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How To Blend Contour Makeup

Create the most convincing, captivating contour look with a seamless blend using my tips and tricks on how to blend contour makeup.

8 minute read

Darlings, once you have discovered your optimal contour placements in my guide to contouring for your face shape, your next step is to learn how to blend contour makeup to create a silky-smooth, natural-looking finish that successfully tricks the eye. Discover my tips and tips for blending out contour makeup and find out how to expertly sculpt the look of your face without any harsh lines or muddy finishes.

How To Blend Contour Makeup model shot

Discover my easy guide on how to contour

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What’s the best way to blend contour?

When contouring, the aim is to create natural-looking shading on the face the mimics the appearance of more sculpted bone structure. To perfect the illusion, your contour should form a seamless gradient with your bronzer, blush, and highlighter, and the only way to achieve this is with the art of blending. All you’ll need to blend your contour is a dense makeup brush and a slight hand! Discover how to blend contour makeup like a makeup artist and follow these tips and tricks for flawless-looking facial contours, every time:

  1. how to blend contour makeup on your cheekbones

    How To Blend Contour on your Cheekbones

    Contour should be placed on the hollows of your cheekbones which you can reveal by sucking in your cheeks. When blending contour makeup on your cheeks, bear in mind that you don’t want to blend your contour downwards as this will disrupt the illusion you are creating and can make your face appear dragged downwards. Instead, take a dense, flat brush like the larger end of my Hollywood Complexion Brush and blend with upward circles to diffuse your contour. You don’t want to apply too much contour near the centre of your face, so start blending at the pocket of your cheek and swing your brush upwards and outwards towards the ears.

    Tilbury Tip: You can clean up your cheek contour with concealer; if contour migrates too far from the underside of your cheekbone, take a light shade of concealer and swipe underneath your cheekbone to reinforce the shape you have created with contour.

  2. How to blend contour makeup on your nose

    How To Blend Contour on your Nose

    Naturally, your nose is a much smaller facial feature, so I always recommend using a smaller brush to blend out nose contour. Using a large brush can disperse contour too far and result in a messy look, whereas a smaller, dense brush gives you more precision and control over your nose contour. The trick with contouring your nose is to avoid blending product onto the centre of your nose. With a steady hand, buff contour on either side of your nose and underneath the tip to blur any harsh lines.

    Tilbury Tip: You can use pressed powder to mesh your contour and foundation more seamlessly. Once you have blended your nose contour, applying AIRbrush Flawless Finish onto the centre and sides of your nose can help to emphasise the lines of your nose contour and accentuate its pinching effect.

    Discover how to contour your nose

  3. how to blend contour on the jawline

    How To Blend Contour on your Jawline

    Contour on your jawline is supposed to mimic the appearance of a sharper, more angular jaw. When blending out your jawline contour, use a flat, dense brush and use downward motions, blending down your neck to diffuse the look of your contour. If you are placing contour above the jawline to soften the appearance of a square jaw, spend some more time blending in downward motions to create a seamless-looking finish that graduates effortlessly into your foundation shade.

    Tilbury Tip: When contouring your jawline, always remember to apply foundation to your neck to give your contour a smooth base to blend into.

    Discover how to contour your jawline

  4. how to blend contour makeup on forehead

    How To Blend Contour on your Forehead

    To blend contour makeup on your forehead, take a flat, dense brush and use circular, stippling motions to diffuse any harsh lines. I suggest using upward motions to prevent your contour from creeping into the centre of your forehead while creating a subtle lift effect. It’s also important to pay attention to your hairline; contour can begin to appear muddy around the perimeter of your forehead if not sufficiently blended, so take some extra time to buff around your hairline until your contour blends seamlessly.

    Tilbury Tip: To avoid depositing excess contour into your hairline, try blending through your hairline with a clean makeup brush that’s large and fluffy like my Powder & Sculpt Brush.

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How To Blend Contour Makeup FAQs

Hollywood Contour Wands still life


Should I blend contour with a makeup sponge or brush?

You can blend contour makeup with a sponge or a brush, however, a brush will give you more precision. Blending contour with a brush will allow you to take a more focused approach that enables you to place your contour more intentionally. A makeup sponge will blend out cream or liquid contour easily, but due to its larger surface and absorbent texture, a sponge will suck up product and move it around while also making you work harder to stay within the lines.


What makeup brush should I use to blend contour?

It’s best to blend contour makeup with a flat, tapered brush like my Hollywood Complexion Brush. I recommend using a brush with tightly packed bristles that will buff contour into skin and create a seamless-looking finish. My double-ended makeup brush is designed as a magical, multi-purpose tool; it has a larger end that’s perfect for stippling contour across your cheekbones and forehead, as well as a small, tapered end that can be used to blend contour in tighter areas such as on your nose and around your eye socket.

Discover my makeup brush buying guide


Do you blend contour upwards or downwards?

For a face and eye lift effect, you should blend your contour upwards. Angling contours upwards helps to create a subtle lift effect with makeup; blending upwards can make cheekbones appear higher, eyes appear more cat-like, and your face shape more sculpted.

Tilbury Tip: Your jawline is an exception to the rule. If you are applying contour on your neck and jaw, blend downwards to diffuse contour into the natural shadows on your neck.


Is cream or powder contour easier to blend?

Cream and powder contour formulas can both blend beautifully into the skin, darlings… Creams are naturally more emollient which makes them easy to blend, however they can be fussier than powder and can be prone to moving around on your face. Powder can also blend easily and is able to be built up slowly and surely, however, keep in mind that some powders can appear patchy with improper skin prep or blending technique. As a rule, as long as you choose a quality, high-performance formula, contour will blend seamlessly into the rest of your makeup.

Tilbury Tip: For a seamless-looking, superstar contour look, I recommend my Hollywood Contour Wands – they are my favourite beauty secrets for carving out the face with contour!


Why is my contour not blending?

Darlings, contouring is all about the blend! If you’re struggling to achieve a smooth, sculpted-looking complexion and are instead experiencing muddy, streaky, patchy-looking contour faux pas, here are some tips that could save your contour look:

1. Prep your skin with moisturiser, primer, and foundation

Skincare is such a vital part of every makeup application – every makeup product will look better when applied to freshly prepped skin. To give your contour a silky-smooth canvas to glide onto, start your makeup routine by moisturising and priming with Charlotte’s Magic Cream and then apply a hydrating foundation. Perfecting your base makeup will set the stage for your cream or powder contour, helping it to look smoother and blend more effortlessly.

2. Use a light hand when applying contour

A common contouring mishap is to apply too much contour which then becomes difficult to blend. Too much contour tends to look overdone and takes much longer to blend out, often resulting in a muddy-looking finish. Instead, try using a light hand, contouring little by little, and blending as you go. I created my Hollywood Contour Wands as a buildable, blendable formula that layers effortlessly – it’s perfect for gradually adding shade to your complexion and blends like a dream!

3. Reach for the right tools

The perfect blend is equal parts technique and having the right tools for the job. When blending your contour, I recommend using a dense, tapered brush like my Hollywood Complexion Brush that will effortlessly buff, blend, and stipple contour into your complexion. Before you blend out your contour, be sure to clean your contour brush to help prevent contour from looking patchy and uneven.

4. Don’t skimp when it comes to blending

My mantra when it comes to blending, darlings, is when you think you’re finished, blend a little bit more! If your contour looks like it isn’t blending properly, the truth is you might only be halfway there! Take the time to softly blend your contour into your complexion and eventually it will diffuse into your skin tone and take on the appearance of a soft, natural shadow.

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Author Details

Charlotte Tilbury

Founder, President, Chairman and Chief Creative Officer of Charlotte Tilbury Beauty

With over 30 years experience, Charlotte Tilbury MBE is the world's number 1 makeup artist and British beauty entrepreneur. Charlotte established Charlotte Tilbury Beauty in 2013, which is now a record-breaking beauty brand that has won over 400 awards.

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