Don't worry... I would never contour a baby's face.... but sheesh.. those suckers are huge right? Okay so Contouring is an important step to achieving a balanced face. Most people either don't know about it.. or know about it all tooooooooooo much and over contour like crazy, also .. its not for everyone. If you have a very structured face with a strong jaw..any contouring will make you look TOO chiseled. However if you have chubby cheeks, a double chin, a large forehead or crooked nose or any other of a thousand imperfections we all seem to see... this is a GREAT tool to help you smooth those out and make them appear less imperfect.
What you need:
A Face
Contour powder
Highlight Powder
Contour brush
Highlight brush
Now Suck in those cheeks!
You can basically contour whatever you want .. I forgot to post in my vid that if you highlighting the cupids bow (top center of your lip) will also help to make your lips look more full. Also.. why stop at the face?? Need a little help in the chest department??? A little contour goes along way! just make sure to blend it out.
Here are some tips:
1.Choosing a contour color- Just like coloring your hair... try to only go two shades darker than your foundation or skin tone.
2. Matte!!! Never choose a contour with sparkles, shimmer or any sort of light reflecting pigments... the entire purpose of contour is to make the area appear deeper and anything reflecting light will only serve to highlight that area and will defeat the purpose. Examples are below:
Example of Sparkle vs Shimmer, vs Matte.
3. If you chose a powder contour (which most are) I find that it goes on better and smoother once you have powdered your face after the foundation.
4. You don't have to buy " Contour Powder"- I have found that pressed powders work just as well and are basically the same thing.. just find one in the appropriate color for your skin tone (contour wise)
5. If your face is small, you can just shade the hollows of the cheeks starting from the temples. Shading on the forehead along your hairline will make your face appear even smaller.
Those with a broad forehead can benefit by shading around the hairline to minimize its width. It is very important to know what your face shape is and work with what you have.
6. If you have a wide face, shade the outer edges of your jaw line to make it appear smaller. Those with a double chin can sweep the brush under the jaw line to create a shadow there.
7. The apples of your cheeks may be highlighted with highlight powder and move up along the cheekbones to make them stand out.
8. Pick up a smaller brush. Apply your strokes from where your eyebrow begins down along the sides of the bridge of the nose. Leave the bridge untouched. Repeat on the other side, blending really well to avoid harsh lines.
9. Use highlighter to lighten your brow bone underneath your brows to lift the arch. Add a hint of highlight along the inner corner of the eye for a more wide-awake look. Shade the crease with a dark brown or any deeper shade of eye shadow.
10. You may want to apply a slight touch of highlighter on the Cupid’s bow to give definition to your lips. Line lips with a deeper shade than your lipstick colour and fill inside the outline with lipstick. Also using any lighter lip shimmer or even a powder in the very center of the lips will make them appear fuller.
Face Shapes
I would never wear my contour this heavy...but here is just a really dramatic example of where and how to contour.
Hope you guys enjoyed! Happy Contouring!
