This product was sent to me by StyleKorean for review purposes. I was not paid for this post but please note that affiliate links are used on my blog. These go towards supporting Oh My Stellar and future content.
My contour is the second most important step of my make up routine and I’m always on the look out for new products. The Filter Shot contour pact from 16 Brand is one that originally caught my eye on Instagram, but it took a little while until I found out it was available on StyleKorean’s website! I did go back and forth about this for a while, because I didn’t have a good experience with the Eye Magazine (their one swipe eye shadow product). A lot of these type of things don’t work for me because my face shape is a bit different to the ‘average’ Asian face – which is the target audience – but I figured that I had to give this a shot anyway!
So the Filter Shot is a one swipe contour pact. It comes in two shades but, essentially, one is for nose contour and one is for face contour – so it’s really just the one shade. I have the Contour Peach shade, which is for the nose. This, and the Shading Almond colour, are currently selling on StyleKorean for USD$17.60 – which isn’t too bad actually!
Check out their website if you want to grab it but, otherwise, let’s jump into this review.
Packaging
Once again, 16 Brand is absolutely killing it with their packaging and – to be honest – I feel like a lot of people would buy this just for that. This product has a beauty filter theme, with the unit carton design inspired by an old fashioned camera (or it would be the original Instagram icon, depending on how you view it). The name Filter Shot refers to beauty filters which, on most Asian beauty cameras, can slim and contour the face in an instant. I love the concept and design of this and it’s definitely something that I would pick up as a gift.
Opening it up, the compact as a light pink plastic case with a clear top. It matches with the external box really nicely and I think that the overall look is very modern and trendy, but also very ‘girlish’ – it’s fun! I like the use of hashtag son the front, which also play into the photo filter theme, and also the icons down the bottom. The only one that throws me off is the hand, which almost looks rude (haha)! Overall, I love the physical aesthetic of it.
Quality wise, the packaging is decent. The plastic is light but doesn’t feel cheap, but I find it hard to open up (especially if you have nails). It has an included brush which looks nice too and is a good size to cover the whole pan, but I’m not 100% satisfied with the actual bristles. This uses synthetic fibres and is similar to a flat eyeshadow brush – I would have preferred something a little bit more dense so that it’s easier to blend out the edges of the contour and also so that it can suit more nose shapes. This is still usable though, just not perfect.
Shade & Formula
As you can see from the photo below, each pan has three sections (and two shades). The two edges has a natural cool-toned matte brown side while the centre is a very fine pink illuminator – it isn’t glittery at all and serves more to brighten the centre of the nose bridge. The powders in general are soft with a natural finish; the pigmentation is relatively sheer and can be built up to an extent – which I prefer for this type of product.
In general, the finish on this is very natural. This is more intended for a daily, almost-no-contour make up look and won’t give you a bold, heavy contour no matter how much you layer. I personally find that this works really well for my personal style (I like to have a brighter complexion with minimal bronzing) and I think that most kbeauty fans will enjoy the finish of this Filter Shot powder.
However, I do think that it’s an issue for this to only come in one shade. I generally use a Korean Shade 21 (which is one of their light ‘standard’ colours) and I found this to be a bit light on me – even I had to build it up with a few layers to get a good nose contour happening. It is very natural either way though.
On someone with a skin tone darker than me, this will be almost impossible to use. I feel like they should have at least carried 2 shades of the nose contour; it wouldn’t have suit all skin tones but at least would be enough to cover the standard 3 Korean foundation shades. Admittedly, the shade range is very disappointing.
Application
Theoretically, the application for this product is really simple – hence the reason why they claim to give you a three second nose contour. The brush needs to be swiped along the entire pan to create those three distinctive shades, and then applied down the nose bridge. Similarly to any of these one swipe products, this really works better for some nose shapes – the brush isn’t super dense so when you press it down, it doesn’t really ‘wrap’ around the face contours (if that makes sense).
If you have a lower nose bridge or a button nose, which is most common in Asian features, then the shape of this brush will work really well. I actually tried this product on a friend of mine and the contour was perfect. However, because I have a relatively tall nose bridge, I had to manually manoeuvre the brush over the sides to create that shadow. I also find that I still reach for another brush to build it up between my eyes, since this one doesn’t quite work for that.
That all being said, the concept and set up of this is good. I like the added strip of the illuminator too because it really helps to bring out the nose bridge area without being too dramatic. This application method will only work for certain faces and, if you are like me, you may find yourself working with the brush differently (which may make the process a bit lengthier) or using a different brush entirely. It’s a bit of a shame and I feel like they could have improved this by making a denser and softer ‘one swipe’ brush.
Personal Experiences
I have been using this product pretty much every day since I got it and I have mixed feelings – since the advertised ‘one swipe’ method doesn’t work the best for me, I don’t feel like this is a quick application at all. When I’m running short of time, I would rather reach for my standard brush – that can actually give me a three second application rather than this.
However, I really like the colour of this. It’s sheer and needs to be built up, but the undertone is appropriately cool and I like that the illuminator is more pearlescent than shimmer – both of these work together to create a very natural contour that can work with or without make up. It’s somewhat fool proof too as it’s hard to overdo it. This is a product that I would probably recommend for nose contour beginners, especially people with flatter face structures (since this brush id definitely designed for you!)
Here’s the verdict!
SO WHAT IS IT?
A one swipe powder nose contour with included brush
THE GOOD
- Super fun and decent quality packaging (would be a good gift)
- Good price point
- Great neutral-cool undertone for the shading and fine reflect for illuminator
- Unique concept
- Sheer and buildable pigmentation
- Somewhat fool proof
- Can create a perfect natural nose contour on low nose bridges or button noses
THE BAD
- Compact is a bit hard to open
- Essentially just one shade option
- Brush doesn’t suit all nose shapes (can be improved)
- Brush quality isn’t great either
- The ‘one swipe’ concept doesn’t work well if you have stronger nose shapes and can actually take more time to do
RATINGS
- PACKAGING | 4/5
- PRICE POINT | 4/5
- SHADE | 2/5
- PIGMENTATION | 4/5
- APPLICATION | 3/5
OVERALL RATING? 6.8/10
WOULD I RECOMMEND?
At it’s core, this isn’t a bad product and I will be continuing to use it because I really like the shades. However, this just isn’t a one size fits all situation and this Filter Shot nose contour would be better suited for different face shapes. I acknowledge that my taller nose bridge isn’t the most common amongst East Asians (who would be the target audience for 16 Brand) so I may be in the minority who feel this way.
WHERE TO GET IT FROM
The Filter Shot was sent to me for review from StyleKorean to jump over to their website to get either the nose (Contour Peach) or face contour (Shading Almond) for USD$17.60 each.
