I got Maybelline Master Contour V-Shape Duo Stick Contour & Highlight in 01 Light a long time ago, somewhere in June. I've never owned a cream contour products and I wanted to see if it was easier to use and less obvious.
Stick comes in a plastic packaging with transparent lid. My lid already cracked, because the plastic is thin.
In it is 7 grams of product and it costs 7.99€. Because it's a cream product for contour and highlight, you'll no doubt go through this quickly, so I'm not sure if it's worth the price. If this was a blush, which I don't use as much and not all over the face, I would be fine with that.
It's a cream product in a stick form. One half is for highlighting and other half is for contouring. Application is easy as long as you use both sides. You just lay it against your cheeks and swipe it on. The problem begins when you use one side more than the other. Then the side that you don't use a lot starts to interfere in the other side. This way you'll also get some highlight on the face when you just want to swipe on contour, like I did. I initially wanted this for the contouring and I didn't use highlighter as much.
Texture is creamy and it applies smoothly. It's not too greasy, but it definitely isn't matte. The finish is a bit shiny and hair sticks to it, which means you'll need to powder it.
I always apply it straight from the bullet and then blend it with brush, makeup sponge or just fingers. For a quick on the go application, you can definitely blend this with fingers. It blends with ease. Makeup sponge tends to "eat" a lot of product and you get a very light wash of product. Brush works great with it, because it blends, but doesn't take too much product off the skin.
I got the lightest shade, 01 Light. Contour color is a lighter brown with grey undertone. There's just enough grey in it to give you a natural shade effect, but won't make you look dead. Highlight is just slightly warm toned beige. It doesn't have any prominent yellow undertone, but it's definitely not cool toned. It's lighter than my skin tone and it does highlight selected areas, although it's really subtle. Contour gives you bigger effect than highlight does.
One layer gives you a very natural effect, almost not visible, if you blend it too much. You can build it up, but it blends so quickly, that you can't make it look too done. This might be a blessing for those that tend to overdue their contour application.
It's in general a very natural effect. I bought it for those almost no makeup days, when I love to wear cream products. This gives me just a light definition. You can also use it as a base for powder products.
It fades through the day. If you set it with powder products, it has a better staying power, but still fades though the day.
I love to use it under my cheekbone, around hair line and on my jaw. It also works good on the nose, but I would apply it with a small blending brush instead of going in straight from the bullet. If you're nose is straight, you can do it straight from the bullet, but mine needs more precision.
The product is creamy enough and blends well, almost too well. It gives you a very natural effect and you can't really build it up to an intense look. It's definitely for those of you that are afraid of contour, because it looks very natural. I love the colors. They are nice for fair skin tones. Contour has just enough grey in it and highlight is also lighter than my skin tone, but it doesn't leave as much impact on the skin.
For those of you who want some more definition, I wouldn't recommend this. My problem is also with the half and half product sides. If you plan to use only one side, don't bother getting this one. There's not a lot of product in it. If you'll be using it every day, you'll go through this quickly. I like the effect for my personal preference, but would probably only buy a contour stick in the future. Since there is so many other brands coming out with these, I wouldn't buy this one again.
