Whether or not you like a multi-step routine or a easy gentle sculpt, contour brushes are your greatest wager for nailing your liquid, powder or cream contour – and the important thing to a seamless make-up base. With A-Listers like Kim Kardashian and Hailey Bieber taking the approach to new heights, extra outlined cheekbones, jaws and noses are on everybody’s wishlists – and it seems that utilizing the precise brush may very well be the distinction between a clear contour and that dreaded muddy end.
“Denser brushes which can be full of bristles assist to thinly layer product on to the pores and skin and are notably good with cream formulation,” explains make-up artist Rose Gallagher. Favor one thing extra pure? “Go for a fluffier brush, as a result of each sweep offers solely a gentle wash of color.”
As somebody who has usually swayed in direction of extra natural-looking make-up, I discovered myself a little bit nervous on the prospect of contouring – however as soon as I picked up my make-up brushes and gave it a go, there was no turning again. Particularly as a result of it’s now simpler than ever to look sculpted and snatched, due to an entire host of expertly-designed contour brushes which have each full glam girlies and those who are inclined to maintain issues a little bit extra low-key lined.
Initially, contour brushes have been manufactured from animal hair – as a result of the pure texture helped with a extra flawless software, particularly when it got here to powders. However today you’ll discover that the majority are cruelty-free, and are as a substitute made out of artificial bristles. Make-up artist Monika Blunder explains: “They’re vegan and are often simpler to wash and sooner to dry in comparison with pure fibres. They’ve come a good distance in the previous couple of years so typically you possibly can’t even inform the distinction between pure and artificial bristles.”
That will help you discover your choose, we have put collectively a carefully-curated listing of the perfect contour brushes in the marketplace, together with MUA-created favourites (taking a look at you, Mario Dedivanovic), cult manufacturers and brushes that gained’t break the financial institution. We’ve additionally taken the time to scour by means of hundreds of buyer opinions and check the choices beneath first-hand. Under, we have included every part it’s worthwhile to find out about contour brushes, with expert-led information and your burning FAQs answered. So, buckle up and get scrolling…
Finest contour brushes at a look – our prime picks:
- Finest contour brush general: Kevyn Aucoin The Duet Contour Brush, £42, House NK
- Finest reasonably priced contour brush: e.l.f. Contouring Brush, £6.50, Amazon
- Finest contour brush for sculpting: Morphe R3 Precision Pointed Contour Brush, £15, Morphe
- Finest contour brush for nostril contour: Uncommon Magnificence Liquid Contact Concealer Brush, £17, Sephora
What’s a contour brush? Which one ought to I exploit?
Contour brushes are available in a number of totally different styles and sizes, with every one giving particular outcomes. “You will discover some brushes which can be extraordinarily dense with a flat prime, which tends to create a sharper contour line. These are often designed for cream contours,” says celeb and royal make-up artist Hannah Martin. Contour brushes like these can usually be named basis brushes and are helpful throughout your base make-up in addition to for sculpting. “Pointed brushes are nice for focusing product within the hollows of the cheekbone, whereas the commonest angled contour brush can come both tightly or loosely sure and in a variety of sizes to get into the nooks and crannies of the face,” Hannah says. These can typically look extra like an angled blush brush, besides the bristles are sometimes extra densely packed collectively.
In terms of selecting which contour brush to make use of, you’ll want to contemplate a few issues: am I utilizing a powder, cream or liquid method – and which a part of the face am I contouring? Should you’re utilizing a cream and contouring the cheekbones and jawline, Monika suggests selecting a “barely bigger brush, on the denser aspect” like a big angled contour brush, whereas if you happen to want powder formulation you’ll be greatest off going for one thing that appears extra like a powder brush – fluffier and softer than your extra conventional sculpting brush.
For nostril contour, it’s all about precision. In keeping with make-up artist Ruby Hammer MBE: “a small, exact brush is greatest for managed, outlined, chiselled areas just like the nostril and eyes.”
