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The Definitive Book on Contouring
Skill Level: Beginner
As a palette, this contouring makeup kit works so cohesively that you can use it to contour every feature — from your eyes to your cheeks to your chin. Even if you've never wielded a contour brush before, the detailed instructions that come with this set, plus its eight strategically selected shades in soft blendable powders and creams, will give you everything you need to sculpt all of your features, while still looking totally natural.
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Contour Kit With the Silkiest Powder, Ever
Skill Level: Novice
On the cream/liquid vs. powder debate, I usually always opt for cream makeup, whether it's blush, foundation or a contouring kit. I find it easier to blend and more natural looking. That is, until Nars Contour Blush hit my desk.
An all-over foundation application makes your face appear flat — this duo adds definition back in and is perfect for everyday wear. The formula is so silky and easy to blend that I'm convinced witchcraft was involved in the making of this contouring palette. And it goes on sheer, so you can build up to your desired level of contour (from naturally blessed with high cheekbones to Blue Steel). The matte highlight shade gives skin a soft-focus effect that looks luminous and natural.
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Best Contour Kit for a Filtered Finish
Skill Level: Novice
Drawing inspiration from the flattering filters of Instagram, this contouring makeup kit comes in shades so subtle and natural, you'll never have to worry about looking like you've got dirty smudges on your cheeks. Because the highlighting and bronzing colors are so forgiving, this contour kit works for amateurs or pros. The light-filtering formula is matte, silky and blendable. Plus, the sleek packaging features a mirror big enough to actually use to apply your makeup.
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Best Contour Palette for a Creamy, Blendable Mix of Matte and Shimmer
Skill Level: Beginner
With three shades of creamy contour and two shades of highlighter to choose from, this contouring makeup kit makes it easy to custom-mix a color combination that works for your skin tone. The formula is incredibly easy to blend, but stays where you want it (translation: you'd really have to try to mess this one up). Hello, sculpted cheekbones of your dreams.
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Best Contour Palette for a Perfect Skin Tone Match
Skill Level: Beginner-Advanced
Finding the right shades to contour and highlight with is notoriously difficult. CoverFX takes the guesswork out of it by breaking their vegan, fragrance-free sets into six different contour palettes based on not only how dark or light your skin is, but also your skin's undertones.
People with advanced contouring skills will appreciate the creamy, pigmented shades that are about the opacity of medium-coverage foundation and can take you from flat to Kardashian (face-wise, anyway) in the span of a few minutes; contouring novices will find that the step-by-step instructions, buildable intensity and foolproof color-matching make contouring infinitely less terrifying to attempt.
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