Makeup Tips And Tricks: Contouring

Many of you may be familiar with using highlighting techniques when doing your makeup, and some of you may even be familiar with the term “contouring” which is similar to highlighting, but slightly more complex.  It’s not difficult, just takes more effort and time.  Essentially, “contouring” is when you combine highlighting and shading to accentuate and enhance your natural facial features.

I personally don’t contour every time I do my makeup because, as I mentioned, it can be time consuming, but I like to squeeze it into my makeup routine as often as possible because it really does brighten your complexion.  To contour you need a highlighter which can either be a concealer or a foundation that is a few tones lighter than your natural shade, and you’ll also need something a couple tones darker to shade.  I used NYC’s (New York Color) light “Cover Stick” for my highlighter, and Cover Girl’s medium/deep “Concealer Balm” to shade.  I find that it makes blending a lot easier if you contour on top of your normal foundation.  Also, do this in the best lighting possible (as should always be the case when applying your makeup) so that you can see where the light hits your face and where the shadows fall.  I like to start with the highlighter, but you can play around with techniques and technicalities to suit you.  I first highlight my cheekbones, brow bones, the bridge of my nose, the cupid’s bow of my lip (the dip/crevice on top of your upper lip), chin, jawline, and forehead.  Your goal is to highlight all the areas of your face that catch the light.  Next, I add little bits of shading to my temples, along my hairline, under my cheekbones and under my jawline with the darker concealer.  To finish I simply blend the lighter areas with my foundation brush, blend the darker areas with my fingertips, and then apply the rest of my makeup as usual.  If you use a bronzer then you should use it to lightly go over all the areas that you shaded, and if using a blush then always apply that to the apple of your cheeks, which is the highest point of your cheekbones.  I guess when it comes down to it it’s really not that bad once you get the hang of it, but you’ll just have to see for yourself now won’t you?  Happy contouring!

Important tip: When using your hands to blend or apply your makeup be sure that you always wash your hands first to remove all oils and dirt.