Some people go off running in the other
direction once they hear the word
“contour”. A lot of women can benefit
from contouring when it is done right
and in the right places. You do not have
to completely alter your face to make you
look stick thin that would only make you
look ridiculous.basically, its all about
enhancing our best features with light
and hiding the flaws using a shadow.
In our line of work, contouring is crucial
so that the model, bride, or celebrity will
have dimension on camera or on TV.
Otherwise, they will just look flat
because of the harsh lights.
Let’s start with contouring (above photo).
I broke down my models face in 6 parts
so that I can show you important points
that need contouring. When you contour,
use a nice taupe shade or a deep bronze
color.avoid using bronzers when you are
contouring, so you don’t look orangy. So
use a matte taupe shade or a light brown
matte blush.
1. The temple. The purpose is to make
your face a little more oval in shape. As
you might know already, the oval shape
is the ideal shape for makeup
application.
2. The nose. Try avoiding making your
nose mega-narrow. This would
completely alter your face. Imagine the
shape and size of your face with a
narrow nose. You will look too artificial!
So use this technique just to define your
nose so that you wouldn’t look flat in
pictures.
3. Cheekbones. This is my favourite part
to contour. It really makes a lot of
difference! It can make you look like
you’ve lost 5-10 lbs! Hahaha! Just be
careful not to pile it on, otherwise, you
will look like you have a streak of dirt on
your face. Just make it subtle and blend!
4. Jaw line. This defines your face more.
It can easily disguise double chins and it
really separates your face from your
neck. It also adds shape to your whole
face.
5. Eye Crease. The purpose of contouring
this part is to create the illusion of depth
in the eyes. It adds drama to any
makeup, and makes your eyes pop out
and adds dimension
6. Inner corners of the eyes. Make your
nose appear narrower and your eyes
deeper by adding shadow on this area.
[Show as slideshow]
Highlighting (above photo) is used when
there is a certain part or feature you
would like to bring out or “highlight” or
“bring focus to” when there are certain
flaws you would like to take focus off of.
Here are the main 8 points to highlight
to enhance your features.
1. The central part of your forehead . When
you’ve completed points 1, 2, 3, and 4,
this creates an illusion of an oval face
because it highlights the central part of
your face. You highlight your forehead to
bring it out from the rest of your face.
2. under eye and cheek triangle (photo on
the left). Disguise your tired eyes or dark
circles with highlight. In this area, you
can use a little bit of shimmer (but not
glitter), or go with a highlighting powder
like that of Revlon’s Bare Lights. The
light reflecting particles reflects light so
it gives your dark circles a lighter finish.
This also brightens up your entire look.
You want to bring out your cheeks, not
make them recede.
3. Chin. This will bring out your chin
area so that your chin is separated from
your jaw line. Plus, this completes the
oval-illusion we are trying to achieve.
4. Nose line . Highlighting the top narrow
bridge of your nose will make your
whole face appear more oval and a bit
longer. Plus, this makes your nose look
“matangos” so that it looks more, again,
3 dimensional. You want to make your
best features come out. I cannot stress
this out more.
5. Brow bone . This is the area between
your crease and your eyebrows. By
bringing this out, your eyes will have
more depth giving you more space and
“drama” to work with. Defining the eyes
is important to give you that
sophisticated and a put-together look.
6. The central part of your lips . By
highlighting this part with a lighter
shade of the lipstick you have already
put on will make your lips appear
poutier and plumper. Ideal for those who
have thinner lips. I do not recommend
drawing an artificial lip line to make
your lips more full. Instead, use a shiny
lip colour in the same family as the one
you have, or just dab gloss in the centre
of your lips.
7. Centre part of your neck. When wearing
a tube or bustier, highlight the centre of
your neck. This elongates your neck even
more making you look slimmer.
8. Collarbone. Bring out your collarbones
so that you appear slimmer! There is no
other reason and purpose for this. Ha-
ha! When you do this step, I recommend
using a liquid highlighter first before you
top it with a highlighting powder. If you
use powder alone, it will just get erased
before you even step out of the house.
*Highlighting and contouring is not as
easy as it looks. This takes practice and a
lot of good lighting. If you do this in
normal indoor lights, you might not
realize how thick you have applied on
your face. So use natural light as much
as possible.*
