11 Best Contour Palettes and Kits for Sculpting (2024)

Contouring is a powerful makeup technique that allows you to enhance, sculpt, or even reshape your facial features. Do you want stronger cheekbones? Prefer a button-nose look? Care for a more chiseled jawline? Contouring can do all of that and more. But choosing the right shade and applying it in the right place is critical to getting the look you want, says makeup artist Jonet Williamson. Here's a primer:

How to contour

Choose the formula and color for you

Contour palettes are available in cream and powder formulas. It's best to apply powder formulas with a brush for precision and natural diffusion, while a cream is easy to blend with your fingers or a sponge. When choosing a color, "a good rule of thumb is to pick a powder or cream that's one, two, or three shades deeper than your foundation," says celebrity makeup artist Rachel Goodwin. Lighter skin tones should go with a hue that's one shade darker for a more natural look, while deeper tones can get away with two or three shades darker. "A traditional contouring product has a cool undertone to create the illusion of a shadow, but if you want something more subtle, you can use a warm-toned shade; it'll look more like bronzer," says Williamson. Note: A contour shade is supposed to mimic shadows, so it won't have any shimmer in the formula.

Pick your placement

"Placement is everything," says Williamson. For a subtle look, apply your shade on areas where shadows naturally hit. For example, to define the cheekbones, you'll want to blend your contour formula in the hollow space underneath the cheekbone. For a smaller-looking nose, apply product on the sides of the bridge of your nose. (Here's a good visual guideline.)

Avoid common mistakes

Sometimes people have a tendency to place their contour too low on their cheeks, especially once they blend it out. Remember that it should sit right below your cheekbone, Williamson says. And know that you can use concealer or foundation to correct and adjust any mistakes. Also, make sure to use a clean brush for contouring. "This is a huge mistake I see often. When you use the same brush to blend your contour, foundation, concealer, and bronzer, it makes your complexion look muddy," says Williamson.

Now that you have the know-how, shop 11 contour palettes that will help you get the job done.

Get a glamorous look on a budget with this four-pan palette. It contains three contouring shades and one light shade, which can be used as a concealer or highlighter to brighten the face. It's creamy, making it easy to blend with your fingers.

Iconic makeup artist Kevyn Aucoin created the contour technique we know and love today, and this palette is made to help you emulate it. Everything you need to create a sculpted face, including three cool-toned contouring powders, a blush/bronzer pan, and two highlighters, is here.

If you're new to contouring and don't want to splurge on an expensive palette, then we recommend this option; it comes with eight vegan contouring and highlighting shades. And each pan is removable and refillable, so after you finish one, you can replace it, making it easy to customize your own pro-inspired palette.

Featuring three shades to conceal, highlight, and brighten and three shades to contour and bronze, this palette has everything you need for a snatched look.

Create both natural and full-glam makeup looks with this palette. It contains three contour shades—some with warm undertones, some with cool—for different skin tones. It also has three powders made to highlight, brighten, and color-correct skin.

This multipurpose palette has no limits. It offers a wide range of powders that you can use to contour, bronze, fill in brows, apply to lids, or even use as eyeliner.

This is one of Goodwin's favorite palettes because the cream formulas are smooth and easy to blend. "The cream highlighters come in warm and cool shades; apply them on the high points of the cheeks with a brush or your fingers for a natural and radiant effect," she says.

For long-lasting staying power, layer the cream and powder bronzer in this palette, which comes in five different sets for different skin tones and is super compact, making it easy for travel and touch-ups.

A little goes a long way with these highly pigmented matte sculpting powders, so use a fluffy brush to diffuse them. The trio is available in six different sets made for skin types ranging from fair to dark. The formula contains magnolia bark extract to help smooth the look of fine lines and wrinkles.

Goodwin loves this refillable palette. "The palette in the Nightlight shade range is perfect for deeper skin tones," she says. It includes two rich brown mattes, a berry shimmer, and a bronze shade, "which, when combined on the apples of the cheeks, creates beautiful dimension on the skin."

Get everything you need for a glowing makeup look. This contains a contour shade to sculpt your features, two highlighters, and a shimmery blush. It comes in a light and a darker color option.