In this work, we compared the effects of curcumin and cholesterol directly competing to insert into the DMPC lipid bilayer during bilayer formation from an initially non-ordered state. 2H and 14N nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy showed that curcumin is not embedded deep in the lipid bilayer and interacts mainly with the head group of the lipid. In a more complex system of DMPC/CHOL/CUR, curcumin amplifies the effect of cholesterol on the ordering of lipid acyl chains.