Contouring with Crownbrush UK | The Brushes
I wonder when this contouring fad will calm down? Every woman and her cat (my take on every man and his dog in case you were wondering) is loving this technique at the moment. Sitting in the offices of Crownbrush HQ, it feels like every two seconds an order is placed for the 10 Colour Concealer Palette (reviewed here). The world is going contouring mad I tell you!
With this in mind, I frequently receive messages, emails and tweets asking “What brushes do I need for contouring?“
Fed up of directing people to various brushes on the Crownbrush UK website, I decided to put together this little guide for you all. These brushes that I have picked to show you today, are my personal preference when it comes to contouring and highlighting. Other make-up artists may disagree or have other preferences. These are just my Go To Contour & Highlight make-up brushes.
You definitely do not need all of these brushes, you need one for application, one to blend and one to finish.
I have listed a few different brushes in each category for you so hopefully you will find one that suits you. If you are not sure on this technique then please go read my contouring and highlighting guide here.
Application
When I map out my “contour” and “highlight” I like to use flat foundation brushes. The Syntho range from Crownbrush is one of my favourites and these two brushes are staples in my kit. Either of these will be great for mapping out the areas you want to add shadow and light. The angle one is particularly good for hollowing out cheek bones. These brushes can be used with liquid and cream products, and I find they are pretty versatile. I use them with primers, foundations, concealers and highlighters. They range from £8-£9.
Flat foundation brushes like these are great because you can really control where the product goes, regardless of whether you are using a concealer or foundation.
Blending
I just love Duo Fibre brushes, these ones are fabulous and are pretty much exact dupes of M.A.C Cosmetics 187 and 130 brushes – & a third of the price. I use the large duo fibre brush to blend all my contour together once I have finished mapping it out. MAC Fix + spray is a diamond when it comes to liquid/cream contouring. I like to spritz the face with this and then use the large duo fibre brush in circular buffing motions to blend the product into the skin seamlessly. I would use the mini blender on areas such as the chin and nose. The C436 mini blender is also great for just general foundation application.
You could use this one for application if you wanted to, but I prefer this one to buff and blend. The brush hairs are really dense so you can create a flawless finish with no brush stroke marks.
I wouldn’t use this one to map the foundation out, but if you were going to add a light base of foundation prior to contouring this one would be ideal for that. You could then use this to blend the contour and highlight together. The brush is an awesome shape for blending large areas quickly. I would recommend using a smaller brush for areas around the nose.
You could use this brush to map out the contour in the hollow of the cheeks, as the angle is great for this. You can then use this to blend out the cheeks and temple.
All of the Infinity brushes provide flawless base application and can be used to apply primer, concealer and foundation. Take a look at the brushes available in this collection as some of the smaller brushes are wonderful for precision concealing.
Finishing
This is SO important when contouring – if you haven’t used a primer or set your foundation/concealer into place you will find your beautifully contoured face will move around during the day and just look like you have dipped your head into orange mush – slight exaggeration, but you’re make-up will not look flawless if you do not set it correctly.
The above brushes, Syntho c429 Deluxe Duo Fibre and C433 Pro Blending Fluff are what I use to contour the eye socket and nose, I will then use these to set individual problem areas or again the nose area with a translucent setting powder. These brushes are great for contouring the nose with a light powder too, especially if you want more of a natural contoured look. They are super soft and are the perfect density for this technique. Both these brushes double up as eye shadow brushes too, they are extremely versatile and great to have in any make-up bag or professional kit.
The Syntho SS017 Deluxe Soft fan is what I use to dust on loose translucent setting powder to set the base. This is great for setting concealer under the eyes. Another way to use the fan brush is to grab a bronzer or darker contour powder and sweep it against the hollows of the cheeks to add further definition.
I hope this post helped narrow down which brushes to use for contouring and highlighting. If you have any further questions about the brushes in this post then leave me a comment below and I will make sure I get back to you.
Who would like to see a daytime to nighttime contouring tutorial?
Don’t forget you can use my discount code FINMS2014 to get 10% off on the Crownbrush UK website! SHOP NOW