The unexpected contouring product Kate Hudson uses

And it’s already in your makeup kit!

Beauty Crew Beauty Writer / May 25 2017

Perhaps one of the most popular makeup trends we’ve seen around the world in recent years is contouring. What’s not to love about a clever technique that helps you create chiselled cheekbones with the swish of a brush?! But while most celebs have a beauty squad to whip their cheekbones into contoured shape, the rest of us are left to fend for ourselves, and contouring isn’t exactly the easiest technique to perfect. If you use the wrong shade of bronzer or apply with a heavy hand, you can easily end up looking muddy with telltale harsh dark lines under your cheekbones.

Thankfully, Kate Hudson and her makeup artist, Debra Ferullo shared in an interview with E Online the alternative way they defined the actress’ cheekbones for her 2017 Screen Actors Guild Awards red carpet look, without the need for a single swipe of bronzer.

The product they used instead of bronzer? Foundation.

Yep! Ferullo revealed that she used three different shades of the same foundation (she used EX1 Invisiwear Liquid Foundation in 2.0, 5.0 and 6.0) to create a subtle contour to the high and low points of Kate’s face. “I think it really helps if you use a few different shades when doing your foundation. Using only one shade can sometimes give you a bit of a flat look and that is not what I wanted here,” Ferullo explained.

Instead, she applied the lightest shade as a base colour to Kate’s T-zone before taking the second darkest shade to contour the highpoints of her face (the cheeks, temples and along the hairline). Lastly, Ferullo added more depth to the look by contouring underneath Kate’s cheekbones with the darkest shade to make her face appear more chiselled and defined.

“By doing it this way, we didn’t need to use any blush or bronzers,” she added. However, Ferullo did point out that it’s important to finish the look with a touch of translucent setting powder to set your makeup and remove any unwanted shine. Genius!

If you’re keen to master the traditional method of contouring, check out our top tips for contouring in minutes.

Image credit: Getty

Kate started working for BEAUTYcrew in early 2016, first as a contributor, and was then named Beauty Writer in 2017. She loves picking the brains of the industry's top experts to get to the bottom of beauty's toughest questions. Bronze eyeshadow palettes are her weakness and she's forever on the hunt for the perfect nude nail polish to suit her fair skin. Her words can also be found in Men's Health magazine, and she now works in PR.