Get the Perfect Contour With Your Concealer in 3 Easy Steps

Sculpting and defining your face with a contour kit is reliable, if slightly time consuming. But sometimes things don’t go so smoothly or you need a quicker and easier alternative to contouring, shading and highlighting with a full palette. In times like these, say, when you’re not at home and you don’t have your palette — or worse! — you hit the pan on your go-to powder, you need another option. Enter: your trusty concealer. 

Aside from the fact that concealer takes up a lot less space in your makeup bag than a massive palette, it also makes it so much easier to contour your face quickly and blend — no brushes needed.

What You’ll Need to Contour Your Face With Concealer

To contour with concealer, you’ll just need a few products, starting with two shades of an easy-to-blend matte formula, like the L'Oréal Paris Infallible Full Wear Concealer for a drugstore option or the Valentino Beauty Very Valentino Concealer for a more luxe one. 

Choose one concealer that’s two shades lighter than your skin tone to highlight your features and one that’s two shades darker to define and sculpt. To complete the routine, you’ll also need a damp beauty sponge. Instead of running to the sink every time you need to dampen your sponge, we recommend spraying your favorite refreshing face mist onto it instead.

Below, check out our step-by-step instructions on how to apply your contour using concealer.

How to Contour Your Face With Concealer

Step 1: Contour

Once your foundation routine is complete, use the darker shade of concealer along your cheekbones, the sides of your nose and your temples to sculpt. Depending on your face shape, you might want to adjust where you place the darker concealer. For example, if you have a diamond-shaped face, we recommend starting at your temples, but if you have a heart-shaped face, you should start at your forehead.

Step 2: Conceal

Apply the lighter shade concealer under your eyes in a triangle shape, along the center of your nose and wherever else you’d like some illumination. If you want to use a radiant-finish concealer for under your eyes, we suggest the Giorgio Armani Beauty Luminous Silk Concealer. It’s formulated with caffeine to reduce the appearance of dark circles and hydrates with the help of glycerin. 

If you prefer a matte finish with medium coverage, the IT Cosmetics Bye Bye Dark Spots Concealer + Serum is another great option. Not only is this a stunning, lightweight concealer that instantly covers dark circles or blemishes, it also functions as a serum that fades the appearance of dark spots over time.  

Use the darker contour lines to help guide your lighter concealer placement.

Step 3: Blend

After your contour is mapped out, use a damp beauty sponge to blend, taking your time so that you’re left with a natural-looking finish. The result is a quick contour look that’s doable in the backseat of a car, your gym locker room or ten minutes before date night.