Makeup, in my opinion, is not designed to disguise who you are, but to enhance what you already have. Unique features are what make us beautiful – and more importantly, individuals.
Contouring, as we know it through social media, is all about narrowing the nose, hollowing the cheeks and chiseling the cheekbones. Overall, creating illusions.
I don’t believe contouring should drastically change the shape of your face. Instead, I like to add subtle definition here and there and then complement with highlighting.
My favorite product to use when contouring is powder bronzer. Whichever product you use, it should be two shades darker than your natural skin tone. Let’s get this look started!
- Bronzer is applied after foundation. To start off, we need to determine where the bronzer should be applied. Hold a brush up to the side of your face at an angle from the top of your ear down to the corner of your mouth – this is the area you want to shade. Go as near to the ear as you can with a soft, angled brush using gentle, sweeping motions, bringing the color down and stopping just before the apple of the cheeks. The key to applying bronzer is to blend it out with a clean brush to diffuse the color, making it appear more natural. Apply with a very light hand to gradually build up the color to your liking.
- If you would like to make your forehead or jaw appear narrower, lightly sweep on some bronzer at the hairline and/or jawline. Make sure to blend very carefully.
- Taking a small amount of blush, apply gently to the apples of your cheeks, diffusing the two colors together.
- Now you have created shadows on the face, it’s time to highlight! Different products work on different skin types so you might have to test out a couple to decide which one is best for you. Our skin can change throughout the year, so you might need to alternate between liquid and powder products! My go-to highlighting product is Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector. Apply to the cheekbones with a small fan brush, directly above the bronzer and blush. Then, using a smaller brush, dot highlighter on the tip of the nose, Cupid’s bow, and the inner corner of the eye next to the tear duct.
