As someone who has often swayed towards more natural-looking makeup, I found myself a little nervous at the prospect of contouring – but once I picked up my makeup brushes and gave it a go, there was no turning back. Especially because it’s now easier than ever to look sculpted and snatched, thanks to a whole host of expertly-designed contour brushes that have both full glam girlies and those that tend to keep things a little more low-key covered.
Originally, contour brushes were made of animal hair – because the natural texture helped with a more flawless application, especially when it came to powders. But these days you’ll find that most are cruelty-free, and are instead made from synthetic bristles. Makeup artist Monika Blunder explains: “They’re vegan and are usually easier to clean and faster to dry compared to natural fibres. They’ve come a long way in the last few years so sometimes you can’t even tell the difference between natural and synthetic bristles.”
Kevyn Aucoin The Duet Contour BrushWhat is a contour brush? Which one should I use?
Contour brushes come in a few different shapes and sizes, with each one giving specific results. “You can find some brushes that are extremely dense with a flat top, which tends to create a sharper contour line. These are usually designed for cream contours,” says celebrity and royal makeup artist Hannah Martin. Contour brushes like these can often be named foundation brushes and are useful across your base makeup as well as for sculpting. “Pointed brushes are great for focusing product in the hollows of the cheekbone, whereas the most common angled contour brush can come either tightly or loosely bound and in a range of sizes to get into the nooks and crannies of the face,” Hannah says. These can sometimes look more like an angled blush brush, except the bristles are often more densely packed together.
Morphe R3 Precision Pointed Contour Brush
When it comes to choosing which contour brush to use, you’ll need to consider a couple of things: am I using a powder, cream or liquid formula – and which part of the face am I contouring? If you’re using a cream and contouring the cheekbones and jawline, Monika suggests choosing a “slightly larger brush, on the denser side” like a large angled contour brush, whereas if you prefer powder formulas you’ll be best off going for something that looks more like a powder brush – fluffier and softer than your more traditional sculpting brush.
For nose contour, it’s all about precision. According to makeup artist Ruby Hammer MBE: “a small, precise brush is best for controlled, defined, chiselled areas like the nose and eyes.”
Best synthetic contour brush
Hourglass Ambient Soft Glow Foundation Brush
Why we love it: Most makeup brushes have synthetic bristles nowadays, but not all are created equal. Hourglass has always been a trailblazer when it comes to cruelty-free beauty so, unsurprisingly, these synthetic bristles are soft and natural, mimicking (and bettering) a natural fingertip application. The angled head helps to really get into the hollows of the cheekbones and control the contour around the forehead. Simply use a gentle stippling motion to press in your cream or liquid contour.
Best angled contour brush
NYX Professional Makeup Can’t Stop Won’t Stop Foundation Brush
Why we love it: Like liquid is to eyeliner, angled is to contour brush – a classic. To nail your contour makeup, grab this one from NYX. Not only is it genuinely affordable, it’s a useful medium size with bristles that are packed tightly together, making it easy to control regardless of whether you’re a contouring newbie or a sculpting pro. Although it’s touted as a foundation brush, ignore the label and get contouring using your favourite cream formula.