10 Healthy Skincare Habits You Can Start Today

So I think one of the most popular and frequent questions people ask me as an esthetician is “how can I make my skin look better?” I went over the basics you should start with in my post The 7 Deadly Skincare Sins, but I want to share with you some very simple, every day things you can actively do to improve the state of your skin. Whether it be immediate or long-term, there are almost always extra things we can do to create a more healthy, youthful appearance! Interested? Keep reading…

FIRST AND FOREMOST:

Let’s get the obvious ones out of the way; SPF and H20. Drink your water, wear your damn sunscreen. Water is important and the sun damages your skin. Pretty easy. Let’s move on.

1.  Wash your face with lukewarm water

Washing your face in a boiling hot shower is detrimental to the health of your skin. Opt to wash your face separately with lukewarm water instead. Hot water can irritate your skin (especially those of you who are sensitive), dry out your face, and even rupture blood vessels (which will make your skin appear more red). Turn the knob to a lower temperature, or even better, wash it at your sink instead!

2. Pat dry, don’t wipe

Dragging a terry cloth towel against your face makes your skin angry. The material is too rough on your delicate facial skin! Pat dry your face instead. Even better, purchase facial towels that are separate than what you use to dry off your body. Bamboo towels are great for this purpose, and they’re inexpensive!

3. Take care of your eyes

One of the first places you see anyone age is the eye area. Someone can be relatively young, but if they don’t take care of their eyes they can appear older very easily. Most people fail to take care of their eye area properly! Rubbing the eyes excessively (and roughly) can damage the delicate skin that surrounds our eyes. Over time, it damages the elastin which keeps the skin from sagging, and you can cause blood vessels to rupture causing darkness and uneven tone. Be gentle when cleaning the skin, and wear an eye cream morning and night!

4. Exfoliate twice a week

Once if you’re more sensitive, three times (max) if you’re more oily. Exfoliating is so important to do! Your skin needs help shedding itself throughout the natural process of cell turnover. If your skin feels rough, looks dull, or you just can’t get it to stop flaking, chances are you’re probably not exfoliating enough. Be aware that over exfoliating is just as bad as not exfoliating at all, so pay attention to how often you do this.

5. Extend products to your neck and chest

Your face doesn’t end at your jawline! The chest and neck require love, care, and good products as well. You might not be able to see signs of aging on your neck and chest now, but you will in the coming years if you don’t include these in your daily skincare routine. Using products with peptides are great to stimulate collagen to keep these areas youthful.

6. Remove your makeup prior to cleansing

Not only will this decrease the time you spend trying to wash your face, this will help clean your face thoroughly. What happens often is people go to wash their face, and it will look clean, but there is a lot of leftover residue from makeup. You then proceed to put product over top of the leftover makeup, causing breakouts to form due to bacteria. Taking the time to use a (gentle) makeup wipe to remove the bulk of your makeup could save you from this mistake!

7. Wear sunglasses

Ever notice how much you’re squinting when you’re not wearing sunglasses? Over time, that squinting causes… yep, you guessed it, wrinkles! Keep your sunnies on (yes, even in overcast) to protect your peepers from premature crows feet and the 11’s you get between the eyes.

8. Stop touching your face

Seriously. Stop. You have no idea how many germs, oils, and debris you have on your hands at any given moment. Make a conscious effort to keep your hands away from your face unless you KNOW they are clean.

9. Wash your pillows

Sweating, drooling, oily hair, etc. All things that pollute our pillows when we sleep! When you press your (hopefully clean) face against your pillow at night, you’re smearing all of those things onto your skin without even realizing it. I suggest washing your pillow cases AT LEAST once or twice a week to keep them free and clean of unwanted debris!

10. Massage your face

Yes you can get regular facials, but massaging your own face is a great way to improve the look of your skin when you can’t get to the spa. When we massage the face, it increases circulation, aka blood flow. Our blood is what supplies nutrients to the skin, so it helps keep us looking young (what up collagen production). It’s also incredibly relaxing (yes, even if you do it yourself) and can help with stress relief, which is also essential to a good complexion! Also always make sure to massage upwards (against gravity, not with!)

Of course there are so many other things that you can do that will help your skin; from expensive serums to pricey spa visits. However, I think the simple every day things we do can make the biggest difference! I hope you guys can take these few little bits of advice and use them to keep your skin radiant and glowing for years to come 🙂

What are your favorite every day skincare regimen steps? Let me know in the comments below!

xoxo Shelby

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Festival Inspired Makeup

With it being festival season and the infamous Paradiso rapidly approaching, (major jealousy and FOMO I’m feeling right now you guys, I wish I could go!) I figured what better post to give you all than to inspire you to make sure your makeup is totally Tumblr post ready.

Big shout out to Marina for the idea, Haley for her photography skills for without which I would be using my iPhone 6+, Syd for bangin out some rockin’ hair styles, and Kendal, Jordie, Micaela, and Emily for lending me your gorgeous faces to paint!

For the looks that have colored face paint, I used Ben Nye’s aqua paints. The palette I have looks like this:

bennye

They’re available online at naimies.com for $28 retail, but I got mine at my local costume makeup store in the linen district. It comes with all of the primary colors, white and black, and they threw in green to make our lives easier. You can mix these however you would like, so it’s extremely versatile for a great price. I prefer the aqua paints over others for face/body because they’re easy to work with (all you need is a paint brush, water, and a little bit of inspo) and they stay on ALL. DAY. Big plus, they come off easily with makeup remover wipes (perfect for festival camping, due to lack of running water and also we all know you’re going to be too drunk anyways).

The rest of the products used I will include under each look.

I hope you enjoy these looks as much as I enjoyed creating them!

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Emily’s super simple look was created using the ben nye paints for the design. I used a sigma E30 to create the red dots. Her face is Too Faced coco powder in Medium, Too Faced chocolate soleil bronzer, and Becca Cosmetics Opal highlighter. Her eyes are a cocktail of shadows from the Tartelette palette, CoverGirl Lash blast mascara, and the eyebrows were shaped using Anastasia Beverly Hill’s dip brow pomade in Blonde.

Her flower crown was something I made for my halloween costume last year using a thick headband, hot glue, and fake flowers from hobby lobby.

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Micaela’s look was created using rhinestones (you can use any you have, I got a giant tub of them from Hobby Lobby for 50% off) and the rhinestones were adhered using Ben Nye’s spirit gum. If you don’t have access to spirit gum, you can use lash glue, but make sure the area you’re applying it to is relatively free of makeup otherwise it won’t stick. Her brows were shaped using Anastasia’s Dip Brow pomade in the color “Chocolate”. Using my finger, took the eyeshadow pigment “Fantasy” by Colourpop, and swiped it straight across her lid and outward. These shadows are SO pigmented, and only $5 on their website colourpop.com! I kept her face natural with just a couple swipes of Too Faced chocolate soleil bronzer and Colourpop’s blush in “Pie”.

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Kendal is rocking a geometric pattern with Ben Nye’s yellow and white aqua paint. I feel like these types of face paint look best with that “painted” effect to them instead of perfect, neatly drawn lines. I added in some accent dots for fun with a sigma E05. Eyebrows are ABH Dip Brow in blonde.

This flower crown was purchased at my town’s Hyde Park Street Fair about two years ago, and I can’t remember the name of the company. If I find them I will link it here asap! but you can purchase crowns like these on etsy for relatively cheap.

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Syd’s makeup was kept very mellow with color choice, but bold with pattern. Using the ben nye aqua paints in white, we went with a “tribal” vibe to achieve her look. Eyebrows are ABH in the color “Soft Brown”. Eyeliner is Makeup Forever Ink Liner in Black.

Glasses and flower crown both purchased at Forever 21 at random times.

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and lastly, Jordie’s look was created using the Ben Nye paints in white and blue. I made solid paint lines and went back in with a smaller brush to create a rough feel instead of making everything symmetrical. Eyebrows are ABH in “blonde” and eyes are a mixture of colors from the Tartlette palette.

Here are some more shots and angles of each look. I hope you find inspiration in these pictures! If you have questions regarding the looks, feedback, or any questions/comments, feel free to let me know! Happy festival season and happy face painting my loves!

Xoxo Shelby

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Instagrams:

myself: @shelbymorgan.blog

photography: @haley.loraine

hair: @hair_by_sydneyallison

models: @emilyggrasmick // @kendalstopherr // @micaelalunsfordd // @jordiekay

Irresistible Me vs. Bellami Extensions

Hello my loves! Sorry I have been on hiatus for a minute or two… Life has been a little crazy with work lately and throw in some sleep deprivation and barely enough time to wing my eyeliner and you’ve got an anxiety-ridden borderline psychopath. Totally kidding. Kind of. Anyways moving right along to why you’re here…. EXTENSIONS! I’m talking about my two favorite brands today and the differences between the two. I’ll be going into weight, coloring, length, and overall wear. So who should you purchase from? Hopefully you’ll be able to decide by the end of this post!

Now I know there are many other brands of extensions out there to review but A. I’m not made of money and B. I did my own research long before purchasing either of these and I found the most information on these two brands… and ultimately liked what I found. It’s not to say there aren’t ones that are just as good but I’m not a walking Wells Fargo (tragically). I first looked into extensions when I chemically damaged the ever-loving hell out of my natural (very thick) hair. If I could give you any advice it would be to not bleach your hair, color it pink, then blue, and then back to blonde in the span of like, three months. I am now living with my mistakes, but you can prevent these horrible things from happening. I had to cut a lot of my dead hair off and was left with short hair that I HATED. (shoulder length is short to me)…. but luckily we live in a day and age where I can fix this problem pretty easily. Anyways lets move right along into what you actually care about….

First lets start off with the Bellami Bellissima Extensions ($209.99)

Coloring:

The set that I have are the Bellissima 22″ 220g in Ash Blonde. When I originally bought these extensions they weren’t as “ashy” as described, so I washed them once (I didn’t condition them because I hadn’t even touched them with heat yet) with Aveda’s Blue Malva shampoo and that gave me enough of the blue undertone I was looking for instead of a more golden shade. If you can avoid toning them I would. Other than that I haven’t had an issue with the coloring, it looks very natural. They’re also not just one color. They claim to use a “multi-tone adapt coloring system” and as far as I can tell, it works. I have since colored my hair dark so I’m not wearing these extensions currently but when I decide to go back blonde I’ll use them again. Bellami has a wide range of other colors as well, ranging anywhere from jet black to bleach blonde to vibrant red. They also have partnered with Kylie Jenner, Guy Tang, Samantha, and Eva Marie to bring you even more brilliant, fun shades to play with. Teal, lavender, fire engine red, and even grey are the colors you have access to through Bellami. Too fun.

PS word to the wise, if you’re ever buying extensions and they’re not light enough…. return them and get a new shade. It’s not worth bleaching them. Most, if not all, hair extension sets that you buy online will have many hair swatches (and even videos) that you can look through on their website. Also when you order them there will be one big package with the bulk of the hair that is sealed off, and a smaller package that you can open and compare your real hair to. IF YOU OPEN THE LARGE SIDE AND BREAK THE SEAL, YOU CANNOT RETURN THE EXTENSIONS. That’s why they include a tester weft so if it doesn’t match, no harm no foul. You just package it all back up and ship it and you’re golden.

Length:

Obviously when I say 22″ referring to the length of the extensions. Let me just tell you, this is a LOT OF HAIR. Like, a ton. Like I have to adjust it when I put on my seatbelt, throw my purse over my shoulder, change my clothes…. It’s really fun to have all of that length and feel like Rapunzel, but unless you’re willing to deal with the high maintenance of them, I would stick to something shorter. Bellami offers extensions in 18″, 20″, 22″, and 24″. You can also cut them if you so choose (please go to a professional if you do this) but if you’re going to pay around $200 for extensions you probably don’t want to waste a ton of the hair. Just my opinion, but I also don’t have money to just throw away. They also offer braided headbands, pony tail clips, and bang extensions if those are something you’re interested in.

Weight:

When referring to the weight of a set of extensions, it’s usually measured in grams. My Bellami set is 220g. Once again, this is a LOT OF HAIR. I don’t/can’t even wear all of it because 1. I don’t need it and 2. If I wear all of it I legitimately get a migraine because my head is trying to hold up a pound of hair in addition to my huge brain. It’s a tough life, I know. But seriously there are 10 wefts total, and I wear seven of them. Two of them are four clips, another two are three clips, two smaller two clip wefts, and then four of them are one clip wefts. (I wear one 3 clip, 2 four clips, 2 two clips, and 2 one clips, if you care.) Another great thing about Bellami is that their extensions are the same thickness throughout the entire weft, so you don’t have gross thin straggly hair at the bottom. There is nothing worse than wearing extensions and everyone is like, “Ew. Look at her extensions.”

Overall Wear:

These hair extensions are made with 100% human hair and can be used with heat tools! When I wear mine I almost always curl them with my hot tools 1″ curling wand. I feel like if you curl your hair/extensions when wearing them it makes them blend 1000x better. As far as having them clipped into my hair they stay very well. I don’t ever find myself having to adjust them or cover a weft (if I clip them in properly). Jaclyn hill has an awesome tutorial on clipping in/curling her Bellami extensions so you should check that out if you want a visual at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5P4Ron3pc18 🙂

The only downside I see to the Bellami extensions are the options of lengths and the options of weights to buy. 18″ might still be too long for some people, and they cut the weight size almost in half when they go down in length. Not a huge deal for myself who already doesn’t wear all of the wefts, but if you really want that thick voluminous look without the length down your back, then you should look elsewhere. The cost is also a factor for most, these babies are 209.99 and the most I’ve ever seen them discount anything is about $5. Doesn’t even cover the tax, but okay. I’m willing to spend the money, because there are some things you just can’t skimp on. (They do sometimes offer a free gift with purchase, like a carrier or a brush. They’ve also recently partnered with NailHur, which offers long lasting temporary manis, so sometimes they’ll throw a free set of those in with your order.) Other than that these are amazing extensions, top quality, and I get compliments on them wherever I go. Legitimately I have had people tell me I look like a mermaid, and who doesn’t love that?! I’m thinking about investing in the Lavender ombre ones…. Stay tuned to see if my bank account or my heart wins that challenge.

Irresistible Me Royal Remy Extensions ($189)

Coloring:

I purchased the Irresistible Me Royal Remy extensions 14″ 140g in the color medium brown. Let me just tell you, it is 7 million times easier to color match your hair when you’re dark compared to light. I also feel like dark hair you can hide your wefts better because of the depth that dark hair usually has. I definitely feel that way with my mine anyway. The medium brown color was absolutely perfect and exactly what I was looking for. I took them into my stylist and told her that I wanted my hair to match them exactly and she did an amazing job. It’s always easier to buy them and take them to your stylist than trying to do it the other way around, so if you can buy them beforehand I definitely recommend it.

Before I decided to go dark I purchased the Irresistible Me extensions in Platinum Blonde, just to have a shorter length when I didn’t feel like wearing my 22″ Bellami’s. Uuuuuum, when I think platinum the first thing that comes to mind is like Barbie, right? Wrong. This color was almost yellow… honey, golden blonde. NOTHING like platinum. I was really annoyed at first, but the return process was super simple and I got my money back within the week so I didn’t worry too much. When I went back to look at the reviews online about the platinum color it seemed as everyone else gave the exact same feedback about them being too yellow/golden. However, I could not be happier with the medium brown. They also have depth woven into them so they’re not all one uniform color (this allows them to blend easier). Just make sure that you look online at real people wearing the extensions without any filters, and they have a nice video comparison as well. The same process with having one extension in a small bag to color match with applies to Irresistible Me extensions as well. So if they don’t match, return them! I know it’s a hassle for some people but it’s better than wasting almost $200.

The only downside to the colors in comparison to Bellami is that they don’t offer the funky colors such as lavender or teal. However, if you like to stick to the natural colors then you needn’t worry.

Length:

What I absolutely love about the Irresistible Me extensions is the options they have for length. I purchased the 14″ ones because it’s going into summer and I didn’t want to have to deal with the hassle of the super long hair. They offer 14″, 16″, 18″, 20″, 22″, and 24″. The shorter lengths are especially good for people who just want that extra volume within their hair. Longer lengths are obviously going to be for those who want that length and want to be able to style it a certain way (think Elsa braids). I am in love with the length I chose and it’s perfect for what I was looking for. It doesn’t take me forever to style them in the morning (and for the most part they just hold the curl until I decide to wash them) and I am allllllll about speed and efficiency when it comes to doing my hair. My little sister is the cosmetologist in the family, I stick to what I know with makeup.

Weight:

Another awesome option that Irresistible me offers is you get to choose the weight for your length. The weights they offer are 100g, 140g, and 200g. I knew from past experience that the 220g Bellami’s were a LOT of hair, so I opted for the 140g weight and I’m so glad I did. It has 8 wefts instead of 10, and I even leave out a three clip weft for the most part, and I still have so much volume. The price is obviously going to increase with the longer/heavier you go so just make sure you’re aware of that. What’s also different about the IM extensions is that they offer three different kinds of extensions all together. The Silky Touch, the Royal Remy, and the Volume Vixen. The silky touch extensions thin out at the ends like our normal hair would. The royal remy are the same volume all throughout, and the volume vixen ONLY comes in 20″ and 260g. I like how the royals are the same thickness from top to bottom, so I personally recommend those. The only weird thing about the wefts is that one of them (the four clip weft) has a thick woven part attached to the clips, I don’t know if it’s to make it so it stays in your hair better or what… but none of the other clips have it. It doesn’t bother me, I just thought it was out of the ordinary.

Overall Wear:

Same with the Bellami, you can use the IM with heat tools. I wear these ones curled as well, but even straight they blend incredibly well. I’m never having to cover my wefts, ever. I even went to my own mother’s house and she was feeling my hair and had no idea I had them in. If your own mother can’t tell, they’re damn good. Another really awesome thing about the Irresistible Me brand is that they ALWAYS offer a 20% off deal! The extensions I got would normally be $189, and I got them for $150. $40 makes a huge difference in the long run, and it’s obviously way better than a $5 deal from Bellami. The 20% off is site wide, so you can buy multiple sets if your bank account is into that sort of thing.

And that’s a wrap! 

I hope I helped and could answer some of the questions you had about extensions and these two brands in particular. I always recommend doing your own research and reading as many reviews as you possibly can before you make any beauty investments. Especially with hair extensions, because they’re not cheap (the good ones anyway) and they’re going to last you a long time. Something that works for one person won’t always work for someone else. If you have any questions or comments leave them below! Or any other posts you would like to see 🙂 have a wonderful weekend my loves, stay beautiful!

XOXO

Shelby

Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Kit vs. Kat Von D Shade Light

Okay- let me first start off by saying that both of these palettes I love, immensely. They both have their pros and cons just like any other palette. However, both of these palettes, I believe, can serve you in different ways. I’ll explain as I go along. For the sake of not developing any additional carpal tunnel, I’ll use the abbreviation SL for shade light, and ABH for Anastasia’s kit. My grades will be based on color, blendability, cost, pigmentation, and overall usage. Let me show you how my grading scale works:

A: Perfect, wouldn’t change a thing

B: Amazing, but could use some work

C: Eh, so-so

D/F: These don’t come around that often but if they do, something has gone seriously wrong

Lets start off with the basic premise of these palettes and where the idea comes from. Both are meant for the new trend (contouring, obviously) that has taken the modern day beauty industry by storm. It seems as if we woke up one day, and EVERYBODY was contouring. This specific technique has been around for ages, but with all the Kardashian’s being contoured to the nines, we’re more obsessed with it than ever. Say what you will about the Kardashian’s- but those cheek bones can be seen from a mile away. So not only are celebs taking advantage of this beauty secret- but many companies have now given us mere mortals the tools to replicate them. In my own opinion, contouring is the equivalent of a real-world filter. It’s meant to enhance our features, yes, but also to sculpt and manipulate them to appear a different way. Contouring can be used to elevate cheek bones, shorten or slim the face, narrow the nose, etc. etc. The makeup gods have shown mercy upon us and granted us with the power and convenience of all-in-one kits, and we are forever indebted to them. Bless.

These are my personal palettes. You might not be able to tell, but I usually stick to two colors in each palette….. Wait, you can tell? Yeah that makes sense. I know they’re banged up but these babies get a lot of lovin, as they should. Also just a disclaimer- I have owned the ABH palette for much longer. They are both black and both have a magnetic closure, but you can see the SL is much larger than the ABH. It also has a mirror which the ABH lacks. Aesthetics does not matter so much to me because truly, it’s whats on the inside that counts.

Moving right along. The top colors are specific to highlighting and the bottom colors are specific to contouring. I organized these swatches based on their location. For instance, whichever color was in the bottom left hand of the SL, I picked the same one from the bottom left of the ABH. Generally these colors are placed here because of their shades.

These are all swatched on me in natural lighting with no flash, no filter, and my skin tone is about an NC20 in MAC or “Light” in KVD’s Tattoo Foundation.

CONTOURING COLORS

Havana (ABH) VS. Sombre (SL)

Both of these colors are the “darker” shades in each palette. Havana has a definite clay-based undertone to it. Almost an orange against my skin tone. Sombre has a more ashy-gray undertone. Taupe, if you will. Both of these I would use on someone who has at least somewhat of a tan, because on lighter skin these colors can be difficult to blend and may appear as if the skin is bruised if done incorrectly. I also had to use more product when swatching Havana because it’s pigmentation isn’t as high as Sombre.

Fawn (ABH) vs. Shadowplay (SL)

These are the two colors I have used the most personally. They’re very similar in color with the exception being that Shadowplay in this instance is more orange based than Fawn. These colors are a little more versatile as far as being used on different skin tones. Fair skinned for a bolder contour, and darker skinned for a more subtle look. Once again I had to use more product when swatching Fawn, and I noticed this with just about every ABH color.

Java (ABH) vs. Subconscious (SL)

These two are VERY alike in color, with just a touch more of an orange base in the Subconscious. For these I have no problem using them on fair skinned people. Since they’re “lighter” than the other two colors in each palette, they’re not too harsh when blended well and used sparingly. Too much contouring on any skin tone can turn a slimmer contouring look into a drag queen look in a flash. So be extra careful with lighter skin.

HIGHLIGHTING COLORS

Sand (ABH) vs. Lucid (SL)

The main difference in these two colors is that Sand has a shimmer to it. It’s a nice iridescent color so you don’t feel like you have a pound of glitter on your face. For this particular shade I would definitely put at the top of  cheek bones, but I would stray away from using it under the eyes. The shimmer can accentuate bags and/or dark circles. Lucid would be a better option for under the eye as it is matte and won’t draw as much attention to the area if you have those imperfections.

Banana (ABH) vs. Lyric (SL)

Both of these I use the most and honestly the color difference is practically nonexistent to me. They’re both a very light color with a yellowish undertone. A highlighter with a yellow undertone is ideal for the under eye area because yellow can counteract the purple/blue hues we get due to dark circles. Who likes dark circles? Nobody? That’s what I figured. Plus these are both matte and are phenomenal at setting your under eye concealer.

Vanilla (ABH) vs. Levitation (SL)

Both of these colors are so light you can barely see them on my pale skin. I seldom use them, if ever, and it’s because I feel that even on my skin tone these can be TOO light and don’t really do a whole lot. Levitation has a bit more of a yellow tone to it but not enough to really notice all that much unless someone was 2 inches away from your face. If you’re very very fair these will basically disappear. However if you’re darker and want your highlight to stand out more, you could use these. However, be careful of a lighter tone on dark skin. The color may appear as chalky if the difference in shade is too severe.

Overall I give each of these palettes an A as far as color goes. They both have a good variety for the specific skin tone this palette is directed towards. As you may know, ABH has since released a medium and deep kit as well as this original light kit. I think that’s phenomenal that they offer those options, the SL palette does not (yet) so extra points to ABH for appealing to a larger demographic of users.

PIGMENTATION

As I mentioned before the ABH palette I found I had to get more product to compare the swatch to the SL palette. This does not work in ABH’s favor because not only did I have to use more product, but the amount of the product in the palette isn’t as much as SL when it comes to the contouring colors. Each contouring color in the SL palette has .16 oz of product, where every color in the ABH palette has .11 oz. The SL palette’s highlighting colors are only .08 oz, but I have no problem with this .03 oz difference considering the amount of pigmentation it offers.

ABH: B

SL: A

BLENDABILITY:

In all honesty both of these palettes offer a good amount of blendability as far as I can see. The SL palette has a bit more of a creamier texture compared to the ABH, which contributes to the pigmentation payout. The only problem I can see arising is that the SL palette is SO pigmented that if you accidentally put too much on the brush and start to apply, there may be no turning back. However this is a user issue and not a product issue, so I am willing to overlook it.

ABH: A

SL: A

COST: 

The difference in cost between these two as a whole is a whopping $6. The SL palette retails for $46 while the ABH retails for $40. In the end, the SL palette gives you .72 oz of product and the ABH gives you .66 oz. The difference is literally .06 oz, so you’re paying $1 more per .01 oz in the SL palette. But when it comes to pigmentation and cost, it may end up that you’re using the ABH faster. The HUGE HUGE HUGE difference between the SL palette and the ABH however, is being able to replace your colors. The SL palette does not offer refill colors (so to get the main colors you use you would have to replace the whole thing), whereas the ABH does. They don’t sell them in stores (annoying) but you can buy each color for the ABH palette separately for $14 (which by the way if you did that every time, not including shipping, it would make your palette $84 instead of $40) or buy an entirely new palette with customized colors (online only) for again, $40. So here inlays the problem- do you pay for an entire new palette every time you need new colors with the SL? or buy the colors separately whenever you need them with the ABH? I think this depends on what you’re using the palette for. If cost is your BIGGEST issue, this is how I would go about it. If using on clients, I would go with the SL. You probably won’t be using the same exact colors on every person you’re applying a contour to. So the colors will probably wear out all the same (ideally) so you could replace it all at once. If for yourself, the ABH palette. You can replace the colors you use the most because unless you’re drastically changing skin tones constantly, you’re probably going to stick to the same colors. So if you wanted to, when you go through your two favorites, you could potentially just buy another palette with 3 of each color and it would last you, like, forever. That’s just my opinion, but I don’t think cost should be your deciding factor when the difference is only $6.

OVERALL USAGE

Like I mentioned before, I’ve had my ABH palette for a good amount of time longer than the SL palette. The only reason being is that the ABH palette came out much sooner. I like having the option of both because sometimes you just need to switch it up. Playing with new products is always going to work in your benefit because you never want to get too comfortable. In the matter of SKIN TYPE (dry vs. oily, etc.) both of these are technically a powder contour, and powder always pans out better on people who are prone to normal-oily skin. It’s just a known fact that powder will dry out previously dry skin. However, with the right base foundation, this can be easily fixed.

Now, by law, we can only have one winner. The fact of the matter is, once I purchased the SL palette, I was in love. A love I knew surpassed the ABH palette. The blendability is superior, the pigmentation is off the charts, and the ONLY downfall this product has is not being able to refill it individually. Which is a matter of cost. I would gladly pay $46 every time my favorite colors run out. It’s really the pigmentation and the blendability of the ABH in comparison to the SL that it falls short. By no means does it suck in the matter of either, but if we’re COMPARING, I’m going with SL 100%. 

****UPDATE 10/02/2016****

Kat Von D has FINALLY released refillable shades for the SL palette! Wahoo! They are only available on Sephora.com right now as far as I know. The highlight shades retail for $14 and the contour shades retail for $16!

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SIDENOTE: When I looked on Sephora’s website to research the reviews on both palettes, I found that the ABH palette had 754 reviews in total and the SL palette only had 534. Probably because the SL palette is newer. However, the SL palette had 440 5star ratings with more than 200 less reviews, and the ABH palette only had 475. So even though less people have reviewed SL, the percentage of 5star ratings was 82% whereas the percentage of 5 star ratings for the ABH was only 62%. You can’t argue with math. These are facts.

SHADE LIGHT BY KAT VON D WINS!!!

If you are still with me thank you thank you THANK YOU for reading! I know it was long but getting you the facts thoroughly and my personal opinion was important to me. If you have questions or comments please reply- I would love to answer either! Or if you have any suggestions or requests on future posts please let me know. You’re all wonderful. Happy contouring!

Xoxo Shelby