Hi, friends! Today I'd like to share with you a new product I've been testing out by PUR Cosmetics: the Cameo Contour Dual-Ended Contour Sticks (say that three times fast!). They sent me all five shades to test out and play around with, and now that I've come to a conclusion on how I feel about them, I wanted to share that with all of you! Let's jump into everything.
About
About PUR (PUR Cosmetics)
You might know them better as "Pur Minerals" (even their website is still www.purminerals.com) but after their expansion into different makeup products, they've begun moving away from that name. They started out in mineral makeup, and now they make a whole slew of products, such eyeliner, mascara, lipstick, and even a handful of skincare products. They take a natural and, well, pure, approach to beauty products. The brand was actually founded by a former Clinique employee about 12 years ago. and they've been doing quite well. Fun fact, right?
About the Cameo Contour Dual-Ended Contour Stick
Pur Cosmetics' effort to be a part of the contouring trend takes the form of a double-sided cream contouring stick. It has a highlighter on one side and the contouring color on the other side. They are not the first brand to create a highlight and contour stick, but that doesn't have anything to do with the quality of this particular product.
If you're new to highlighting and contouring, the idea is that you're trying to mimic how light (and thus, shadows) hit your face. Contouring brings out and emphasizes that shadow, making that part of your face seem farther away Highlighting does the opposite, bringing more light to that area of the face and making it seem closer. This method is used to create more dimension in the face, often making cheekbones "pop" and the face look more angular, especially if your face is more rounded.
Other Claims (from PUR's website):
- Oil-free
- Petroleum-free (not that I've ever seen Vaseline in foundation/creme products, but some people don't like the idea of petroleum in cosmetics, so this is just about marketing).
- Pur does not test products on animals (hooray for cruelty-free!)
Ingredients
Cetyl Ethylhexanoate, Polymethyl Methacrylate, Dimethicone, Isononyl Isononanoate, Ethylhexyl Stearate, Silica, Polyethylene, Bis-Stearyl Dimethicone, Nylon-12, Isopropyl Isostearate, Euphorbia Cerifera (Candelilla) Wax, C10-18 Triglycerides, Squalane, Copernica Cerafera (Carnauba) Wax, Ceramide Ap, Retinol, Lactic Acid (L), Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Sodium Starch Octenylsuccinate, Isopropyl Titanium Triisostearate, Phenoxyethanol. May Contain: Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI77492, CI77499), Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891)
* Pur Cosmetics has the ingredients list for all of its products on their website.
* Pur Cosmetics has the ingredients list for all of its products on their website.
Price and Availability
.5oz | $39.50: Kohl's, Pur Cosmetics, Ulta
How does that compare to similar products? Well, you get .5oz total product in one tube (.25oz of each shade), which comes out to about $78 an ounce.
Compared to the NYX Wonder Stick, which costs $12. It offers .28oz of product, making it about $48 per ounce, which is $30 cheaper than Pur Cosmetics.
My Experience
*Product photos were taken outdoors in direct sunlight and before/after photos were taken indoors in front of a window.
The Packaging:
This product comes packaged in an extremely reflective box. Every photographer's dream, amirite?
The makeup itself comes in a convenient two-way tube, making it great for travel. Each side has a plastic cover placed over it for sanitary reasons. You get a cream highlighter on one side and a darker contour shade on the other side. No brush required (though you could use one if you want to) and a pink blending sponge comes included. It also includes a little how-to booklet, which is always appreciated.
I know what you're thinking: How does their sponge compare to the Beauty Blender sponge? Well, I don't own a Beauty Blender, but I have seen it in action and I've done my research on it. It's mostly teardrop shaped like the Beauty Blender, except it's flat on one side. Unlike the Beauty Blender, the PUR sponge does not expand when wet, and feels more dense than the Beauty Blender. Those are the main differences, I think. That's all I can say, since I don't have both of them to compare together.
The makeup itself comes in a convenient two-way tube, making it great for travel. Each side has a plastic cover placed over it for sanitary reasons. You get a cream highlighter on one side and a darker contour shade on the other side. No brush required (though you could use one if you want to) and a pink blending sponge comes included. It also includes a little how-to booklet, which is always appreciated.
The Stuff Inside:
It currently comes in five shades: Light, Medium, Tan, Dark, and Deep. On their website, they coordinate these shades with their other foundation products, which makes it easy for people who are already fans of PUR to choose which one they want. They also include descriptions, which is nice.
- Light: Porcelain & Light 4-in-1 Mineral Makeup; fair to fair with creamy ivory undertones
- Medium: Blush Medium & Golden Medium 4-in-1 Mineral Makeup; medium beige with blush to golden undertones
- Tan: Light Tan, Tan, & Medium Tan 4-in-1 Mineral Makeup; olive with yellow, honey and caramel undertones
- Dark: Medium Dark & Golden Dark 4-in-1 Mineral Makeup; rich bronze with golden undertones
- Deep: Deep & Deeper 4-in-1 Mineral Makeup; warm with golden amber undertones
The creams are a relatively thick consistency, so they do require more blending than a liquid.
See swatches of the whole line below:
 |
| "Light" contour shade |
See swatches of the whole line below:
...
My Experience
"Before" pictures are shown with me wearing the following: BB Cream, Neutral eyeshadow, brow gel, liquid eyeliner, mascara, lip gloss
"After" photos feature the addition of PUR Comeo Contour stick's highlight shade applied under eyes, on center of forehead, and tops of cheekbones, and contour shade applied under cheekbones and on temples.
I don't have a lot of experience with contouring, and I've never done it with a cream before, so if I can use it then anyone can use it!
"After" photos feature the addition of PUR Comeo Contour stick's highlight shade applied under eyes, on center of forehead, and tops of cheekbones, and contour shade applied under cheekbones and on temples.
I don't have a lot of experience with contouring, and I've never done it with a cream before, so if I can use it then anyone can use it!
 |
| "Before" |
I looked at the diagram on the side of the box and copied the markings on my own face. Not everyone is going to want and/or need contouring/highlighting in every place, but I figured it was a good guideline for review. I'm sure many people would follow the diagram if they didn't know where to start. You could do less (ex. just the cheekbones) or even more not diagrammed (ex. sides of the nose---though the sticks are a little too wide and big to do that with easy precision). You hold the power!
After applying it to my skin, I thought the highlight looked okay. A little thicker and heavier-looking than I'd like, but alright. There was no shimmer involved, so it looked much more subtle than my other dewy/glowy highlighters. It was a relatively good shade for me, though, since it was just a little bit lighter than my skin tone. I wasn't a fan of it under the eyes--it looked thick and cakey, and made my fine lines more noticeable almost instantly. But, in the photos, it still looks like it did its job. My cheekbones do stand out more in the "After" photos. So, this is just a matter of preference in what you prefer in a formula.
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| "After" |
But, the contour shade is what I really didn't like. Being that the sticks were so thick, it was hard to exactly carve out under the cheekbones. I made my line a lot thicker than I would have liked, but once you get used to it, it's possible you could get used to using the ends (or you could use a tiny brush, but that defeats the purpose of the convenient cream stick). If you wanted to use it for contouring your body (maybe you're wearing a tank top and want to contour your collarbone or your cleavage, I don't know your life), that might work.
What was the worst for me, though, was the color. It could work on someone else, but on me, it just looked way too orange. It made my face look like it was dirty, especially since I couldn't apply just a thin line, and the thick formula made it hard to blend seamlessly into the skin. I believe that in order to create a believable shadow, the perfect color for your skin tone would be the one you see when there's a natural shadow.
It's a pretty great bronzing shade for me, though! I feel like a lot of brands release contour shades that would work better as a bronzer. So, if we're the same skin tone and you're looking for a cream bronzer stick, here's an option!
The Verdict:
Pros:
- Convenience of 2 products in 1 stick
- Sponge is included
- No sharpening required -- twist-up packaging
Cons:
- Creams are thick and hard to blend -- heavy-looking on the skin
- Contour shade is orange-toned and will not create believable shadows on many skin tones -- would work better as a bronzer
- Expensive when compared to similar products on the market
- Sticks are relatively wide, making it harder to control product placement on the face
Unfortunately, these are a no-go for me. I wish I liked them more than I do. But, as always, just because I don't like a product doesn't mean you have to feel the same way! Let me know if you've tried this. I'd love to hear your thoughts on it!
Have you ever tried contouring? What's your favorite way to make those cheekbones pop? I'm more of a highlighting gal, myself!
Want to see more reviews?
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