The art of contouring can totally transform your look, but achieving those coveted angles and highlights requires the right makeup brushes. We've compiled a selection our most recommended contour brushes for powder products, as well as liquid and cream products.
From angled to rounded shapes, in various brush head sizes, our guide covers the best multipurpose and targeted tools for any face-shaping technique.
If you're looking for small contour brushes, please see this article.
CREAM & LIQUID CONTOUR
chikuhodo
FO-2 Foundation Brush
"I was dying to have this brush in my collection! Heavenly soft bristles, and an amazing design, makes this fude a must have... Its angled shape makes it perfect for contour, bronzer and blush. Highly recommended!!!" (Aida H)
mizuho
MB113 Foundation brush, MB Series
"I was looking for a brush for blending out cream contour and this brush is ideal. It’s just the right size. It’s dense but not too dense, so it blends out well. I haven’t tried it for cream blush yet, but I’m sure it will work well for that. A good value and I’m happy I purchased it." (fhg23, USA)
"The angle shape is also great to do contouring, blush and highlighter. A great little brush to have." (Phyllis R, USA)
chikuhodo
T-3 Foundation Brush
"I was dying to have this brush in my collection! Heavenly soft bristles, and an amazing design, makes this fude a must have... Its angled shape makes it perfect for contour, bronzer and blush. Highly recommended!!!" (Aida H)
houkodou
BZ-2 Angled Foundation Brush
"I was dying to have this brush in my collection! Heavenly soft bristles, and an amazing design, makes this fude a must have... Its angled shape makes it perfect for contour, bronzer and blush. Highly recommended!!!" (Aida H)
POWDER CONTOUR
chikuhodo
FO-4 Cheek/Highlight Brush
"I was dying to have this brush in my collection! Heavenly soft bristles, and an amazing design, makes this fude a must have... Its angled shape makes it perfect for contour, bronzer and blush. Highly recommended!!!" (Aida H)
bisyodo
Bisyodo B-C-01 Cheek Brush, Long Series
"This brush is as soft as described. Its shape and length of the bristles makes it a very versatile brush to contour, bronze and highlight(use the flat top of the brush perpendicular to the cheek to deposit and diffuse powder); add blush to the cheeks (use flat top and/or round sides of the brush to blend/pat in powder); and to powder the entire face by carefully patting the bristles onto the skin." (Kayla)
chikuhodo
Z-3 Contour Brush, Z Series
"The brush is small and handy, it’s perfect for contour." (Nana C)
"I like this for contouring. It lets you draw a solid-well pigmented lane with crime or powder then you can buff it in. I do it right under my cheekbones from above my ear to the middle of my pupil. I use a fluffier brush to blend it with blush that runs from the apples of my cheeks up. It’s pretty firm and does a good job laying on color as well as buffing." (Stacey B)
chikuhodo
T-2 Angled Powder Brush, Takumi Series
"I love this angled brush. The hairs are soft and resilient. When the brush blooms, it covers a great amount of surface area while reaching curvatures of the face. It is large enough to be a full face powder brush, and perhaps a more diffused application of bronzer/contour." (Tiffany C)
"Love this angle brush. I use it for bronzer or contour. Great performance." (Kathy Penn)
chikuhodo
FO-3 Cheek Brush, FO Series
"This is great for finishing powder, i use this as my last step to blend any harsh lines from putting on blush and contour." (Catherine M)
"One of the things I love about this brush is how versatile it is. The brush performs beautifully every time and can be used to achieve anything from a subtle wash of blush to a more dramatic contour." (Sephiria T.)
tanseido
WS14T Highlight Brush
"Absolute steal Really good brush for contour and highlight! The goat hair is really lovely quality." (Lydia, UK)
bisyodo
B-HC-01 Highlight Cheek Brush, Long Series
"I ordered this brush specifically because I enjoy candle-shaped face and cheek brushes... and I can definitely say that this brush doesn’t dupe any of them. First, it’s just the right size to be versatile enough to use with all types of face products (powder, blush, highlighter, and contour). Second, this brush is made of dyed saikoho hair, which means it is extremely soft, but it picks up and distributes the product in a way that’s different from squirrel, squirrel-goat blends, or undyed goat, sitting right between the very sheer application typical for squirrel brushes and the pigmented, polished application achieved with undyed goat brushes. I really enjoy using it and reach for it a lot compared to other brushes I have, it feels very nice and is very well-balanced thanks to the gorgeous heavy wooden handle and impeccable craftsmanship." (Anastasia K, Japan)
bisyodo
Bisyodo B-HC-02 Highlight Cheek Diagonal Brush, Long Series
"I love the way angled cheek brushes apply product, and this brush is no exception. For goat hair, the bristles are incredibly sleek and soft. Combined with the fact that this medium density brush doesn’t bloom very much after washing helps it to apply product to specific areas without the colour getting away from you and over applying. A very versatile brush perfect for blush, a more defined bronzer or contour look, and even narrow enough to use for highlighter in a pinch." (E.C, Australia)
chikhuodo
T-5 Highlight Brush, Takumi Series
"Great multitasker. One of my favorite brushes. Fluffy and soft candle shaped brush. Great for contour, blush, and targeted powder." (Ss)
"You Need This Brush! The beauty of this brush is it's multi-tasking abilities. Due to the oval pinched ferule, I can use it for setting the undereye area, turned on one side, it works great for contour and on the other edge, blush." (Ruth M)
koyomo
Nadeshiko Cheek Brush
"This brush is one of those impulse purchases that turned out to be quite the hidden gem... It blooms beautifully into this perfect ball. It applies any blush with a beautiful diffused finish that just makes your skin look airbrushed. It also works exceptionally well for contour. At this price point it’s an absolute steal. I would repurchase in heartbeat if needed." (Shelly S)
chikuhodo
Z-2 Highlight Brush
"Hard to find this kind of shape. Good for nose contour." (Jane)
"Perfect length and diameter for nose and eye socket contour for a natural wash of color. Perfect for highlighting and set undereye powder... Oh and so, so soft at super reasonable price. Highly recommended and please buy a few for backup too." (D)
Houkodou
N-F1 Powder Brush
"Grey squirrel brush which is very versatile, you can use it for overall shadow application, blending as well as contouring. I love the minimalist esthetic of Mizuho brushes." (Diana Z)
"This is a really great brush, it’s lightweight and it fits my eye perfectly. The brush picks up powder and creates the most amazing gradation of colors ever... This brush also works for my nose contour when I use bronzer and want a light application. This a definitely a versatile brush and it’s amazing." (Keema W)
bisyodo
Cheek Brush BS-C-01, Short Series
"This is very beautiful and well made. Personally I prefer shorter handled brushes so this is perfect. Mostly using it for shading/light contouring, but the shape makes it very versatile. Looking forward to try more brushes from this series later." (Sandra M, Sweden)
koyudo
Kakishibuzome Cheek Brush 03
"I own many cheek brushes, but when I saw this, I had to add it to my collection. As mentioned by the other reviewers, definitely a must if you love collecting Japanese natural haired brushes. The bristles are soft and airy, yet it is dense enough to pick up a good amount of powder onto the brush. Again, it is another great versatile brush due to the shape and density of the brush - contour, bronze, blush, face powder, highlight - use the tops and sides of the brush and you'll achieve a very seamless blend. Highly recommend if you're on the hunt for a quality face/cheek brush." (Kayla, Australia)
