Contour Kits for Brown Girls
A lot of major makeup brands in their inception, were created to compliment Caucasian women. Everything from foundation to eye shadow was originally designed to work best on porcelain to fair complexions, leaving us Melanin Mommies in the dark (no pun intended).
It hasn't been until recently that makeup brands have started including shades that stretch further than "light" and "tan". Major beauty brands like Clinique, Lancôme, and Estée Lauder are a just a few that have included more of an assortment of colors for the varying shades of brown girls.
Those other companies are all well and good, but now WE have our own makeup lines that are specifically targeted to our melanin-rich complexions. Brands like, MAC, Iman, Black Opal, Black Up, CoverGirl Queen Collection, and Makeup Forever are targeted to women of color, only enhancing our beautiful features.
If you're really into makeup you know that there have been so many changes made to the basic and traditional techniques of applying it. Instead of simply getting “made up” or blending, we are now "Beating" and "Baking". During this process, the face is contoured and highlighted to perfection. In order to achieve such looks, a wide variety of products are needed, which can be a bit daunting. Being a darker skinned female it's been even more of a struggle trying to find the right highlight and contour palettes to compliment both my brown skin and yellow undertones.
For a long time, I was wearing makeup that was either way to light for me, (giving me an ashy/dull look) or way to dark, leaving me with a red-brick look. So, as you can imagine I went through a ton of products and a ton of money! It wasn’t until I started testing out different contour kits that I was able to find the right shades.
A lot of the contour kits that I first encountered included palettes that were geared towards light-skinned women, it took a lot of trial and errors to find the one just right for me! Below are two of my fave kits along with a brief description of each. Also if you guys know of any other products that I should try feel free to leave a comment below!!
Cause ya'll know... Brown skin is the Crown skin!
Anastasia Beverly Hill Contour Kit in Deep; $40 Macy's
This is a cream kit that applies a smooth powder, I know that sounds weird but it gives a really pretty even. matte finish. It also worked really well with my liquid foundations! This would work best on a oily/ combination skin to kind of quiet down some of the shine you may suffer from.
Color FX Contour Kit in G Medium Deep: $48 Sephora
This is a cream kit that applies really smooth and evenly it sort of glides perfectly on your face and I feel it works best with ladies with dry to combination skin. It gives you a glow and may help with any dullness or dryness you may struggle with.