Softly Does It/Tight and Tawny

MAC Softly Does It/Tight and Tawny Studio QuikTrik Stick ($32.00 for 0.42 oz.) is comprised of a sheer, shimmery silvery rose shade (best for highlighting) and muted, mid-tone brown with subtle, warmer undertones (best for bronzing or contouring).

The QuikTrik Stick is a double-ended, cream-based stick that’s supposed to work for highlighting, contouring, bronzing, or blushing. It is supposed to have buildable, blendable color and can be worn over bare skin or foundation. One side is more shimmery, while the other is darker and more natural (but still has a sheen from the creamier consistency) in finish. In general, the formula applies well to bare skin or over liquid foundation, as it is very emollient, blendable, and easy to spread across the skin, but I notice that it seemed to break up my foundation a bit after six hours of wear. The pigmentation was semi-sheer, buildable up to semi-opaque coverage.

The downside to the formula is that both shades remained lightly tacky with a moderately dewy finish, and, unsurprisingly, the wear time was shorter at six hours. I get better wear (an extra hour or two) if I lightly pat translucent powder on top or pair with a similarly-hued powder blush. The finish is lovely if you like a dewier finish–they reminded me of the type of products I’d reach for in the summer to pat over bare skin.

Get a shade-by-shade breakdown of this duo, along with individual photos and swatches…

Softly Does It

Softly Does It is a light, soft, silvery rose with a pearly sheen. This was one of the sheerest shades throughout the shade range, not just in the duo, and it did not build up from its sheer coverage. The texture seemed to be a little less emollient, so it wasn’t as easily spread across the skin, which made it better over bare skin or lightly applied foundation rather than over medium coverage (or a matte finish) foundation.

I felt like it disturbed the underlying base product too much. The best way I found to apply it over a medium coverage foundation was to lightly press the product onto the high planes of the face and use the edge of the fingertip to lightly sweep downward (but pick one direction). As a highlighter, it wore well for just over six hours on me before looking patchy and had moved a bit on the skin.

Tight and Tawny

Tight and Tawny is a muted, mid-tone brown with subtle, warmer undertones and a natural finish. It had less obvious shimmer, but it still had a dewier finish on the skin that stayed a touch tacky/emollient throughout its wear. I think the color will work for bronzing and adding warmth to the skin, but I liked it as a contour, too, as it is not too warm (but it likely too warm to be an ideal contour for cooler skin tones). The cream was emollient without being too thin or slippery, so it sat well on the skin, spread easily, and lasted seven hours on me (better than some shades in the range).

MAC Softly Does It/Tight and Tawny QuikTrik Stick Duo

MAC Softly Does It/Tight and Tawny QuikTrik Stick Duo

MAC Softly Does It/Tight and Tawny QuikTrik Stick Duo

MAC Softly Does It/Tight and Tawny QuikTrik Stick Duo

MAC Softly Does It QuikTrik Stick

MAC Softly Does It QuikTrik Stick

MAC Softly Does It QuikTrik Stick

MAC Tight and Tawny QuikTrik Stick

MAC Tight and Tawny QuikTrik Stick

MAC Tight and Tawny QuikTrik Stick

MAC Softly Does It/Tight and Tawny QuikTrik Stick Duo

MAC Softly Does It/Tight and Tawny QuikTrik Stick Duo

MAC Softly Does It/Tight and Tawny QuikTrik Stick Duo

MAC Softly Does It/Tight and Tawny QuikTrik Stick Duo

MAC Softly Does It QuikTrik Stick

MAC Softly Does It QuikTrik Stick

MAC Softly Does It QuikTrik Stick

MAC Tight and Tawny QuikTrik Stick

MAC Tight and Tawny QuikTrik Stick

MAC Tight and Tawny QuikTrik Stick