Makeup Lesson: Stacey's Tips on Contouring & Highlighting!

The purpose of contouring is to either emphasize or minimize a feature without turning to cosmetic surgery. For example, if one should have a large nose, you can minimize it. You don’t have cheekbones, don’t worry, with contouring it will give the illusion you have cheekbones. You know like those cheekbones round faces naturally have? Yep, those are the ones I’m speaking of. Or perhaps you would like to emphasize those girls; you can do that, too. Some women have said their girls have looked bigger, definitely well defined.

Makeup: 

 

Smashbox: Step by Step Contouring Kit

MAKE UP FOR EVER: Sculpting Kit

There are many contouring or sculpting kits out there, such as Smashbox, Make Up For Ever. These kits contain a contour. as well as highlight. If you cannot find a contour/sculpting kit, you can always use a bronzer. Mind you, bronzers generally provide shine. Find a bronzer that is matte. Contouring powder is matte, while the highlight powder provides a nice glow to the skin. So, to have a contour and highlight makeup where they both provide a glow to the canvas will look too much. In my opinion, this is not creating a nice, natural glow, but rather a shiny to looking like one has oily skin kind of look. If that is the look you want to go for, by all means. Go for it.

Opt for a powder if you have oily skin. If your skin complexion is dry use a cream or liquid, you can use a cream foundation and you can use a lighter shade as your highlighter. Make sure you blend really well. The cream is a bit harder to blend compared to the powder. With the powder you are still blending. Normal skin can use which ever you prefer. Normal-to-dry, I would use a cream or liquid. Normal-to-oily, I would use a powder.

Order of application:

Make sure to always apply liquids or creams before you powder the face. So, the order of application would be; prime, foundation, concealer, contour (if using cream or liquid) then powder. If you are using a powder for your contouring after you powder would be the time to contour.

Let’s begin!

Nose

Let’s begin with the nose as it is one of the most common features to be contoured.

Begin by taking a small size crease brush and your contour. Apply the contour from the inner corner of your eyes going straight down until you hit the nostrils. You want to do this to both sides of the nose. Blend the contour with a medium crease brush. The centre of the nose is where you want to apply the highlighter. Start at the top of the nose, keeping it in line with where you applied the contour. Blend the two colours. The appearance of your nose will look smaller.

If you are using cream, use a concealer brush, you will need 3 of them; one to apply contour, apply highlight and one to blend.

Cheeks:

Cheeks would be the second most popular feature to contour. If you have a round face, you do not need to contour your cheeks. You are blessed with cheekbones, luck you!

You will need: brush sanitizer (brush cleaner), contour, blush, highlighter, contour brush or a blush brush.

Take your contour brush and if you don’t have one you can always use your blush brush. With your blush brush you want to hold at the bristles with your thumb on one side and your index and middles fingers, so your brush now in the shape of a line. Apply the contour just below your cheekbones or an easier way is to instigate at the top of the ear. You are creating a line just below the cheekbones. Do this to both sides of the face. Blend with a powder brush that has a slight amount of powder already on the brush. Do not make the fish face. The application could end up a little too low on the canvas. Next, with your brush sanitizer, sanitize the blush brush. If you have used a contour brush, still sanitize as you will need it for the highlight portion of the application. Once the sanitization is complete, use your blush brush to apply blush on the cheekbones (you don’t have to wear blush if you don’t want to). Lastly, apply the highlighter just above the blush or simply above the cheekbones. If the highlighter is right under the eyes then it’s a bit too high on the face. There is a bone before you get to the under eye and that is where the highlighter is to be placed. Right on the bone.

Eyes:

If you don’t have a crease and want to create one with only using makeup, well you can.

Apply the contour at the crease of the eye lid with a medium or small crease brush, don’t forget to add a slight wing, that is hardly noticeable, just so it doesn’t look weird having a line on the lids. Next, apply the highlighter under the eyes. You could combine the contour on the eyes to the contour that’s place on the nose. If you are contour both features.

Lips:

To give the illusion one has big lips, you want to apply contour just outside of the lip line and just outside of where you apply lip liner. Next apply the highlighter just under the nose and just below the bottom of the lips. Lastly, apply lip liner, lipstick, gloss as normally would.

   

Breasts:

Apply the contour with a contour brush or blush brush (holding the blush brush the same way as if you are contouring your cheekbones) in a V shape. With the same brush, apply highlighter in the same direction in a V shape above the breasts. This will define and emphasize them.

 

Forehead:

If you want to minimize your forehead apply contour at the hairline with a crease brush. Next, apply highlighter in the centre of the forehead, preferably near the nose area.

Jaw:

To eliminate excess amount of cheek, apply contour at the jaw line with a contour brush or blush brush. Lastly, apply highlighter just above the contour.

Remember: Every time you contour, you highlight the feature.

How did you find these tips, trick and techniques on contouring work for you? Please comment below. I would love to hear from you!

Have a great day :).

do you feel fabulous today?