Contouring has never been a very high priority step in my makeup routine, but some days I feel like being a little “extra” and adding that step to give my face subtle definition. Since contouring isn’t part of my daily routine, it’s also not something I’ve practiced very much. On the rare occasions that I contour, I want to use products that are forgiving and easy to use. When I saw that Kiko, one of my favorite makeup brands, offers a contour stick, I just had to pick it up! This product is called Kiko Milano Sculpting Touch Creamy Stick Contour.

Some new favorites in my makeup collection are the Kiko Milano Fruit Explosion Juicy Blush and Kiko Milano Mood Boost Matte Bronzer. Since these are both cheek products, I knew there was a good chance I’d enjoy the Kiko Milano Sculpting Touch Creamy Stick Contour, too. I have definitely been enjoying it, though there are both pros and cons which is true of most products. Please continue reading for my full review which will include information on this contour stick’s inclusivity, packaging, ease of application, how well it works with other products, staying power, and price.

Kiko Milano Sculpting Touch Creamy Stick Contour product claims directly from KikoCosmetics.com

Contouring stick with a matte finish. The formula is enriched with African walnut oil and soothing pistachio extract. The soft and creamy texture ensures great coverage and excellent blendability. It is pleasing to the touch; application is easy and precise. The product enables you to sculpt the face, creating plays of light and shadow. The contemporary packaging stands out with its black shiny finish with the KK logo embossed on the top. 

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Other product details

• Price: $14.99
• Net weight: 0.35 oz. | 10 g
• Made in Italy
• Cruelty-free
• Shelf life: 18 months
• Available in two shades
• Where to buy: KikoCosmetics.com
  • Kiko Milano ships internationally, but there are unique websites for each country. When you visit KikoCosmetics.com, make sure the correct country is listed next to “My Country” at the bottom of the page. If it’s incorrect, click on the country name and it will bring up the full list of countries for you to select the correct option.
• Overall rating: 7.8/10
  • Inclusivity: 5/10
  • Packaging/ease of application: 7/10
  • Team player: 8/10
  • Staying power: 10/10
  • Price: 9/10

Please note that I am not a makeup artist. The opinions expressed in this review are my own, as a regular person that loves makeup.

Inclusivity

Let’s get through this rough section so we can move on to more pleasant parts of the review! Kiko Milano is one of my favorite brands, but it always frustrates me when I see them offering very few shade options. Kiko Milano Sculpting Touch Creamy Stick Contour is only available in two shades (Kiko didn’t provide shade descriptions, so these are the descriptions I would give each shade):

• 200 Hazelnut is a light warm brown
• 201 Chocolate is a medium neutral brown

When I purchased this product, I think it was only available in the lighter shade at that time. I’m glad that the Chocolate shade has been added or restocked since then. Hazelnut is definitely ideal for my fair skin and may work for light skin as well. I would suggest the Chocolate shade to those with medium and tan skin tones, but I don’t feel that it would work for deep skin tones.

My biggest complaint about this product’s inclusivity is that there should be at least one darker shade, but it doesn’t stop there. In the photos online, the Hazelnut shade looks quite neutral to me, but as you can see in this arm swatch photo, it’s actually warm toned. Contouring products ideally should be cool toned to create the look of shadows on the skin. 

While the Hazelnut shade is light enough for my fair skin, I’d prefer it to be cooler in tone to create more believable contours. I recognize that some people may enjoy the warm tone of this shade, but I think Kiko should’ve provided a cooler shade option for people with fair to light skin. The Chocolate shade appears to be more appropriate for contouring, but I might change my mind if I saw it in person.

Since my Hazelnut shade is on the warmer side, I’ve been using it as a 2-in-in contour and bronzer. I wouldn’t say the contour is believable on my skin, but I do like how it warms up my complexion. Especially in the summer, my skin needs that color!

Packaging/ease of application

Kiko Milano Sculpting Touch Creamy Stick Contour is packaged as the name suggests, in stick form. It comes in a plastic twist-up tube that’s similar to the packaging for e.l.f. Jelly Pop Glow Stick that I reviewed recently. Unfortunately, I have to say that e.l.f. did it much better. Kiko Milano usually makes beautiful sturdy packaging, but in this product’s case it looks very bland and feels cheap. 

I don’t put too much weight on packaging normally since the product on the inside is what’s most important. However, packaging can sometimes be a big deal! When I twist up this contour stick, it works well enough, but sometimes I have trouble getting it to go back down into the tube. In fact, there have been times when it wouldn’t twist down at all and I had to bang the bottom of the tube on the counter to get it to fall back down into the tube. 

This isn’t a new type of packaging design, so I’m not sure why it doesn’t work better. I expect this type of packaging to twist the product up and down smoothly as needed. This isn’t a deal breaker for me, but it can certainly be annoying at times.

As far as application goes, this product actually is very easy to use! The formula is very creamy and glides over the skin effortlessly. I like that I’m able to apply it exactly where I want it on my skin without needing to dip into a pot. I usually put some along the hairline on my forehead and also on my cheekbones and jawline.

When I first started using Kiko Milano Sculpting Touch Creamy Stick Contour, I blended it with my fluffy bronzer brush. I noticed that with that brush, it was moving the product around too much and almost blending it away. I’ve had much better luck using my e.l.f. Small Stipple Brush since it provides more control over where I’m blending. This is not a highly pigmented formula, so it’s important not to overblend.

Team player

With cream products like this one, I’m always concerned that they’ll cause the foundation underneath to move around. It’s a common problem I’ve had with creams and it’s very frustrating! Kiko Milano Sculpting Touch Creamy Stick Contour somehow doesn’t do that. My foundation stays in place nicely and the contour/bronzer goes where I want it to go as I blend it.

The reason I deducted two points here is because I’ve noticed that this product can sometimes cause my skin to look textured. My skin is actually pretty smooth and I can’t come up with any explanation for the texture I see when using this contour stick, except for the product itself. I mainly see this texture problem on my forehead and it’s not terribly obvious. I doubt that anyone else notices, but of course I do!

Other than the minor texture issue, Kiko Milano Sculpting Touch Creamy Stick Contour is a great team player. I appreciate that this is a rare cream product that I can trust not to mess up my foundation! 🙂

Staying power

As I mentioned previously, Kiko Milano Sculpting Touch Creamy Stick Contour isn’t a very pigmented product. That’s great for my fair skin because even though the shade Hazelnut is much darker than my skin tone, it blends out to look very natural. I’m bringing this up here because honestly, due to the natural look of this product on my skin, it’s a bit hard for me to tell if any wears off throughout the day.

With that being said, I really think the staying power of this cream contour is good. I still have a warmth to my face at the end of the day that wouldn’t be there if this product wasn’t still hanging on. I’ve also noticed that even though the texture of this contour stick is very creamy, it doesn’t stay that way on the skin once it’s blended. It’s almost a cream to powder formula, and I think that helps it to last much longer than it would if it stayed very emollient all day.

Price

Most of the contour sticks I’ve seen are from prestige brands. Contour sticks aren’t a common product offered by drugstore beauty brands, so I was really excited to find this one. Kiko Milano Sculpting Touch Creamy Stick Contour is $14.99. That might seem a bit pricey, but it’s really not bad! I found a couple of very inexpensive options from Wet N’ Wild, but sadly WNW is no longer cruelty-free (their products are sold in China). On the other end of the spectrum, most high-end contour sticks are $30.00+!

The biggest question here is “is it worth $14.99?” I think that’s very subjective! I rated this product well for price because comparatively, it is a good value. However, I personally feel that it is a bit overpriced since it isn’t everything I had hoped it would be. If they improved the packaging and shade range, I think $14.99 would be a perfectly reasonable price.

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As I’m sure you’ve gathered from reading my review, I have very mixed feelings about Kiko Milano Sculpting Touch Creamy Stick Contour. It’s definitely not one of my favorite products from the brand, but I don’t regret trying it, either. It’s fun and easy to use, there are just some things that need improvement: primarily shade range and packaging. Otherwise, it’s not a bad product.

Time to review Kiko’s product claims! First, they say it has a matte finish, creamy texture, and great blendability. I agree with all of those claims! Next, “application is easy and precise.” Yes, absolutely! That’s one of my favorite things about this product. 

They say the product enables the user to sculpt the face, which isn’t entirely true in my opinion. As I said before, the Hazelnut shade is pretty warm toned and better suited for bronzing the face (the Chocolate shade, on the other hand, may be a very good contour shade) which is not the same as contouring. The last product claim is just about the packaging “contemporary packaging stands out with its black shiny finish with the KK logo embossed on the top.” I think this is misleading, making it sound much better quality than it is in reality.

I wouldn’t recommend Kiko Milano Sculpting Touch Creamy Stick Contour to everyone, but I think a lot of people would like it. In fact, it has a 4.5 star rating on KikoCosmetics.com! If it sounds like a product you would enjoy, and one of the shades would work for your skin tone, then I’d say go for it!

Have you tried any contour sticks? How do you think they would compare with this one? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!

Lauren

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