Stila One Step Correct Review

In a makeup market saturated with primers, it can be hard to know what’s worth your money and which ones are best left on the shelf. This no nonsense Stila One Step Correct review is going to dive into all three formulas. All three are color-correcting and brightening serums designed to help even out and correct skin tone.

I want to start by discussing the original Stile One Step Correct formula, as I am almost done with my bottle and that is what led me to discover the new Kitten and Eye versions. Both of these are new purchases and I’ll give my first impressions down below. But let’s start at the beginning, shall we? 

So a few things about my skin and the problems I’m trying to address. I have combination skin and pronounced under-eye bags (they are genetic but certainly not helped by age and lack of proper sleep). There is no way to fully cover them without wearing ungodly amounts of product, and especially as I get older, that tends to just look heavy and crepe-y on me. I’ve been learning a lot on how to find a good balance between brightening the area and avoiding having a cake and crepe shop open for business on my face. I also have some redness in my cheeks and some general unevenness in my skin tone. 

I have tried color correcting palettes and was finding that most formulas were adding crepiness under my eyes and making my face ghostly where trying to correct for the red. Finding a good balance between coverage and heaviness was proving challenging. I discovered the original One Step Correct at Sephora and was intrigued by the formula. I will be honest, when I first started using it, I struggled to get good results.  It took some trial and error to learn the best application method to get effective corrective results while creating a good base for my foundation.  The trick for me is to take a pump onto the back of my hand and dab at the product to mix the colors, then apply to the face with my finger, focusing on the problem areas (under eyes, cheeks, etc.).  Then give the product several minutes to absorb, as the color correctors are suspended in serum and this needs some time to do its thing. A helpful note is that while it’s good to have a moisturized face, because this is a serum-based product, you don’t want to have a too “wet” base or it won’t absorb and your foundation will slide around. I prefer a gel moisturizer that provides good hydration while not leaving me too slick. Then the serum formula can absorb nicely into my skin and leave the skin with a good base.

Once I figured out the way to get the results I want, I have made the Stila One Step Correct my go to primer. I avoid my nose area as it can get too oily, and prefer a grippier primer for the oilier parts of my face. This is a common issue for us combination skin folks and an approach a fully endorse. I don’t think it speaks poorly to the product, just that it’s best suited for the drier areas of my face without having to layer or set the serum prior to foundation.  If you are all over oily, I would recommend either layering a grippy primer on top or setting with spray before laying on foundation. 

Comparing the Stila One Step Correct Formulas

It’s no surprise that I’ve almost run out of my current bottle of Stila One Step Correct, since it’s been my daily driver primer for awhile now. I went to order a fresh bottle and discovered that the brand had released two new products in this line: One Step Correct Eye and One Step Correct Kitten.  I ordered both from Stila’s website but they are also available via Ulta.

UPDATE: Since the time of this original writing, Stila has also added Medium and Deep shades to the One Step Correct lineup, to better suit the needs of a broader range of skin tones and concerns.

One Step Correct Eye

The One Step Correct Eye formula is a mix of two different peach-y tones in a mineral water base designed to brighten, hydrate, and correct the eye area. I’ve tried about a zillion brightening serums under my eyes and I do have to say, I get decent results.  I use an eye cream during my skin prep, but this gave a nice additional bump of moisture while deflecting light to help brighten up my circles and minimize my bags. Concealer sits nicely on top, without creasing, caking, or creping.

One Step Correct Kitten

The One Step Correct Kitten formula is almost identical to the One Step Correct formula except one key difference. The peach tone is a bit more pink-red than in the original formula, and contains a highlighting and brightening sheen. When I first tested the product on the back of my hand I was concerned, as products with too much sheen or sparkle can enhance my skin’s texture instead of correcting or blurring it.

On my hand it did brighten but also looked textured. I decided to give it a fair try and tested it out during my normal makeup routine. On my face it did brighten quite a bit more than the original while still doing the work to cover and even out my redness and dark spots. Under makeup it feels just like the original formula in now it interacts with foundation. I used a low to medium coverage foundation to see if the brightening effect could be seen and found that my skin had a nice glow without looking too shimmery, glittery, or textured. I was worried at first but find that I like it just fine as a replacement for the original. 

Wrap-Up

Overall I continue to really like the Stila One Step Correct line and am very much enjoying these two new additions to my collection. I plan to use the rest of my original bottle to do some additional comparisons and provide future updates.

Stila One Step Correct Original and Kitten are both $36 for a full-size 1.8 ounce bottle and the Stila One Step Correct Eye is $38 for 0.5 ounce bottle. All products were personally purchased.