Perfectly-contoured faces abound on Social Media. Many tutorials demonstrate where to place contour and highlight, but there is less attention on what kind tools to use to apply the makeup and how to blend it for a natural, believable finish.
CONTOURING FOR REAL PEOPLE These extreme contouring video tutorials don’t necessarily translate to real life, where contour and highlight need to look believable and natural. Proper contouring can reshape a face, make it appear lifted and youthful, and give the visual appearance of being ten pounds thinner. Bad contouring looks at best like a weird smudge of dirt or a demarcation line of unfinished makeup, and at worse, it looks like a streaky, muddy, fake tan orange, possibly aged looking clown face.
Personally, I find many contour application and blending brushes to be lacking when it comes to precise placement of the contour and the ability to blend well enough to look natural, but not so blended that the defined, chiseled line is overly buffed out. So I was pleased to learn about the Devyn Marie Professional Contour Sculpting Makeup Brush. This brush has several excellent features that make precise, natural looking contouring simple and quick.
Devyn Marie Professional Contour Sculpting Makeup Brush
WHAT THE DEVYN MARIE CONTOUR SCULPTING MAKEUP BRUSH DOES
The brush is for contouring the cheekbone, but I also found it useful for contouring a defined jawline. I frequently make the mistake of applying contour powder or cream to my jawline and not blend it well enough. But the Devyn Marie brush applies just enough product to give a nice, defined tight jawline look without looking fake or overly made up and cakey. Then it blends it smoothly, so there is no tell-tale demarcation or weird orange tinge to my skin. In addition to cheekbones and jawline, it is also useful for applying a soft dusting of contouring and highlighting powder, bronzer, or shimmer to face, decolletage, and body. It can also handle cream, blush or bronzer consistencies in addition to powder contour and highlighter.
CONTOUR SCULPTING BRUSH FEATURES
Larger than the brush heads of many contour brushes, the brush dimensions are 4 x 1 x 2.2 inches. It is easy to use and grip and fits into a bag easier than a long handle brush. The bristles have a unique shape conducive to precision contour application.
Devyn Marie Professional Contour Sculpting Makeup Brush
HANDLE
The brush has an Ergonomic grip handle that is very easy to wield and to maneuver the brush, especially in sweeping, curved motions. There is good control of the brush and where the bristles are touching the skin due to the larger grip. The handles suitable for use in both hands, so even applying contour on your non-dominant side is much easier a task. The short handle makes it a portable tool for touchups.
Devyn Marie Professional Contour Sculpting Makeup Brush
BRISTLES
The densely packed bristles are firmly bundled and give a high color payoff and even powder distribution. There were also no loose bristles, even during use or after washing the brush. The bristles are soft but firm enough to deliver product exactly where you want it. So far, I have not had any shedding of bristles at all.
OF NOTE: The handle and bristles are made of animal-friendly, cruelty-free, synthetic brushes.
Devyn Marie Professional Contour Sculpting Makeup Brush
UNUSUAL CONTOURING SHAPE
Different from many contouring brushes you may have seen before, the Devyn Marie Contour Brush has a unique shape that fits snuggly underneath the cheekbone, just the right spot for applying contour in the hollow of the cheek. Many competitor brushes have a slanted or curved head; these do not provide a wide enough chiseled bristle surface to easy create a cheekbone contour like the Devyn Marie Contour brush does.
Devyn Marie Professional Contour Sculpting Makeup Brush
BRUSH CASE
I once had a $200+ high-end cheek brush that made my cheekbones look exceptionally sculpted, but the bristles soon became misshapen even though I stored it within its’ cardboard box. The Devyn Marie Contour Brush has a clear hard plastic case that surrounds the brush and snaps closed tightly and securely to keep the bristles from getting crushed or bent. A case that snaps shut and protects the brush and keeps it standing upright, even after washing – is something that I wish all makeup brushes had. I like that I can carry it in my bag for travel and touchups and without worrying about damaging the bristles. A trick I like to do is to load the brush with some powder, shake off the excess, and pack the brush in the case in my bag, for when I need a quick touch up on the go.
HOW TO USE THE DEVYN MARIE PROFESSIONAL CONTOUR SCULPTING MAKEUP BRUSH
NOSE CONTOUR: Starting from the beginning of the brow and moving towards the tip of your nose try running it alongside your nose with bronzer on both sides.
CHEEK CONTOUR: Lay the brush in the hollow of the cheek (again starting from the back moving towards the center).
JAWLINE CONTOUR: Apply contour powder with the shorter pointed portion of the brush, blend the contour with the inverted valley portion of the blush.
RESULTS This is a very versatile brush that applies contour precisely and blends creams and powders very well without streaking! No bristles shed while using it. I like how closely the brush hugs the cheekbone to get just underneath the bone into the hollow of the cheek; it creates a much more natural contoured look that lifts the face and looks much better than what I can achieve with a traditional flat head or slanted brush. My cheekbones look sculpted without appearing unnatural.
CONCLUSION: A useful contouring tool that is a cut above other contouring brushes due to its’ innovative cheek hugging design, its’ shed-free bristles, and ingenious snap closed case to keep the brush head shape safely intact even while in transit.
Find this fantastic brush at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KN1VXGA
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I received this product in exchange for my unbiased review and received compensation for my time and effort. However, my experience with the product and the opinions expressed in this review are 100% mine.
