If there is anyone that keeps up with Kim Kardashian, it’s me. I know everything about her and what she’s up to, from when the new Kardashians season comes out to her most iconic quotes — I even know her birthday (I see you, Libra season). But what I pay the most attention to are her glam looks and beauty routines, and how both have evolved over the years. Despite leveling up her beauty looks at seemingly every turn, one thing that has stayed pretty consistent is Mario Dedivanovic, Kardashian’s makeup artist. He’s been a long-time figure on the mogul’s team and is the artist behind her signature look—including a chiseled-out jawline that is so sharp, it could cut glass. So you know when his brand Makeup by Mario launched the Soft Sculpt Shaping Stick, I had to try it out.
I won’t lie, I’m a little late to the party here. The Soft Sculpt Shaping Stick launched back in June of 2021, though due to the great success of the product, I was unable to get my hands on it. It was sold out everywhere — but you better believe as soon as I was able to own one, it was at my doorstep. This product definitely has a lot of hype around it, even Los Angeles-based makeup artist Robin Black says it’s one of her favorites. “Mario is the master of contour so, of course, his Shaping Sticks are brilliant,” she says. Black adds that the sticks are super easy to use, blendable and they work equally well over bare skin or foundation. After hearing this, I was even more excited to try them out.
The stick comes in six shades, all in a variety of deep hues to create shadows on most skin tones. Being that I’m tan right now, I used the hue Medium Dark; during winter months, however, I’ll probably switch to the shade Medium. I applied the stick as I would any contouring product, right after my foundation and concealer, drawing lines below my cheekbones to lift my face, on the forehead near my hairline, and down the sides of my nose to create a slimmer look, leaving me looking something like this:
If you’re unfamiliar with how to contour your face, Black has some advice. “Contouring should suit your individual features and the type of look you want to create,” she says. Black adds that the first step is to determine what features you want to emphasize or reduce. For example, if you want higher, more prominent-looking cheekbones, then you should place your contour just below your natural cheekbone and blend upward (similarly to what I did above).
I should note that upon applying the product to my face, I noticed how easy it was to use. I mean, this formula glided onto my skin like butter and felt hydrating and creamy. When it came time to blend, lucky for me I didn’t have to reach too far: The Soft Sculpt Shaping Stick features a blending brush on the opposite end of the stick. The brush is removable, so it’s easy to wash in between uses, and with it, the formula blended like a dream. It was anything but muddy or blotchy.
