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"With just one swipe, it really mimics a shadow, making your cheekbones appear naturally sharp," she says. Another favorite for Grogan is Tom Ford's Shade & Illuminate Cream Contour Duo. "I love this one because it comes in four shades, so there's more than just one option," she says. Not to mention, this cream blends out seamlessly for a natural-looking sculpt. Contour with ease using Too Faced's Born This Way Super Coverage Multi-Use Sculpting Concealer. Its full-coverage, long-wearing formula — which lasts up to 12 hours and comes in nearly 40 shades — is both oil-free and noncomedogenic, making it a solid choice for acne-prone skin.
CHARLOTTE’S MAGIC SKIN ON-THE-GO KITTRAVEL KIT
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HOLLYWOOD CONTOUR WANDLIGHT TO MEDIUM
It layered well over foundation and even helped conceal imperfections, like dry patches and pimples. The colors stayed consistent with continued wear, and the finished results were noticeable but natural-looking. What's more, she says, "turning to concealer as a contour is a great way to find your perfect shade since there are so many options and hues."
BEAUTY LIGHT WAND & HOLLYWOOD CONTOUR KITMUST-HAVE CHEEK KIT
Earning our number one spot, MAC's Studio Fix powder contour kit checked all the boxes. Each palette comes with six pans, including three darker matte shades for contouring and three slightly shimmery highlighters. We found it incredibly easy to mix the shades to get the perfect color to complement our skin tones. It sticks where you put it and holds up well when combined with other makeup products but doesn't feel heavy, even when you apply multiple layers. We thought the contour shades blended out perfectly into a soft, semi-matte finish and liked that the kit came with lighter hues to illuminate high points and create a customized look. CoverGirl's Trublend Contour Palette stood out not only among the drugstore kits we tried but also the higher-end palettes—so we weren't surprised to learn it was developed by celebrity makeup artist Pat McGrath.
MAC Cosmetics Contour Palette

Its powder formulas were so airy and smooth that they truly mimicked the look of sunshine and shadows on our faces, with powders so finely milled that we couldn’t tell where one shade started and the other finished. Patrick Ta is a major beauty industry player not only for his stacked list of celebrity clients, including Gigi Hadid and Sydney Sweeney, but also for his award-winning eponymous brand. Complete with a cream contour and a powder bronzer, this compact has everything you need for definition and warmth. They quickly found that a little powder goes a long way for both natural and full-glam beats. Our tester’s skin was diffused on the areas where they applied the powder, leaving behind a matte finish that people with oily skin will appreciate. But the cherry on top is the non-acnegenic formula, which means it shouldn’t cause breakouts on acne-prone skin.

The 15 Best Contour Kits That PEOPLE Tested in 2024 - PEOPLE
The 15 Best Contour Kits That PEOPLE Tested in 2024.
Posted: Thu, 25 Apr 2024 02:30:00 GMT [source]
Its diamond-shaped doe-foot applicator is also ideal for carving out your cheekbones and jawline. For a more subtle look, your fingers are your best tool; however, for more defined results, a brush or sponge is ideal. According to Mehta, the best way to buff out the contour is by starting with short strokes and always blending upward rather than downward. That way, she explains, "your face is not being dragged down, and you don't end up with muddy cheeks." Celebrities have been contouring their faces for quite some time, and the trend has only become more mainstream in recent years — and it's easy to see why.
Black considers the Tom Ford Shade and Illuminate Palette the OG for super a super glowy contour and highlight. "You have probably seen it worn on every red carpet in the past decade," she says. The colors added noticeable depth and definition and seemed to resist fading with continued wear.
CHARLOTTE'S ICONIC BEAUTY TRIOCHEEK KIT
We like that this product is available in five different depths to provide buildable options for all skin tones. The cream side feels buttery and smooth, blending beautifully with both a sponge and the brand’s Major Sculpt Dual-Ended Sculpting Brush, which we got better results with. It blurred fine lines and smoothed skin, providing a glowy look wherever it was applied. Each pan of pressed powder is so light, airy, and blendable that you could be fooled into thinking it’s cream. Both brushes and sponges were perfect conduits for these powders, making it easy to buff the contour and highlight shades into the skin and create a soft-focus effect. But the best part might be how buildable they are, which lets us create looks that range from subtle to dramatic.
HOLLYWOOD CONTOUR WAND - Select shade
When shopping for liquid contours, the key is to opt for cooler tones that mimic a shadow, explains New York City-based makeup artist Suzy Gerstein. Warmer tones, on the other hand, tend to look more like bronzer, which does not have the same effect. Alyssa Brascia is a staff shopping writer at PEOPLE, covering beauty, fashion, home, and lifestyle. She has previously written for InStyle, Shape, Southern Living, and Real Simple. This subtly sculpting highlight and contour compact from Tom Ford is perfect for someone who prefers a natural look and a simple product that’s easy to throw in a travel makeup bag. We like that it comes in four shade combos, helping you achieve a more customized look.
As you get more comfortable, you can mix colors or use lighter or darker shades for different areas of your face. The palette helpfully offers cool and warm counterparts to cater to different undertones. And since the creams are super pigmented, you don’t need a lot of product to achieve Hollywood-level contour. When applied lightly, our tester achieved a glamorous sculpt that left her skin with Instagram-filter results IRL.
However, the versatile contour kit can be used for light everyday makeup, a beachy sun-kissed effect, or a noticeably chiseled, full-glam look. The shade our tester tried was perfect for her skin tone, mimicking the look of a shadow rather than leaning muddy or orange. Though it dried down fast, it was incredibly easy to blend out and build if you worked quickly, whether with fingers, a sponge, or a brush. The compact we tested (Intensity 1.0) features a bronzy-brown contour shade and an eggshell highlighter flecked with micro glitter. If your goal is natural-looking radiance over a true highlight, then this is the contour kit to try.
The range of shades also blended nicely and looked seamless once buffed out with a brush. Even with six colors, we found the kit beginner-friendly because the tones weren't overpowering. Our finished makeup was natural-looking with a subtle glow, thanks to the slightly shimmery highlighter shades. If we could change anything about this product, we'd make it more pigmented so fewer layers were needed to get a good color payoff. Although the cream has a soft texture, it seemed sturdy in the sticks, so you shouldn't have to worry about the bullets breaking off. The formula glided on smoothly and didn't dry down too quickly, which allowed time for blending.
She learned to contour from The School of YouTube and has been practicing her sculpting and highlighting techniques for nearly a decade. A single layer provided enough pigment to add definition but you can apply a second coat for a more dramatic effect. We ended up with sculpted faces that still looked natural, and the color stayed through continued wear. This powder might cling to dry areas, but otherwise, it provides a lovely finish.
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