Maxfactor has been launching some interesting products lately. I've never really been into their makeup range, but recently I feel like they're getting into the game. And also found out, how to look a little more fancy.
What am I talking about? Look at these products. The Maxfactor Miracle Sculpting Wands, both Highlight and Contour wand look pretty much exactly like the Charlotte Tilbury Magic Wands, just a little chubbier and cheaper for sure. I've never tried any Charlotte Tilbury product, so I cannot really compare, but maybe, we could have a little dupe situation here. I love cream contour especially, so I grabbed these to give them a go.
There are two types, Contour and Highlight wand. The Contour wand comes in two shades, I have the lighter - Light Medium. The Highlight wand comes in one Universal shade. You get 10ml of product in each of them and they are 299 Crowns each. At least that's the drugstore price, you can get them a lot cheaper online as well.
I really like the packaging of these. They come in a little tube with a sponge on the top, which is not so great if you want to apply in on other people than yourself. But if you're the only person using it, you're just fine. It also has a lock, so the product cannot just flow out and get the whole tube super messy. I really like that.
Not many brands in the drugstore in general make cream base products and when they do it's not always a hit. I have quite high hopes in these, also because I find them a little bit expensive and I hope I didn't waste my money.
The contour seems a little light, but to be honest the second shade wasn't too much darker. I like that the applicator is almost flat so it's really easy to lay the product down. It's very blendable and sheers out very well. Almost a little too much. If you use it with a brush, you risk blending it all away. I much prefer blending it out with a sponge, because it doesn't blend it away too much. I really like the color, it's not too warm or too gray. It's more of a bronzer/contour in my opinion, but I really like the effect it gives my skin. I would say that it's a very foolproof contour and it would be really good for begginers.
The highlight looks a little too dark when it's coming out on the sponge, but in fact it's a beaufitul subtle glowy pink/champagne color. I really love the shade of this highlighter. The tone is just so right. I'm not sure how forgiving it is in terms of using it on deeper skintone, because I'm not sure if the base is clear. But the color is certainly very flattering and I can see this fitting so many different undertones. It's super creamy and almost watery in a way, so it applied very well on top of powder as well. It also doesn't stay tacky.
The formula of these is very unique. It's pigmented, but not too much and it's almost like water so it doesn't move anything under it and also dries well and layers well. It's a little confusing to me but this is exactly the type of product you will be able to apply on top of powder. The contour you don't even have to but you certainly could. They also don't act weird when powdered, which is often a problem for me when it comes to cream base products. I have worn them multiple times now and they are one of my go-to products for cream base makeup. The lasting powder of these is great, maybe it's the light texture which makes them stay put and not wanting to move around.
Demo
In the first set of photos, you can see the pigmentation of the just applied product with the sponge applicator. It's a nice color, I would say it has slight red undertone, but it makes it very flattering. I blended it out with a sponge, since that's my preffered way of doing it and even though it dried a little bit because of my little photoshoot, it was still very easy to blend. You can see, that the contour is not too harsh but it's visible for sure.
I applied the highlighter on my cheekbones and nose with the applicator and I took a little detail shading brush and picked up more product from the applicator to highlight my browbone and inner corners. It works really well. Also, you can take a pallete and work of a pallete if you're not comfortable using the applicator sponge itself.
The highlighter is very subtle and natural and it's very hard to capture on camera. I tried my best, so hopefully you can see on the photos. It's more glowy and it looks very natural, almost like it's just your glowing skin. It really sinks in beautifully and looks healthy and not overpowering.
Final thoughts
Even though the pricetag on these isn't the lowest, I would say it's worth it. If you're gonna go for one cream contour product in the drugstore, I would say go for this one.
It blends really easily, the shades are just right, both the highlighter and the contour look very nice and flattering and apply very well. I didn't have a bad application with these products yet and I probably never will. They are just so easy to work with and so blendable that I think anyone can do cream contour or highlight with these.
I would also say that they will last a very long time, because the sponge kind of holds the product, so you don't have to load it up with more product every time you use it. It's also travel friendly because of the lock and it plays well with all different foundations and powders. So except for the price, which is a very individual parameter as well, I would recommend these.
Do you use cream base products? I feel like they're making a great comeback, let me know in the comments and thanks for reading!