Highlighting and Contouring Tips

Contouring is the hottest make-up trend. Anyone who’s anyone is contouring and emphasizing their best features, so if you want to get cheekbones or the perfect pout, read on for some top tips!

Tip #1: Concealer

First, start with the concealer—and don’t be shy about it! Concealer is a really useful weapon in any make-up lover’s kit, and it’s not just for hiding those dark circles under your eyes. Apply this product using a dabbing motion instead of rubbing to create the desired effect—you’ll want to use it on the areas that you want to highlight: the brow bone, the top of the cheekbones and the line down the middle of your nose.

Tip #2: Foundation

Next, use your foundation. In order to create the perfect contoured look, you’ll need to pick up three shades of foundation. One will match your skin tone perfectly, one will be two shades darker and one will be two shades lighter. This will help you to contour your face perfectly, highlighting those gorgeous cheekbones and giving the face some real shape, without distorting the natural skin color too much.

Tip #3: Guidelines

To create the perfect contouring guideline for your cheeks, draw a straight line from the corner of your mouth to the top of your ear with an angled contour brush. This is where you apply the darker foundation, creating a shadow below your cheekbones that looks razor-sharp! This darker area should be no wider than your little finger—if you make it much wider, you’ll start to look hollow and gaunt, instead of glowing and radiant. Using a highlighter, draw a line from the outer edge of your nose through to the outer corner of your eye. Use some slight shading on the side of your head, where the temple is, to emphasize the cheeks and give your eyes a fantastic, age-defying lift!

Tip #4: Draw a line

Next, using your contouring product we’ll make your nose look straighter and slimmer. Draw a line starting from the beginning of the eyebrows, going straight down to the tip of your nose. To make your nose look slimmer bring the lines closer together. Additionally if you want to make your nose shorter apply the product under the tip of the nose, a pencil brush will do the job perfectly.

Tip #5: Blend

Lastly – blend, blend, blend! Using a stippling make-up brush make sure that the guidelines you’ve drawn on your face aren’t visible and ensure that the make-up blends seamlessly on your face. This might take a while, but the effects will be stunning and you’ll be ready to walk the catwalk!

Contouring isn’t rocket science. If you follow the tips we gave you above, your application will improve. We found that face contouring is a rising trend and will stay with us for some time. So, make sure you do it the right way.