It's official: Hailey Bieber's makeup artist, Mary Phillips [1], just launched a makeup brand, and to say we're excited is an understatement. Phillips is the mastermind behind the looks on some of our favorite celebrities, like Kendall Jenner, Dua Lipa, Jennifer Lopez [2], and more. She's popularized many a makeup hack [3], including one that broke the internet: underpainting. Which, of course, is why we decided the first product from her line we needed to test was none other than the M.ph by Mary Phillips Underpainting Highlight and Contour Palette [4] ($64).
If you're wondering what the helly underpainting [5] actually is, it's simpler than it sounds. "Underpainting is basically painting your concealer, contour, blush, and sometimes even highlight under your foundation," celebrity makeup artist Monika Blunder [6] says. So, instead of starting off with base makeup and then doing contour, you'd do exactly the opposite. The technique has been around for awhile, but over the past few years it's gained widespread popularity thanks to social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram.
The M.ph Underpainting Palette comes in three different colorways, light, medium, and deep. Each palette has five different shades: a color corrector, two highlight shades, and two contour shades. They're all a cream formula with a natural finish, which the brand says makes it easy to create a perfectly sculpted look.
The brand recommends starting out with the color corrector, then applying contour, and going in with highlight. Once you're done, you can go over any areas left bare with a foundation or base makeup product of your choice.
Seems easy enough, right? Well, to truly test it out, three editors with different skin types and skin tones decided to use it to do their makeup. Ahead, read our honest reviews of the new M.ph by Mary Phillips Underpainting Highlight and Contour Palette.
The Underpainting Highlight and Contour Palette in Light
"Mary Phillips is an icon, so when I saw she was launching her own brand, I was so excited to try it out. The lip liners are great, but the real hero is the underpainting palette. I looked at Phillips's Instagram for a quick tutorial on how to use it, but with only five shades, it seemed pretty straightforward. I used the color corrector under my eyes, highlighter on my forehead, nose, and chin, and cool-toned contour to sculpt my cheekbones, forehead, and jawline. The dual-ended brush works amazingly for blending in any location, and the pigments melt into skin for a subtle yet impactful effect. I applied a skin tint over it in tapping motions to prevent the placement of my contour and highlight from shifting, and was left with a naturally lifted look. After 12 hours of wear, my makeup still looked great and I experienced only minor creasing under my eyes." — Jessica Harrington, section lead, beauty
The Underpainting Highlight and Contour Palette in Medium
"I've been underpainting for years, mostly because I'm a Hailey Bieber stan and Bieber is a Mary Phillips stan (which makes sense since she's her makeup artist). I remember when Bieber first made a video about learning the underpainting technique from Phillips, and I've been hooked ever since. I honestly love all of Phillips's makeup hacks, so I was excited to see if the product she created lived up to the hype.
My skin is somewhere in between olive and neutral, so I opted for the medium palette. I found that the shades were all very pigmented — a little goes a long way — and the cream consistency was easy to blend out. I'm not the biggest fan of the underpainting brush — I like my brushes to be a little bigger and thicker, so I see no problem skipping that product if you already have a concealer and contour brush you like. Overall, I like how compact the palette is — as someone who prefers minimal makeup, this is easy to grab, easy to use, and does exactly what it says it will. A win in my book." — Renee Rodriguez, senior staff writer and social producer
The Underpainting Highlight and Contour Palette in Deep
"As much as I love doing my makeup, I like to stick to products that I know already work for me — especially when it comes to contouring. I've used the same powder bronzer as contour for five years (partially because I was always afraid of palettes), but Mary Philips's new underpainting face palette changed all that for me. I was able to test the brand's Underpainting Dual-Ended sculpting Brush [7] ($38), and it was extremely easy to use (even for the makeup novice). One of the shades even blended effortlessly into my freshly tanned skin, giving my face enough dimension and shine without looking artificial. I'll definitely be using the Contour I shade from this palette until further notice." — Naomi Parris, assistant shopping editor
Renee Rodriguez [8] (she/her) is a senior staff writer and social producer for PS. She writes across all verticals, but her main areas of expertise focus on fashion and beauty content with an emphasis on reviews and editor experiments. She also produces social content for the PS TikTok and Instagram accounts.