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Gucci Westman is always one to play with color, but not in the ways you’d expect: a flick of brown liner to accentuate the eyes, a fresh pastel across the lids, a pop of pink or red to the lips. No matter how the Westman Atelier founder chooses to awaken the visage, you can expect skin to always look like skin—more radiant, smooth, and hydrated, without ever feeling overdone via featherweight touches and innovative formulas. It’s a philosophy bolstered by her latest launch, the Powder Duos—six blush and contour palettes, available today.
“This concept of playing with a few color combinations ties back to my approach as a makeup artist,” Westman tells Vogue, drawing on two colors instead of one to create dimension and makeup that looks virtually undetectable. “I’ve always loved using complementary colors on the cheek and found the subtle contrast interesting. When you play with a few shades, it feels more real, less monochromatic, as if you’re breathing life into skin. The colors in these duos do just that. The deeper shade adds dimension, the lighter shade adds a pop of color.”
And so if you’re wondering how these differ from her already-beloved blush and contour sticks, they actually work together to add dimension to any look by playing with various textures, shades, and formula types. “Powders add impact when they’re layered with cream formulas, and they give longevity whether used alone or in combination,” she says, nodding to her love of powders as much as their cream counterparts. “It has the most luxurious texture and the most premium payoff. The color never streaks, so application feels like a dream.”
Think of the new duos as a master class in powder makeup done right. A finely milled powder, the formula deposits color onto the cheeks with a “whisper-like,” natural-skin finish, as the brand describes it—enriched with plant-derived squalane, volcanic rock, and special-effects pigments. “It’s fine and fluffy, and because of skin-care ingredients like phytosqualane, it gives a beautiful supple finish to the skin,” she says. “Volcanic rock absorbs excess oil and creates a supersoft matte finish without sitting on the skin’s surface.” And though it offers weightless wear, it delivers maximum color payoff. To use, swirl a fluffy brush (Westman Atelier’s Powder Brush II is an excellent example of this) into the pigment, and be sure to dust off the excess powder. The formula is buildable, so you can add more blush to your desired pigment—and if the color feels too powerful, keep blending to diffuse.
One can also appreciate the palette’s carefully chosen shade combinations. “Using two tones of blush brings life to the skin,” Westman says. “It lets you see the cheekbone in a new way. It can really open up the face.” From the blush palettes, you’ll find duos of shades Fizz and Jam for playful, vibrant color or shades Suede and Sable, which Westman describes as “easy weekend skin” for an effortless radiance. Those partial to contouring will love the brand’s best-selling shades Petal and Biscuit together in powder format, whereas deeper tones will gravitate toward shades Poppet and Ganache—a pairing great for a pop of color and optimal sculpting.
Whichever duo you choose imparts a super-soft-focus finish, blurring and mattifying cream pigments that lie beneath it without ridding skin of its natural luminosity. As Westman puts it, “It’s powder blush and contour for people who don’t like powder.”
