Here’s How To Nail The Latest “Clean Girl Contour” Trend With SHEGLAM

If the glazed donut trend of 2022 felt a little too slick — like you had to pull a shirt over your head in slow motion to avoid streaking it with a trail of oil — then the clean girl aesthetic that followed was the necessary recalibration. Same luminous, healthy-looking skin, just with the dewy shine turned down. The clean-girl appeal is obvious: it’s the fantasy of a life where you’ve mastered your skincare routine, never neglect a step, and get nine uninterrupted hours of sleep. Clear skin, strong nails, shiny hair — it’s all meant to suggest to the world that your good habits are finally paying off.

The “my-beauty-secret-is-water” look is built on strategic choices, and the contour is the backbone of it all. The clean-girl contour requires shades that mimic real shadows, to give the illusion of natural lift and dimension — keeping the face from reading flat and making it look like you’re being followed around by flattering lighting.

This is where the SHEGLAM Buttery Buff Contour & Bronzer Stick steps in. There are 11 shades — seven contour tones (cooler, more neutral shades like Hazelnut Latte, Clay, and Stone) and four bronzing shades (including Terracotta and Earthy Sepia). And true to its name, the texture is buttery: jojoba, avocado, and meadowfoam seed oils give it a creamy glide, while the formula is dense enough to stay put exactly where you place it.

A helpful rule: Keep bronzer where the sun would naturally hit, and keep contour where light naturally wouldn’t.

Technique matters here, but it’s simple — that’s the whole point of this aesthetic. One trick makeup artists and beauty editors swear by: apply the cream contour before any concealer, foundation, or skin tint. Because contour sticks are more pigmented and require firmer blending, you don’t want to risk smearing your base around. Ahead, some strategic areas to apply for a natural sculpt.

• For the jawline: trace along the underside, then blend downward slightly to avoid a visible line with your contour shade
• For cheekbones: place the contour slightly above the natural hollow instead of directly inside it—this lifts rather than drags the face down.
• For the forehead: sketch a short “C” shape with your contour shade around the temples if you want soft definition without shrinking your hairline.
• For the nose: use your fingertip or a tiny brush to tap the contour down the sides, then blend until it’s barely there.

Buff everything with a sponge or brush until it melts into a soft shadow; if you can see where it starts or ends, keep blending. Afterward, spot-treat with concealer or foundation only where you need it — the center of the face, under the eyes, or around redness — so the skin still looks like skin.

Finish with a touch of your bronzer shade on the high points of cheeks, temples, and across the bridge of the nose. A helpful rule: keep bronzer where the sun would naturally hit, and keep contour where light naturally wouldn’t.

The final effect is structured without being sharp, luminous without shimmer or slick shine, warm without looking like a fake tan. And with the Buttery Buff Contour & Bronzer Stick doing all the work, it doesn’t just look effortless… it actually is.