Contouring is one of the biggest beauty comebacks to resurface in the last couple of years, thanks in part to the Kardashians and viral YouTube tutorials showing the makeup technique’s transformative powers. However, if you’re not a pro, there’s a fine line between creating a chiseled and defined effect and looking like you’ve painted on muddy-brown stripes onto your cheek bones, jawline, nose, and forehead. Without the proper technique and tools, contouring can look harsh and downright disastrous. Aside from choosing the right formula and color for your face shape and skin tone — usually a neutral or cool toned brown or taupe shade — using the right contour brush is the key to success when it comes to creating a sculpted appearance that enhances your angles.

Regardless of whether you opt for a cream or powdered formula, an angled sculpting brush is going to be your best ally when it comes to shaping the face. In general, you want to look for a densely packed option that’s either angled or fanned depending on how “sharp” of a look you’re after. Angled makeup brushes hug the curves of your face, which allows you to create a super-defined line that can be seamlessly blended out to the level of your personal liking, for either a more subtle look or something a bit more dramatic. Finding a brush that’s dense enough to pack on the pigment, follows the lines of your face, and is able to blend out lines of demarcation is critical when it comes to nailing the contour, and these top-performing brushes — along with watching a how-to video or two — will help you advance from beginner to pro-level status in no time.

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