How To Contour on a Budget

Contouring just got better… and more affordable. Ahead, we share a roundup of seven budget-friendly drugstore concealer sticks and palettes that can help you achieve your best contour yet.

If you’ve been holding out on trying the contour makeup trend because of the expensive price tags at department store makeup counters, now’s your chance to give it a go! From Maybelline’s FaceStudio Master Contour V-Shape Duo Stick to NYX Professional Makeup’s Cream Highlight & Contour Palette, there are a ton of affordable—and effective—concealer kits and contour tools available for purchase at your local drugstore. Keep reading to find out which inexpensive contour kit is right for you!

Designed for quick and easy contouring, the FaceStudio Master Contour V-Shape Duo Stick from Maybelline is ideal for contouring on-the-go. With one side a shade of dark (contour) and the other light (highlighter), the 2-in-1 stick makes it easy to give your complexion a structured and lifted appeal. To use, simply apply the darker shade along the jawline, hallows of the cheeks, and anywhere else you might need shadowing, and blend. Next, flip the stick over and apply the lighter shade to the high points of your face—think: the tops of your cheekbones, your brow bones, the bridge of your nose, etc.—to highlight and enhance your best facial features.

Maybelline FaceStudio Master Contour V-Shape Duo Stick, $10.99

Nothing makes us happier than a palette that contains everything we need to practice the latest and greatest makeup trends AND has a swoon-worthy name like NYX Professional Makeup Love Contours All Palette. From eyeshadows to bronzers to concealers and even brow powders, this makeup kit contains everything you need to contour your complexion’s every nook and cranny— this makeup palette really does contour all!

NYX Professional Makeup Love Contours All Palette, $22

Keep things simple— yet fierce— with NYX Professional Makeup’s Highlight & Contour Pro Palette. With eight customizable highlighting and contouring shades to choose from, you can enhance your favorite features with a few taps of your beauty blending sponge. The best part? When your favorite shades are running low, you can swap them out with the brand’s Pro Singles!

NYX Professional Makeup Highlight & Contour Pro Palette, $25

Looking for a fool-proof contour palette that can help you master the contour trend? Look no further than L’Oréal Paris’ Infallible Pro Contour Palette! Specifically designed with quick and easy contouring in mind, the Infallible Pro Contour Palette comes fully equipped with a specially designed application brush that can help you apply your contour and highlight individually and follow up with a seamless blend. Don’t let its name fool you, this contour palette is ideal for beginners!

L’Oréal Paris Infallible Pro Contour Palette, $12.99

Give your complexion a creamy contour with NYX Professional Makeup’s Cream Highlight & Contour Palette. Containing three silky shades (in light, medium, and deep) that work together to sculpt, highlight, and illuminate your complexion, this creamy palette can get the job done!

NYX Professional Makeup Cream Highlight & Contour Palette, $15

Turn your focus to your cheekbones with NYX Professional Makeup’s Cheek Contour Duo Palette. Made to illuminate and sculpt your best facial features, the Cheek Contour Duo Palette is a small but mighty makeup product that can help you perfect your complexion while on the go.

NYX Professional Makeup Cheek Contour Duo Palette, $9

Looking for the ultimate, fool-proof way to contour your complexion and highlight your best features? Look no further than NYX Professional Makeup’s Wonder Stick. One-part contour, one-part highlighter, this 2-in-1 contour stick is available in four different creamy shades—including one universal shade—that work simultaneously to highlight and contour your skin with ease.

NYX Professional Makeup Wonder Stick, $12