| Review | Makeup By Mario SoftSculpt Transforming Skin Perfector

| Review | Makeup By Mario SoftSculpt Transforming Skin Perfector

A gradient skin enhancing powder isn't something new. I think MAC Cosmetics have released this product many times before in limited edition collections but I haven't seen this type of product round in the past few years. The release of this product is bringing new life to the concept of a multi-use and versatile powder product. While not unique, I was intrigued and I love bronzer so, I had to pick one up to check it out. Summer is coming and I'm always on hunt for a new bronzer. 

The Makeup By Mario SoftSculpt Transforming Skin Perfector retails for $34.00 USD and is available at Sephora. This product is housed a simple, white, plastic compact with a clear panel in the front to see the product. I appreciate the completely clear window in the front that allows you to see the beautiful gradient product held inside.  The compact has a simple snap closure. Overall, the packaging is lightweight and simple. There's nothing particularly special about it. 

SHADES 

This product currently comes in five shades with some having a cool shimmer and some having a warm shimmer in the gradient. I'm personally a little annoyed with this because the brand is assuming some skin tones will look better with a cool shimmer and some better with a warm shimmer but really, they should have only offered one option for all or both options for all, so more shade options. Since I have a neutral undertone but a medium skin tone, I actually prefer a cooler shimmer to help neutralize a warm bronzer shade but that's not an option with this range. The Medium shade only comes with a warm gold shimmer. Personally, I don't think five shades is enough for a bronzer or powder range. I'd like the brand to offer more shades. When choosing a shade, I went off of the most suitable bronzer or powder shade for my skin tone, this is the bottom portion of the powder. 

Medium - This gradient starts with a light pale champagne beige fading into a sandy golden beige. Then, it fades into a light golden shade into a warm light bronze and finally, into a medium warm bronze shade. 

Individual Gradient Swatches

Mixed Gradient Swatches

FORMULA

What is the purpose of this product? It can be used a variety of ways depending on the shade or shades you choose. Since this product is called a skin perfector, you can use it has a skin enhancing powder if you  select a shade that is very close to your skin tone and brush it all over. I would not recommend this as the product contains a lot of shimmer with some fairly large particles of shimmer. The shimmer can emphasize texture and pores on the skin. I would recommend if you are going to use it as a powder, pick up mostly the bottom portion of the powder for the skin. Honesty, I think there are much better complexion perfecting powders than this one. This is not my preferred use for this product. 

As an actual bronzing and sculpting product, it works well. The powder has a medium pigment and is very buildable. If you swirl the brush over all of the powder, the result is quite shimmery and you will get a simultaneous bronzing and highlighting effect. great for a quick one-and-done kind of product but really not ideal because of getting best of both worlds, you kind of have the highlight and bronzer interfering with one another's tasks. A bronzers purpose is to add warmth and dimension to the skin, sculpting the skin as the name SoftSculpt implies, but when there's so much shimmer, you're not getting any sculpting because everything is reflecting. At the same time, the purpose of a highlighter is to bring dimension to the face by bring light and reflective texture to certain areas of the face but when you have multiple areas of the face highlighted and bronzed at the same time, you're not really getting that dimension you would get from only certain areas being highlighted. 

I think the best use of this product is as a highlighter and bronzer but conveniently package together, almost like a bronzing and highlight palette. You take the more matte bottom portion and use it as a bronzer and sculpting product. Then, use the top version as a highlighter to add glow and light to the cheekbones. The middle of the powder can be used as a transition between bronzer and highlight. This is the best way to utilize and apply this gradient product. 

This product is also designed to be applied over the Makeup By Mario SoftSculpt Transforming Skin Enhancer (full review here). When applied over this cream bronzer product, it applies very smoothly and doesn't catch on to the texture. The powder itself is a very soft, smooth, and blendable texture. It is a very fine texture that doesn't look heavy or overly made up on the skin. The powder over the cream does help set the cream and provide a more enhanced sculpting and bronzing effect. It also makes everything last longer. Overall, the powder actually last really well on the skin, providing over eight hours of wear time. 

THE LOOK 

In this first image, I applied the Makeup By Mario SoftSculpt Transforming Skin Perfector over the Makeup By Mario SoftSculpt Transforming Skin Enhancer. I applied more of the bronze portion more in the hollow of the cheeks for more of a sculpted look and the lighter portion on the higher points of the cheeks. You can see the shimmer of the lighter portion really shows on my face. The shimmer kind of detracts from the sculpting effect that product should offer. 

In this second image, I swirled the product around and applied it on top of my foundation as my bronzer but you really can't see it other than the gold shimmer on the cheeks. It doesn't really offer much to the complexion. 

FINAL THOUGHTS 

While the product looks beautiful in the pan, it isn't the most practical product. You'd be much better off with a bronzing and highlighting palette where the products are mixed together in the pan. As I discussed earlier, the issue with having a very shimmery highlighter that transitions to a matte bronzer is that when mixed together they defeat the purpose of each other. A bronzer is supposed to provide dimension and definition by creating shadowy warmth but with the shimmer mixed in it is simultaneously being highlighted. Also, vice versa when it comes to mixing the bronzer with the highlighting portion, you can get a genuine highlight. The only way you can actually use the product is compartmentalized but if you do, you may as well just use a bronzer and highlight palette or just a separate bronzer and highlighter. I don't really see the purpose of this product and I don't see much use for a product like this for someone with a moderate to large makeup collection. For the price, I just can't recommend a product that is so impractical and doesn't do anything particularly special. I definitely say save your money when it comes to buying the product and invest in a good bronzer and highlighter elsewhere. 

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