibly everything I could ever ask for in an eyeshadow palette. We all know how much I love love, I mean let’s be serious, I’m hands down a hopeless romantic. But there are different forms of love, and if you weren’t sure, one of these is in the form of powders, creams, glosses, gels, you name it. Yes, it’s make-up. I am always down for a strong contour and trust me, once you’ve started carving out your own cheek bones, there’s no going back for you! So a ‘Love Contours All’ palette was just about the best thing that could’ve landed in my hands.
But I know that not everyone is as prone to a defined contour as I am, and that is the true beauty of this palette. These shades are the perfect mixture of neutrals to be used everyday, whether that’s on the eyes or the cheeks. It doesn’t matter what your contour strength preference is – if you enjoy make-up and like to have one palette that can be used for everyday, natural looks, then this palette is for you. And I’m going to share with you how I use it on myself!
If you haven’t used NYX eyeshadows before, I would 100% recommend them. They are really affordable and their quality is absolutely amazing. They’re buttery, pigmented, and super long-lasting! The ‘Love Contours All’ palette is a great one especially if you’re not used to wearing make-up; it has a really nice variety of neutrals, and a few darker shades that can be used to make things slightly more dramatic if you want. It also has larger shadows that can be used as contour shades and highlighters, making it the most convenient palette to use when traveling, or to have as the only palette in your make-up drawer. It all depends on where you’re at in the make-up game.
The 9 small eye shadows in the middle
Beginning with a base colour for the eyelid, which is what I usually start with, I would take either the top left shade or the one right in the centre and sweep that across my entire lid. This is just to create a neutral base for what will go on top, and also to neutralize the redness of the eyelids. After I’ve done this I move onto my crease shade. I generally use a warm toned shadow in my crease, like the one in the bottom left corner. The left over dark shades (in the middle of the left row, and the middle and bottom of the right row) would be used as my outer corner shadows. These are used to create a darker effect on the outside of the eye, that will gradually fade into the shade you choose to put on the rest of your eyelid. Shimmery shades look so pretty on the rest of the eye, but the shadow in the middle of the bottom row, and the two in the middle and right hand corner in the top row, are perfect for the rest of the lid. These are just guidelines of course. Make-up is about playing around, trying what you want to, and mainly having fun! You don’t necessarily have to use a darker shadow on the outer corners if you don’t feel like it, or even a warm shade in your crease, but this is what I enjoy when doing my make-up.
The 2 larger shadows on each side
These tones are very diverse – though all of the eyeshadows in this palette are actually! But the two warmer, brown shades at the bottom of each side can be used for contouring your cheeks, or as eyeshadow. They are good for contouring because a bigger brush will be able to get more product than from the little shadows, but they are also lovely warm tones. Depending on how dark or pale you are, you can test out each shade and see which one you prefer. When contouring with these shadows, you will apply some onto your brush and sweep it from the top of your ear, right along underneath the cheekbone, to about the apple of your cheek. This is where you want to define those cheekbones! Don’t forget to blend out the shadow though, as you don’t want a harsh line across your face! Both of these shades can also be used as your crease shade, or even on your outer corners. Again, it is up to what you prefer.
The two shimmery shades at the top of each side are so stunning! These are absolutely perfect for highlighting your cheekbones. You would apply these right on your cheekbone, just above where you contoured. You can also bring this highlighter slightly more onto your cheeks as well to give them a beautiful glow. Mixed with blush, the highlight always looks pretty! And again, these can also be used as eyeshadows, and can even be used to highlight the inner corners of your eyes. If you have a darker skin though, you must be careful not to use a highlighter or contour shade that is too light, as it can quickly make your skin appear grey. (I wouldn’t say this includes using them as eye shadows.) In this palette for example, someone with a darker skin would look stunning using the highlighter on the left, which is more of a champagne colour, than the lighter, more pinky-toned one on the right.
The 2 long eye shadows at the bottom
The shade on the left is too light to contour with and the one on the right has too much of a red undertone. These shadows are best to use on the eyes. You could use the lighter one as your crease shade, or even your base shadow. And the darker one could be used for your outer corners.
But as I mentioned, playing around with the eye shadows will make you more comfortable with what you like. Make-up really doesn’t have any rules. You can use the darker shades as your crease shades, or also across your whole lid for a very smokey look. You can use all shimmers on your eyes, or no shimmers at all. The list is endless. But as a beginner once myself, I think I would’ve loved this palette as a starter. Make-up can be really intimidating if you have no idea where to start – especially considering how much variety and choice there is today, with every single product! I often forget that doing make-up isn’t something everyone knows how to do, and not everyone enjoys it either. But this is exactly why I love being able to share with people how certain things can be used, who would suit what and who won’t, and even getting to do those people’s make-up who don’t enjoy doing it themselves. It’s certainly not something I see as covering up a person’s beauty, but rather enhancing their natural beauty! And plus, it’s all so prettttyyyy! 😛
What are your thoughts on the NYX ‘Love Contours All’ palette? And please let me know if you enjoyed this type of explanation post! I would love to write some more if I know they’re useful to someone!
