Hot Or Not: Pixi Beauty Feat. Maryam Maquillage Strobe & Bronze & Strobe & Sculpt Palettes

As mentioned from my previous post, Pixi recently collaborated with influential bloggers and vloggers which are pretty exciting! As a beauty-obsessed consumer myself (and blogger on the side), I scour the internet for online reviews before making a purchase. For today's installation, I am bringing you Maryam Maquillage from Youtube who does amazing makeup tutorials!

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Maryam has three products under her wing: the Strobe & Bronze Glow & Bronze Palette, Strobe & Sculpt Highlight & Contour Palette, and Strobe & Sculpt dual-ended brush. Both palettes retail for $20 at Target, $30+ elsewhere. The makeup brush on the other hand retails for $14. The palettes somehow remind me of Anastasia Glow Kit, except that Pixi has 6 shades in each compared to Anastasia's 4 (review). If you are a highlighting/strobing/contouring junkie, I think both palettes will appeal to you especially if you factor in their affordability and commendable quality. While contouring is not part of my daily beauty regimen, I still find the darker shades contained in both palettes handy and useable in other areas. For instance, I use them as eyeshadows or to fill in my eyebrows, such is the case in my makeup look below.  I find both names of the palettes confusing because realistically speaking, it's quite a mouthful to say and even lengthy to remember. When I was still doing marketing management back in the day, it's imperative for us to name a product and/or brand that is easy for the average consumer to (1) read (2) understand (3) remember. We conduct focus group for target demographics to test out not just the quality of the product itself but also the packaging, name, promotions, among others. So given that I get to see, swatch and test these palettes myself, I for one can't still separate one from the other based on the names they were given.  But here's how I differentiate them...

Strobe & Bronze Glow & Bronze Palette is more cool-toned. What makes is stand out for me is the mauve-pink shimmer and buttery-soft matte bronzers that are all easy to apply and blend. Feeling a little fancy? you can use the other shades as blush, if applied sparingly so you don't look like a disco ball in daylight.

Strobe & Sculpt Highlight & Contour Palette is more warm in terms of color assortment. I love the peachy shade, I think it's perfect for spring and summer! This palette has 3 mattes (pale flesh, chocolate and dark brown).

I like that Maryam thought about adding a brush because what's strobing and contouring without the tool right? This dual-ended brush has partly densed soft bristles that stroke the face ever so gentle. The quality justifies the tag price and no matter how trivial it sounds, the plastic holder is a nifty add-on, it's great for travel!

Do you need both? from a practical standpoint, I say no but get the palette that appeals to you first. I naturally gravitate towards warm tones so Strobe & Scuplt Highlight & Contour palette (the one with peach shade) is my number one choice. Hence, it's the same palette I used for my makeup below. I used the darker shades to fill-in my eyebrows, lower lash line and crease shade. I used the shimmery light shades on cheekbone, nose bridge and lids.

What do yo think of these palettes?