Best drugstore contour

Which drugstore contour is best?

If you’d like to shape up your makeup look, reach for a contour. These products sculpt, define and accentuate your best features.

Contour products are meant to be used in shades slightly lighter or darker than your natural skin color. When applied strategically, they play with light and flatter your face shape. NYX Professional Makeup Highlight & Contour Pro Palette is a popular beginner drugstore contour option that lets users experiment with several day-to-night looks. 

What to know before you buy a drugstore contour

What is contour?

Contour is a face product that sculpts and defines facial features, such as the cheekbones, nose and jawline. While blush, bronzer and highlighter may emphasize features, contour adds dimension by shaping them. 

Look for contouring products in skin-toned shades either lighter or darker than your natural skin color to create contrast and play with light. To achieve the look you envision, you’ll need to use the shades strategically around your face. While contouring requires a patient hand and mastery of basic techniques, there are countless online tutorials to help you learn.

Drugstore vs. high-end contour

There are a few differences between drugstore and high-end contour products beyond price. High-end formulas are highly pigmented, whereas most drugstore varieties lack the same color intensity. While all contour products are buildable, most drugstore formulas require more layering and blending to achieve the desired look. Shade range is also a notable difference between drugstore and high-end contour. Most drugstore brands offer five or fewer shades, yet high-end brands may have 10 or more. 

Tips for applying drugstore contour

Getting the most out of your contour often means investing in a few other products that work well with it. 

• Primer: This secures foundation, contour and other face products, and prevents them from transferring or migrating.
• Blush: A flattering blush is an essential finishing touch to your look once your face is contoured and blended. 
• Highlighter: When highlighter doesn’t come with a contouring product, pick one up to add a subtle glow around your face.
• Setting product: Setting spray or translucent setting powder functions as an undetectable veil that may prevent face makeup — including contour — from coming off. 

What to look for in a quality drugstore contour

Formula

Drugstore contour is available in cream, powder and liquid formulas. Although they’re generally versatile, some formulas may work better for certain foundations than others.

• Cream contour: Often available in stick form, this has a smooth, blendable texture. It’s typically applied with a few swipes around the face, followed by blending with a synthetic makeup brush or fingertips. It works well with bare skin as well as liquid and cream foundations.
• Powder contour: This may be available in duos, trios or palettes. The formula is forgiving, easy to tweak, and blends well over most foundation types. Powder is also buildable, which means it’s simple to create subtle or intense looks alike. 
• Liquid: There are a few drugstore liquid contour products, but not many. They often have sponge-tip applicators that glide across skin, though some varieties are dispensed from squeeze tubes. Liquid formulas are often preferred over creams for their thinner consistencies. 

Shade variety

Foundation, concealer and blush are available in myriad shades, but shade varieties are somewhat limited in drugstore contour. While select brands may offer half a dozen, it’s not unusual for others to be limited to light, medium and deep shades only. For this reason, it can be hard to find contour in complementary shades, including ones with the same undertone. 

Integrated contour products

There are a few integrated contour products, which are popular for people looking for multipurpose or cost-effective products. Besides the contour shade, integrated contour products may include highlighter, blush, bronzer or color corrector.  The most common varieties include dual-sided cream sticks and powder palettes.

How much you can expect to spend on drugstore contour

Most drugstore contour products with one or two shades cost $4-$8, while smaller contour palettes cost around $12. There are a few deluxe drugstore contour palettes, and they usually cost $18-$25.

Drugstore contour FAQ

Do I need to use contour?

A. It’s not necessary, and many people only use it when attending events or having photos taken. If you intend to use contour on a regular basis, be mindful that the intricate sculpting process may add a few minutes to your makeup routine. 

How much contour do I need to use?

A. It depends on the look you’re creating. Most contour products are highly pigmented and won’t require more than one or two gentle swipes of color. On the other hand, if you’d like a defined look, you may need to layer color over certain areas, such as the forehead and cheeks. 

What’s the best drugstore contour to buy?

Top drugstore contour

NYX Professional Makeup Highlight & Contour Pro Palette

What you need to know: The eight-shade palette includes a well-curated assortment of highlighter and contour that blend seamlessly together. 

What you’ll love: While it’s a powder formula, it has a slightly creamy texture that glides over skin effortlessly. The shades are matte and have a natural-looking finish that complements other foundation products. It’s a well-curated shade assortment for day-to-night looks. 

What you should consider: The palette occasionally has fallout, though it’s expected as a powder product. 

Where to buy: Sold by Amazon and Ulta Beauty

Top drugstore contour for the money

Kiko Milano Cream Contour Stick

What you need to know: If you normally wear cream or liquid foundation, this cream contour stick may offer better results than powder formulas. 

What you’ll love: The creamy formula has a matte finish that stays put all day. It’s easy to contour with a few swipes, and a little goes a long way. The contour stick is infused with soothing ingredients, including African walnut oil and pistachio extract. 

What you should consider: It’s only available in two shades, and many people would have preferred an in-between shade. 

Where to buy: Sold by Amazon and Ulta Beauty

Worth checking out

Black Radiance True Complexion Creme Contour Palette

What you need to know: This unique trio features two matte shades for contouring and sculpting plus one for illuminating. 

What you’ll love: The palette has a built-in guide on how to effectively use each shade. The shades are full coverage and highly pigmented, not to mention easy to blend over bare skin or foundation. It’s particularly effective at shaping cheekbones. 

What you should consider: Some people experienced difficulty blending the shades, even with fingers. 

Where to buy: Sold by Amazon

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Sian Babish writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.