The Best Contour Products and Brushes for a Sculpted Look

Sculpted makeup continues to be a popular trend, and mastering your contouring technique can easily be done with the right products. Whether you prefer a natural contour or an angled sculpt, using certain textures can make all the difference. Here, we’ve compiled an all-encompassing guide to contouring products and tools, so you can create a perfectly sculpted look.

Best Contour Sticks

NYX Professional Makeup Wonder Stick Contour and Highlighter Stick

Cream contour is a must for mastering the underpainting makeup technique. This two-in-one cream contour and highlight stick lets you sculpt your face with ease. It’s available in eight shades to sharpen and define the features of any skin tone, with a creamy, easy-to-blend formula. For just $14, it’s worth adding to your collection.

Lancôme Teint Idole Ultra Wear Foundation Stick

This pick features a creamy, multi-tasking foundation stick on one end and a kabuki brush for easy blending on the other. Pick a cool- or neutral-toned shade that’s one to two shades deeper than your skin tone for a natural-looking contour color. 

NUDESTIX Tinted Blur Sculpt Stick

These matte contour sticks glide onto the skin with a smooth, velvety finish. Available in three neutral shades, they softly define and sculpt the face with a single swipe. 

Best Liquid Contours

L'Oréal Paris Infallible Full Wear Waterproof Concealer

Concealers make the perfect liquid contour products — not only do they add coverage, they’re available in a wide range of shades to flatter most skin tones. We love this matte, full-coverage formula, which stays put for up to 24 hours. For the perfect contour color, choose a shade that’s one to two shades darker than your skin tone. 

NYX Professional Makeup Can’t Stop Won’t Stop Contour Concealer

With a creamy, full-coverage formula and long lasting power, this concealer is one of our go-tos for contouring. You can find it in 24 shades that will sculpt any skin tone, all for under $10. 

Lancôme Teint Idole Ultra Wear All Over Full Coverage Concealer

This concealer makes it easy to find your most natural-looking contour color. Each shade is labeled with warm or cool undertones — for a realistic-looking contour, you’ll want to pick a cool-toned shade. The formula’s natural matte finish and lightweight consistency defies caking and creasing for up to 24 hours.

Best Cream Contours

Tower 28 Sculptino Soft Cream Contour

Take the guesswork out of contouring with this beginner-friendly cream contour from Tower 28. It blends seamlessly on top of foundations, skin tints and even bare skin, thanks to its sheer but easily buildable consistency. 

PATRICK TA Major Sculpt Creme Contour & Powder Bronzer Duo

Carve out your bone structure with this powder and cream contouring duo. Try using the cream shade to sculpt and define, then dust the powder on top to add a touch of warmth.

Danessa Myricks Beauty Balm Contour

A little goes a long way with this pigmented yet easy to blend contour from Danessa Myricks Beauty. It comes in nine cool-toned shades that give natural-looking depth and definition.

Best Contour Powders

NYX Professional Makeup 3 Steps to Sculpt Face Sculpting Palette

These palettes come with a matte contour powder, matte highlighting powder and a shimmery highlighter for quick and easy definition. Use the darkest shade to contour with, brighten the center of your face with the matte highlighter and add a glow to the high points of your face with the shimmery highlighter.

Maybelline New York City Bronzer

If you have very warm or yellow-toned skin, you might find that many cool-toned contour products end up looking ashy on your complexion. These powders are meant to bridge the gap between bronzer and contour, so they’re warm enough to flatter your skin tone and still add natural-looking depth. 

Kevyn Aucoin The Sculpting Contour Powder

This matte contour powder combines brown, red and gray pigments to mimic the natural shadows of your bone structure. It’s silky and easily buildable, so you can go as soft and natural or chiseled and dramatic as you’d like. 

Best Contour Brushes

IT Cosmetics Heavenly Luxe Sculpt & Define Blush Brush #25

This brush is perfect for dusting on your favorite contour powder. The angled shape fits snugly under your cheekbones, jawline and along your forehead for a look that’s naturally snatched. 

IT Cosmetics Heavenly Luxe Angled Radiance Créme Brush

If you prefer liquid and cream contour products, this is the brush for you. Its densely packed synthetic bristles pick up the perfect amount of product and blend it out easily.

REFY Duo Face Brush

This dual-ended brush is a game-changer for applying nose contour. Use the smaller brush to carve out the sides of your nose, and the larger side to contour the rest of your face. The dual-fiber and dense synthetic bristles work well with creams, powders and liquids.