A Bobby Pin Can Help You Contour Like A Kardashian

For those us who can't spend a fortune on expensive makeup brush collections, it can be a bit difficult to try techniques that require certain tools, such as contouring. Luckily, the beauty blog Byrdie discovered the ultimate hack of all hacks: You can use a bobby pin to create an angled contour brush out of a normal face brush.

If you've ever pinched together a blush brush to create a precise contour with bronzer or highlighter, then you know the struggle. On one recent Sephora trip, I found that the ideal contour brush — a skinny yet fluffy brush with angled bristles — cost over $30. After looking at the final (undisclosed) tally of my expenses, I had to sheepishly ask the cashier to take it off my purchase, as I figured it wasn't worth the bill.

This secret by The Beauty Department co-founder Amy Nadine is a life-changer. If you're like me and don't have your own ~fancy~ contour brush, all you need is two bobby pins (which you most likely definitely have). To mimic the way you would normally pinch the bristles into a slimmer arrangement, just insert a bobby pin on each side of the bottom bristles to get them to conform. I tried the technique first with my larger MAC blush brush, and then with my smaller Bobbi Brown face blender, which only required one bobby pin to hold it in place.

Before The Bobby Pins:

And With The Bobby Pins:

Ta-da! While this is a great technique, just make sure that you don't permanently leave the bobby pins on a brush you love to use in its original state. Otherwise, it may leave kinks. In any case, bring on the strobe.

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Images: Madison Fraser (3)