Review (5/5): What contouring is and isn't, and why this is a great brush to use for it
In my younger days, I used to model, so I became an old hand at contouring, which seems to have been revived a la Kim Kardashian. One of my favorite brushes from then was a flat contouring brush that was angled. I absolutely adored it for adding the right shadow under my cheekbones to make them stand out.
Since the contouring revival, I decided to give this a go again, but I couldn't find a reasonably priced brush that did what I wanted it to do (I refuse to spend a fortune on a brush for this, mostly because I do not see contouring lasting very long, but that's another review.) The HDSL brush came closest to what I was looking for: dense, flat and with a good handle.
It kind of looks like a paint brush, but the hair is VERY nice. Very soft and dense, and a miracle for something that's less than six bucks. My contouring skills are such that I know not to buy an entire palette of colors that are way too orangey or warm. I use Kevyn Aucoin's contour powder which is way pricey (you can find something similar in color in Makeup Forever's eyeshadow line), but the Aucoin contour powder color was absolutely perfect.
As I'm sure you know, contour is meant to mimic a shadow. It is NOT a bronzer (you cannot contour with anything with the slightest bit of shine); too orange and you look ridiculous. The color is a light matte taupe with zero hint of red in it. It should NOT be too dark, unless you are dark complected. Think of it as being two shades darker than your skin color, the way a shadow is cast on the hollows or low areas of your face.
This brush picked up the powder like a champ and deposited it nicely. Does a great job fading the contour color out so it looks like a shadow and not like I have a swath of dirt on my face. My only hesitation with this so far is that I wish it was angled, but no matter. It's not that hard to use in such a way (well, what do you want for less than six bucks?)
I'd definitely recommend this. You won't get anything better at anywhere near the price.