These Are the Best (and We Mean Best) Contour Products for Every Skin Tone

Never in a million years would I have ever expected to become a contour person. The product category just always felt way too intimidating. Where do I apply? Which shade do I choose? Do I *really* need to trace my nose? But after lots (and I mean lots) of trial and error, I finally have the basics down to a science—and, suddenly, contour has become my number one makeup staple. Seriously, I could do a full face of makeup with nothing but a contour stick (but that’s a story for another day).

Yes, this is largely due to the fact that I’m lucky enough to consult celebrity makeup artists with all my burning questions, but contouring products have also become so much easier to wield. No matter your formula preferences—cream, stick, powder, et. al—there’s a tool out there to snatch your features. Here, I’ve rounded up 15 of the very best I’ve tried, along with some skin-snatching tips from a few trusted sources: celebrity makeup artists Keita Moore, Kelli Anne Sewell, and Kirin Bhatty. Keep scrolling for the only contour guide you’ll ever need.

The Best Contour Products, at a Glance

• Best Overall: Westman Atelier Face Trace Cream Contour Stick
• Best Stick: Fenty Beauty Match Stix Matte Contour Skinstick
• Best Color Payoff: Makeup By Mario SoftSculpt Shaping Stick
• Best Drugstore: Maybelline Facestudio Master Contour Stick
• Best Splurge: Tom Ford Shade and Illuminate Contour Duo

The Best Contour Products of 2025

Best Overall: Westman Atelier Face Trace Cream Contour Stick

Best Stick: Fenty Beauty Match Stix Matte Contour Skinstick

Best Color Payoff: Makeup By Mario SoftSculpt Shaping Stick

Best for Oily Skin: Danessa Myricks Yummy Skin Blurring Balm Powder

Best Powder: Fashion Fair Iconic Pressed Setting Powder

Best Cream-Powder Duo: Patrick Ta Major Sculpt Creme Contour & Powder Bronzer Duo

Best for Dry Skin: Uoma Beauty Double Take Contour Stick

Best Drugstore: Maybelline Facestudio Master Contour Stick

Best for Precision: Victoria Beckham Beauty Contour Stylus

Best Bronzer: Charlotte Tilbury Beautiful Skin Sun-Kissed Glow Cream Bronzer

Best for Beginners: NYX Professional Makeup Wonder Stick Cream Highlight & Contour Stick

Best for Mature Skin: LYS Beauty No Limits Cream Bronzer and Contour Stick

Best Designer: Dior Forever 24H Skin Contour Stick

Best Splurge: Tom Ford Shade and Illuminate Contour Duo

Best Liquid Contour: Saie Dew Bronze Soft-Focus Sculpting Liquid Bronzer

What to Look for

• Undertone: “Contouring is a way to enhance certain structural features by creating fake shadows. To get this effect, you have to use a product with a grey undertone to mimic real life shadows!” says Sewell. Make sure your contour product of choice has neutral or cool tones. As Sewell explains, “You want a product that is the opposite of warm, golden, and orange (typical bronzer colors) and that is why bronzing and contouring are so different but go hand in hand.”
• Shade: Generally, you’ll want to find a shade that’s two to four times darker than your usual complexion pick. The deeper your contour product, the more contrast you’ll create.
• Formula: Bhatty, Moore, and Sewell typically opt for cream formulas on a regular basis, but it’s all up to personal preference. “I tend to go for a cream when I want the contour to be more subtle and powders when I want more drama,” Bhatty adds. Cream and liquid formulas provide a more natural finish, if that’s the look you’re gunning for. “I also recommend taking a powder the shade of the cream and lightly setting it,” Moore shares.
• Format: From sticks to compacts to skinny styluses, the world’s your oyster when it comes to shape and size. If you prefer a more precise carving, you might opt for a slimmer stick; if you want a more natural finish, you might swirl a dense brush into a cream product and blend away. Again, it’s all up to personal preference.

How to Contour for Beginners

Contouring doesn’t have to feel daunting! Take it from this expert-led tutorial below.

• Map out your cheekbones: First, identify your cheekbones (which is harder than it sounds!). “Sometimes doing a fishy face by sucking in your cheeks helps you identify your cheek hollow,” Bhatty shares, whereas Sewell likes to “feel it out” with her fingers. “If you are not sure where to do that, hold a brush angled down from your ear to mouth. Right above that line, or above your cheekbone, is where I like to place contour,” she explains. (Applying contour slightly above your cheekbone will result in a lifted effect.)
• Blend upwards and outwards: With a dense brush, diffuse the product in sweeping motions towards your ear. “Stay away from the apples of the cheek,” says Bhatty. “Start at your hollow and work toward your ear up into the hairline.”
• Trace your jaw: Apply contour underneath your jawline and blend backwards towards your ears. “Ensure you are blending!” Sewell warns. “This will give a snatched jawline.” (As opposed to a five o’clock shadow.)
• Contour your forehead: “You can also apply contour at your hairline, if you choose. “Use contour around your hairline in [a] half circle shape. This will recede light backwards, shortening your forehead length,” notes Sewell.
• Lift the eyes: You can also create a small line from the outer corner of your eyes up towards your hairline (almost as if you’re extending your lower lash line). This results in what Sewell calls a “lifter eye effect.” You can also place contour in the lid crease and underneath the eyes. “This is a hack to make your eyes look bigger,” Sewell notes.
• Contour the nose: Sewell also loves to outline the bridge of her nose, extending the lines to the arch of her eyes.
• Finally, trace the lips: “If you want the effect of fuller lips, I like to contour right below the lip. This gives the effect your lip is so big it’s casting a shadow (back to the grey undertone!),” Sewell adds.

Not too complicated, right? Still, it may take some practice (and patience!) before you nail down the quick and easy steps for your individual features. “When I first did a deep dive into it, I found that looking up contouring charts for different face shapes was extremely helpful,” notes Hudson. “Everyone’s face is also unique, though. Play around until you find what works best for you.”

Contouring Tips for Tan, Black, and Brown Skin Tones

“Another thing I found frustrating when I first started learning to contour was the lack of information out there about contouring for darker skin tones,” Huson shares. “I found that I couldn’t use the same contour makeup as those with lighter skin tones because it just didn’t show up very well for me or didn’t look right.” Moore offered some great advice, as he has an exceptional eye for what pops on darker skin tones. (He’s painted the faces of stars like Tessa Thompson, Janelle Monáe, Laverne Cox, Tiffany Haddish, and Iman—NBD!)

“Know the difference between bronzing and contouring,” he says. “These two work together but are different. Use a slightly warmer and deeper shade to warm up the skin by bronzing. Your contour should come next and should be two to four shades deeper than your foundation shade (whatever you’re comfortable with) and go into the shadow areas of your face, then blend. It’s important to also know the lighting of the occasion you’ll be attending. If you’re going outside to the beach or to a festival, bronzing should be good enough, however, if you’re going to a gala or out for drinks and it’s nighttime lighting, you can bronze and contour.”

How We Chose

When it comes to our testing process at Who What Wear, personal recommendations always come first. Senior beauty editor Jamie Schneider and contributing beauty writer Shawna Hudson initially selected the contouring products they personally swear by in their own routines, making sure to include a variety of textures, shade ranges, and price points. We made sure to scour the review sections of our favorite retailers when compiling our list to ensure we had a well-rounded picture of each product’s user experience.

Finally, we also consulted trusted experts. Moore, Sewell, and Bhatty bestowed us with the contouring products they each personally hold dear, which helped us whittle down our list to the 15 you favorites you see here.

Who’s Who

• Keita Moore, celebrity makeup artist whose clients include Tessa Thompson, Janelle Monáe, Laverne Cox, Tiffany Haddish, and Iman
• Kelli Anne Sewell, celebrity makeup artist (clients include Alix Earle and Alex Cooper) and founder of Makeup by Kelli Anne
• Kirin Bhatty, celebrity makeup artist whose clients include Ayo Edebiri, Kate Upton, and Lorde
• Jamie Schneider, author and senior beauty editor at Who What Wear, who has nearly a decade of experience testing and researching makeup products—including contour products, which she considers one of her dessert-island beauty grabs.
• Shawna Hudson, contributing beauty writer for Who What Wear, who also has nearly a decade of experience researching and reporting on makeup products.

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This post was published at an earlier date and has since been updated.