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7 contour palettes for the chiselled cheekbones of your dreams

Sculpt your way to perfection

By Tiarne Blackwell

Content Producer / April 20 2023

The art of contouring used to be a technique reserved only for the crème de la crème of makeup artists, but nowadays it's a mainstream makeup trend any average Joe can get in on - made a heck of a lot easier thanks to the humble contour palette.

But if you're not a seasoned makeup pro (no judgements here), knowing which palette to buy is certainly no easy feat. There are so many variations, shades, shapes and textures available that we don't blame you for a second if you're a wee bit confused.

So, with that in mind, we've put together our favourite palettes. From blendability to staying power, these babies are built to be a permanent fixture in your routine.

Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Kit

Anastasia Beverly Hills is one of those cult brands everyone just loves. And one of our absolute favourites is this palette containing three highlighter shades and three contour shades. With hues ranging from cool to warm tones, you can create a custom contour that suits your skin tone and face shape perfectly.

$69 at Anastasia Beverly Hills

KVD Beauty Shade + Light Face Contour Refillable Palette

This matte kit makes it super easy to sculpt your cheeks, no matter your skill set. The highly pigmented, silky, blendable powders combine effortlessly to flatter all skin tones and face shapes. The palette contains three shades for contouring and three shades for highlighting, in a refillable hard-shell case.

$74 at Sephora

M.A.C Studio Fix Sculpt And Shape Contour Palette

Expertly edited, this little guy boasts three matte contouring powders and three subtly shimmery highlighting powders to sculpt, shape and enhance your features. Each highlighter has soft-focus technology to softly reflect light, while the contour shades provide sheer coverage to create natural-looking shadows. The final result? Maximum impact with minimal texture.

$83 at Myer

Napoleon Perdis The Ultimate Contour Palette Original

Create A-list level cheekbones with this ultimate three-in-one face sculptor. A contouring shade adds depth and definition, a rosy blush will create a healthy hue and a shimmering highlighter will diffuse light for a truly flattering effect.

$65 at Adore Beauty

Chi Chi Contour Extravaganza Palette

Your cheeks won't know what hit 'em after a healthy dose of the Chi Chi Contour Extravaganza Palette. With all your contouring needs in one nifty little kit, each shade blends seamlessly on the skin and lasts all day long. It's also on the cheaper side compared to other palettes out there, so what've you got to lose?

$39 at Myer

Viseart Palette 6 Highlight - Contour

This highlighting and sculpting palette features six powder-based shades built to last. The crystal, rose gold and amber highlights mix beautifully with the fair, medium and deep contour shades for a sheer matte finish in natural shading. These on-trend hues flatter a number of skin tones and offer unique colours directly from the fashion houses of Paris. Très magnifique, non?

$123 at Sephora

Nude by Nature Contour Palette

For gentle, subtle daily sculpting (or for intense evening looks), Nude by Nature's palette gives you complete versatility combined with pigmented performance. This trio of matte shades give depth and dimension to the facial features. Plus, the shades are super buildable, so you can easily create cheekbones that could cut glass.

$39.95 at Adore Beauty

Main image credit: @shaninamshaik

Contouring has been a trick of the makeup artist’s trade for a long time. Here's why everyone should brush up on their contouring skills.

Tiarne Blackwell

Tiarne is BEAUTYcrew's Content Producer. Between crafting narratives about all things beauty, you might catch her indulging in an endless stream of TikTok videos and obsessing over her dog. Her words have also appeared across other mastheads such as Better Homes & Gardens, New Idea, Now To Love, Bounty Parents and more.