The 7 Best Contour Makeup Products – Tried & Tested!
Contour can be a great tool to help your makeup look your best, adding shadows and dimension back into your face after your foundation. More than that, contour will take your makeup to that next level.
If you think you’re not seasoned enough to start contouring, you’re wrong! Anyone can do it, but you’ll need the right information, the right guide, and the right products.
We’ve answered from FAQs about contour and included our favorite products, both cream, and powder, to get you started on your sculpting journey.
Our top 3 picks
Top 7 Picks!
1. Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Contour Wand
Charlotte Tilbury is a celebrity staple and this cream option is the best on the market according to celebrity makeup artists,
Read moreThis brand is most well-known for their lipstick shade “pillowtalk” which was coined the ultimate nude. Although, they’ve had quite some success with their other products.
Their contour wand is a liquid contour with a lightweight formula that’s easy to blend out. Madison Beer is just one of the celebs we know that swear by this contour. The cushion applicator makes it easy to control how much product you’re using.
2. Tarte Tarteist Pro Glow to Go Highlight & Contour Palette
Glow to Go Highlight & Contour Palette is a trio of powder products to help get your face snatched in 3 easy steps.
Read moreThe colors are rich and cool, perfect for adding shadows and light to get a naturally sculpted result. There are two highlighting powders that give a glowy finish to your face base, along with a matte contouring powder for balanced dimension.
This is a perfect palette to take on the go for easy touch-ups.
3. Patrick Ta Major Sculpt Crème Contour
Patrick Ta’s been taking the beauty world by storm lately. The Major Sculpt Creme Duo is interesting as it comes with both a cream and a powder product.
Read moreThe formula on both is luminous to add some shine and glow into the skin directly. The lighter cream shade is meant to help shape and define your face while the powder is meant to set your contour and finish your face with a hint of sun-kissed warmth.
The contrast in color and formula between the contour and bronzer is complimentary, and used together will give you a perfect, chiseled, Hollywood glam you’re looking for.
4. Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Kit
Anastasia Beverly Hills is known for its brow products and its contour kit. Each palette comes with six shades, three for highlighting and three for contouring.
Read moreThere are three color waves that this palette comes in to cater to different skin tones. The powder formula is buildable and easy to blend so you can go for as subtle or as intense of a contour as you want.
The tins in this palette are removable and refillable which is one of the more sustainable packagings we’ve seen for contour makeup.
5. Fenty Beauty Match Stix Matte Contour Skinstick
Fenty Beauty by Rihanna has one of the largest collections of foundation shade ranges available.
Read moreThat being said, it’s no wonder that their Match Stix contour stick comes in seven different shades to help every single person find their perfect match.
This creamy product is long-wearing but lightweight. It doesn’t crease or cake, but simply sinks into the skin for a seamless application every time.
6. NYX Professional Makeup Wonder Stick
NYX Wonder Stick is a multipurpose duel-ended stick with a highlighter on one end and a contour on the other.
Read moreThese cream products absorb into your skin, enhancing your features for a naturally sculpted look. This is a two-step stick that instantly adds light and shadows into your face for a completed, full glam look.
It’s available in a variety of shade combinations to fit almost every skin tone.
7. Clinique Chubby Stick Sculpting Contour
Clinique’s Chubby Stick is an oil-free, long-wear cream contour. It glides on like a dream and blends out even better.
Read moreThis type of product benefits well from the warmth of your fingers, so before blending it out with a makeup tool, try tapping it into the skin. It’s a slightly warmer contour color than most, which compliments already warm-toned skin.
It can also work well with neutral skin tones to add some warmth to the face as a bronzer would normally do!
FAQs
q: What is contour makeup?
Contour is the process of adding shadows and dimension into your face, creating the appearance of a slimmer jaw, slimmer nose, and more prominent cheekbones. It’s a sculpting technique that will chisel out your features, making your makeup look deeper and more hallow.
Along with contour, you should be adding highlight to the highest points of your face to create a natural glow where the light would hit.
This includes the tip of your nose, the center of your forehead, cupid's bow, top of your cheekbones, and your chin.
q: What makeup do you need to contour?
If you’re a beginner to the world of glam, start off using any kind of branded contour stick or palette.
Bronzer is not contour, don’t get the two mixed up. Bronzer is usually shimmery, golden, and warm. The purpose is to add warmth to the face.
Contour is usually more matte and in neutral or cool shades as the purpose of it is to sculpt, not add a golden filter over your face base.
q: What’s the difference between cream and powder contour?
The biggest difference between cream and powder contour is the surface you apply it on. For cream contour, you want a liquid or cream base and you should only set your base with powder after applying your cream products, not before.
This ensures that your cream contour won’t remove any of your makeup underneath. Creams should stick with creams. Cream contour is also great for beginners because you can blend it in easily with your fingers, no special brushes or sponges are necessary.
For powder contour, you should apply it on top of a powdered face to get a smooth finish without patchiness caused by the lifting of makeup. Powder contours can sometimes break up the foundation underneath it, so to get a seamless finish, set your liquid or cream foundation before adding powder contour.
Powder contour can be trickier as it needs to be applied with a brush. If not done properly, you can end up with unblended, harsh contour lines. Practice makes perfect, though! If you love the look of powder contour, blend your heart out and try again.
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