I’ve never been a huge fan of the contoured look. I’ve always strived to look subtley made-up, and just the word “contour” conjures up images of harsh, zebra-like stripes that are anything but subtle. Recently, however, I found myself staring down the makeup mirror with a sculpting palette and a blush brush, giving in to the contouring hype.

It all started when I fell in love with a recent Allure magazine cover, featuring a stunning Anne Hathaway with classic makeup and peaches and cream skin. I loved the whole look and, having similar coloring, decided I’d try to recreate it. When I flipped to the page that detailed which products were used on her, I was delighted to find they were all Revlon. A gorgeous new makeup look to try, at a drugstore price? Sold!

The cheek product used was Revlon PhotoReady Sculpting Blush Palette in Peach. The palette features three shades – a light brown contour shade, a super flattering soft peach blush, and an off-white highlighter. Normally with a palette like this I’d use the peach shade by itself, or swirl the brown and peach together for a beachy glow. I’d use the highlighter, too, to brighten up the corners of my eyes and my brow bones. This time, though, I decided to be brave and follow the contouring instructions exactly. If it’s good enough for Anne Hathaway, I thought, it’s good enough for me.

I started by lightly sweeping the brown shade just below my cheekbones. The color looks much darker in the pan than it does on the skin. I swept on a couple of layers and was pleasantly surprised by how subtle the shade was. Next, I applied the peach shade. The palette recommended applying this shade to the apples of the cheeks, which I did, but I also swept it all the way up my cheekbones, blending back to my hairline. As with the brown shade, this pretty peach color swept on lightly and I was able to build up to the perfect peachy glow. Depending on your mood and preferences, you could choose to go dramatic with the color with lots of layers, or go ultra-subtle with a quick swipe and call it good. To finish off the look I gently tapped the highlighter shade just above my cheekbones. The instructions were easy enough to follow, and the powder spread evenly on my skin. So far, so good.

I have to say I expected to look ridiculous. Even with flawless application, the concept of essentially painting stripes of brown and white on either side of my blush seemed silly. But in reality, my skin looked great. Instead of the harsh stripes I had imagined, I was left with a soft wash of three colors that worked extraordinarily well together. The truth is, when I looked at the end result in the mirror, I didn’t really notice one color, let alone three separate shades. What I saw was a pair of wonderfully accentuated cheekbones, and a light, natural glow.

Contoured and subtle. Who knew?