NYX 3 Steps to Sculpt ($12 for 15 grams) contains a contour, a matte highlighter, and an illuminator. The trio I am reviewing here is the shade Fair but there are four palettes to choose from for different skin tones. They can be purchased from NYX, Ulta, Target, Walmart, and Amazon.

Highlight is pale cream with subtle pink undertones and a matte finish. I don’t use this as a matte highlight because I don’t like the way it looks on my skin but I do use it to buff out the edges of the contour or to mix in with the contour to lighten it up. I have tried using this all an all over face powder and to set the under eyes but I don’t think that it sits well on the skin used that way. It looks powdery and doesn’t meld into foundation the way a setting powder does. Nevertheless, I am glad that it is included as I think it’s very helpful to have to tone down the shade of the contour for a more natural look.

Illuminate is definitely more of a sparkle/glitter and not really a shimmer or sheen finish. The sparkles are smaller than a typical glitter and they adhere decently so long as the skin is not overly powdered or dry. It can be applied lightly for a subtle sparkle or heavily for a nearly metallic shine. Because the sparkles spread out and you don’t get an even sheen like you would with more of a traditional highlighter, I don’t find that this emphasizes texture or pores on my skin.

Contour is a medium brown with slight yellow undertones and a matte finish. In the photo, it’s pulling very red for some reason, but in real life it’s much more neutral. I purchased this online before it was available in stores and, based on the product photos, I thought the contour was going to be more of an ashy, cool toned contour shade which aren’t all that easy to find. It’s not. It’s definitely warm, but not overly so. It works as a contour or as a bronzer for me and I am happy with the undertone of it. It is pretty pigmented so I have to use a light hand and tap excess color off on the back of my hand before applying the color to my face. I also have to spend a bit more time blending it out. It’s not the worlds most even contour powder but I can get it to work.

Here, I used an angled blush brush and tapped back and forth between the matte highlight and the contour shade. I patted the excess color off on the back of my hand before applying the color to the hollows of my cheeks, then blended generously. I applied the sparkly highlight with a big fluffy eyeshadow brush with somewhat of a heavy hand and buffed it out on the tops of my cheekbones.

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Product Description

NYX Sculpt & Highlight Face Duo is a two-in-one cream product containing both a highlighter and contour shade. The formula is not as emollient as the type of cream product you’d find in a pan or stick but it offers a finish that looks more like skin than a powder. It doesn’t smell fragranced but it does have a very mild paint-like smell that I did not find noticeable during normal use. Each side of the product contains 0.17 fl. oz / 5.3 mL. It retails for $12 and can be purchased at NYX and Ulta.

Performance

I bought the lightest shade option, Taupe/Ivory, and neither side had any shimmer or sparkle at all. Taupe is very neutral, neither leaning warm brown nor cool grey. Ivory is also very neutral, not too pink and not too yellow. The color of the highlight shows up on my skintone better than many other highlights included in contour/highlight products I’ve tried but how well it shows depends on the shade of foundation I am wearing. One interesting and useful thing I use it for is, if I am using a foundation that is a tad darker than my complexion, the highlight enables me to use the foundation shade as a subtle contour. I apply this by dotting it in the areas I want to highlight or contour, then I blend it in a little with my fingers and finally I use a brush to finish blending it in. It doesn’t dry down too quickly so I have plenty of time to work with it and sets well enough that I don’t feel the need to apply powder on top. It doesn’t look patchy or streaky but the more I blend it in, the better and more natural it looks. Both shades sit on the skin extremely well, not emphasizing pores, fine lines or dry patches. I wore this for 9 and half hours and it did not fade or break down.

Worth Buying?

This product is very easy to use so it seems like it would be really great for people that are new to contouring or who want to try something different than a powder or cream/stick formula. This formula is thinner and less emollient so it would work well for someone with oily or combination skin. For those with active acne or who need to conceal in areas where you will use this, it might be tricky because blending it in could wipe off the concealer underneath. In that case, you’d probably be better off using a powder formula.