Makeup is an art form for many people. You should be able to express your art however you want. But learning how to do your makeup takes practice and depends on your personal preference.
Contouring can change the entire way your face looks. Once you master the process of contouring, your makeup looks will be changed forever.
Keep reading for 7 essential tips for contouring the right way.
1. What is Contouring?
Decades ago, the drag community used contouring, baking, and extreme highlighting as a way to shape and make the face’s features more prominent. Recently, contouring has become very popular among the beauty industry and now pretty much anyone and everyone is doing it.
Contouring uses bronzer on the areas like the jawline and cheeks and then highlight on your cheekbones and the bridge of your nose. This process enhances the structure of your face and makes your makeup look complete.
2. Applying the Bronzer
Everyone has a different face shape so you’ll need to map out where exactly you should contour based on your face shape. Techniques can also vary based on which products you are using to contour.
You should start with your bronzer and tracing your temples. You can bring the bronzer right up to your forehead to make it appear smaller.
All you need to do to find your cheekbones is find the hollow part of your cheeks by pressing your fingers on the sides of your face. You will place the bronzer right above where you feel the dip for your cheekbones. This will create a subtle shadow.
Lastly, is contouring your nose and this can completely change the way your face appears. If you have a shorter nose you can make it appear longer by outlining your nose and carrying it up to your brow. Or you may want to focus just on the tip and go a bit narrower.
3. Highlight
Using highlight on your face will really make your features pop when you contour. Some people like to go crazy making their whole face glow or some prefer a subtle shimmer over their face.
You will want to apply the highlight underneath your eyes. This will also help to smooth your skin if you have any undereye bags and make you look more awake.
Another place to put the highlight is down the bridge of your nose. This can help your nose look longer and thinner.
Lastly, you can put a bit of highlight in the center of your forehead and the tip of your chin.
4. Make Sure to Blend
The most important rule of contouring is to make sure that you always blend. No matter where and how you apply your contour you need to make sure it blends into your skin to make it look more natural.
You can see a clear difference between someone who doesn’t know how to contour and someone who does by looking at how good the makeup is blended together. You are using two very different color shades when contouring and you will want to make it look natural.
The shadows on your cheekbones should be blended and buffed into your face. You do not want to see any visible or harsh lines so do your best to blend it out.
Make sure any of the excess product also gets blended in to create a cleaner look.
5. Add a Bit of Blush
Overall, you want your contour to look natural and enhance your features. A good way to make your contour look more natural is by adding some blush to the apples of your cheeks.
Blush will bring your whole look together. You want a shade that will help to enhance your look, so go for a shade of pink or peach. You could also use a shimmery blush but make sure the formula is long-lasting.
6. Translucent Powder
There are two ways to use your translucent powder to make your cream makeup stay on all day.
One way is to essential bake your face. This process means using a heavy hand to apply your translucent powder under your eye, the center of your forehead and on your chin if you applied product there.
You let the powder sit on your face for around ten minutes and then dust it all off. This should help your makeup last all day. But baking can make your makeup look heavy and cakey on your face.
The second way is to lightly dust the translucent powder over your face. This can help exactly how baking your face would but feel and look much lighter on your skin. Translucent powder is the best for helping to set cream products.
7. Setting Spray
The final step to contouring the right way would be to use a setting spray.
Misting a setting spray over your face will help to lock the look in and also help to blur any other harsh lines on your face. Setting spray will also help your foundation, eye makeup, and lipstick from creasing. Which is exactly what we all want!
If you want to do more with your makeup and skincare, then you will love these tips on how to save time and look your best.
The More You Know
Practice makes perfect! Now that you’ve learned the essential tips on contouring properly you should be a pro, but all professionals practice their craft over and over again.
It won’t hurt to do your makeup once in a while just to practice even if you aren’t going out anywhere. Makeup is art and with art, you need to experiment. Try different things and see what works best for you and your face.
If you want more makeup tips, lifestyle advice, or tips on international travel then keep checking out our blog!
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