A handful of women were blessed with a genetic goody bag full of wonderful treats like high cheekbones, a defined nose, and a chiseled jaw – the rest of us…well, we got a contouring brush.
Let’s get to know our faces. Accentuate the good (contour the rest), and find comfort in knowing that every woman on the cover of a magazine had the same thing done to her.
What is “Contouring”?
Contouring is the act of using dark or light colors to make features recede or become prominent, respectively. Contouring adds definition, structure, and dimension. Contouring can be used on the face, decollate, abdomen, or any part of the body that needs definition.
What You Will Need?
There are several ways to contour. Your tools will depend on the method you choose.
Contouring with liquids or creams
- Concealer or liquid highlighter (2 – 3 shades lighter than skin tone)
Foundation Brush
- A Synthetic brush
Concealer Brush
- A smaller synthetic brush
Loose Powder Brush
- To set foundation
Contouring with Powders
- Matte bronzer or powder 2-3 shades darker than skin tone
- Highlighting powder
- A makeup sponge
Contouring Brush
- A contouring brush (looks like a slanted blush brush) or small blush brush
We’re using Kim Kardashian as an example here. Her strong, exaggerated features provide the perfect canvas for showcasing the dramatic effects of contouring.”
Before Contouring
After Contouring
Highlight
Contour Overview
This is an exaggeration of the contoured face. Both highlights and contours should be blended at the edges to create a seamless look.
Completed Look
Your completed look should be well blended and seamless. Your highlights and contours should play together to create depth and dimension.
I find that a good powder bronzer and highlighter do the job on a day-to-day basis. For a more dramatic camera-ready look, I like to layer the contours – cream/liquid foundation contours, setting powder, then bronzer and highlighter contours.
Karen Will
love the learning
leila
this article is amazing. thank you so much.
Eliza
Photoshop helps, too…
Carport Sharon
I *love* it Eliza!!
Anna
I was going to say the same thing as Eliza…I’m sure photoshop makes just as much of a difference as contouring…
Courtney
Thanks for showing the different areas for contouring. Love if you shared any future tips with us over at http://www.taaz.com – under Trends!
Laurette
If I ever wore this much makeup, my head would fall over! Too theatrical!
The Untrendy Girl
I’ll be the first to tell you — PHOTOSHOP HELPS! You’d be hard pressed to find an image that’s either printed or posted online that hasn’t been retouched.
Janie
I wouldn’t want to do all that if it will come out looking anything similar to Kim Kardashian’s make up. She always has a caked on look and that is just ugh
Melissa Charlebois
They all cake it on! Kris’ looks the worst of all! The only one who looks even a bit natural is the middle sister. Chloe I believe? Not sure of the spelling.
Bianca
Thanks so much for sharing your tips! I definetly learned alot. You also look stunning so must work!!! x
Rautahanska
But the picture is beautiful.
Natalie
I also think its wise to note that the before photo is actually before she had plastic surgery
marina
Great great tip. I was looking for something like this and really coudn’t find it till now. Very good. Thanks.
AmySue
Sadly, as I am a make-up artist, it is definitely how she does her makeup. Make up artists also teach their clients how to work the facial features with different makeup tips so they are looking amazing. Photoshop and plastic surgery doesn’t even need to be included to just make their face that amazing. I do highlighting and contouring on myself and it makes a huge difference with your facial shapes than just using foundation and not doing any highlighting and contouring. Without highlighting and contouring, your face looks flat, most use too much makeup to pop our their features, etc. when you can use concealer and foundation to highlight and contour and use less makeup to show your beauty and facial features. So to those who are commenting and saying something about Photoshop and plastic surgery, go take a look at yourself in the mirror and mess with the makeup and figure out your own facial features because you will be surprised by how much of a difference your face will look if you at LEAST do highlighting and contouring. Just saying.
tammyh
would luv to hear any tips u might have for helping me contour and highlight my face..have never wore a lot of make-up and not real fimilar with apply it..
The Untrendy Girl
Very True Amy. I am unrecognizable without makeup, even though in person, my makeup is very natural. It’s about putting the right colors (and finishes) in the right areas. Thanks for your comment!
Susan
It all works but I am confused as to when the foundation goes on. Even with blending it seems like I missing something? Also hard to find concealer that light. What kind do you suggest?
Thx Susan
Lauren
I do this, to an extent. Not nearly as heavy as hers. I do the light highlight first then go over with a bronzer with a blush brush. I have actually been doing my nose opposite with a shine of my bronzer on the bridge but I’ll try this. My nose is long and narrow like hers.
Vicki Morgenstern
As a professional makeup artist, this is an excellent article to teach advanced highlighting and contouring. Vicki M.
Rosy
I’m confused about the contouring on the jaw… the article says to contour below the jawbone and not on the bone… so is that under you chin? The picture makes it look like it is on her jawbone… Any make-up artists want to help clarify this? Thanks!
The Untrendy Girl
If you have a heavier jaw, you can soften it by shading the jawbone itself. If you’re working on creating a sharper jawline due to a bit of sagging, under the jawbone.
Maggs
So after you do all of the highlighting and contouring, then you brush on your base powder and blush over everything??
The Untrendy Girl
Yes – think of contouring as part of your foundation process. If you apply blush after contouring, restrict it to just the apples of your cheeks so it doesn’t look too heavy.
reba dias
Who cares whether there’s PhotoShop or plastic surgery done on this pic. That’s not what the article is about and I’m assuming that’s not why you clicked on the photo in the first place! Stop being so negative and take the helpful advice for what it is!
maureen
Personally I think this is a bit high-maintenance for every day – you’d have to go touch up your makeup every couple hours and re-contour, highlight, etc, and it could easily end up looking like dark and light patches on the skin. Plus pouring chemicals all over your skin is the worst possible thing for it.
Kim Kardashian relies on her looks for fame/money so it’s a different story for her of course!
Melissa Charlebois
Who has an hour to do make up??? Personally if someone is that vain as to require THAT much make up, they need some self esteem help. But as usual, it’s real easy to look completely stunning every minute of every day when you have millions to spend on plastic surgery, liposuction, professional make up artists and a closet full of clothing and shoes that puts even royalty to shame. I would love to see things for the “real” woman.
Sarah
What brands of make-up would be best for this contouring tutorial?
The Untrendy Girl
The contouring part is easy. Everyone loves Nars’ “Laguna” bronzer. It’s a matte bronzer that looks like real shadows. I wouldn’t use a shimmery bronzer to contour and definitely nothing with an orange hue. You can also use a darker foundation if you’re used to working with liquids. I personally like to contour with powders after the foundation is done.
For highlights, I love to use NYX’s chubby white pencil. I’ll glide it over wet foundation on the areas I was to highlight, then I use my finger to warm and blend it into skin. On dry skin types, I add a bit of reflective shadow. Benefit’s “High Beam” and “Moon Beam” do a good job if you like the glowy look and prefer to use liquids.
Smashbox makes a beauty pale-gold tone highlighter that works great on olive skin tones.
When I’m in a pinch, I’ll use “Shroom” (eyeshadow by MAC) on lighter skin, “Ricepaper” (eyeshadow by MAC) on olive skin, etc. You basically want to go with a shadow that looks a couple of shades lighter than your skin, with a touch of iridescence, NOT SHINE.
Hope that helps!
Megan
I always buy the lightest shade of foundation and concealer. Sometimes I am lucky enough to buy one shade darker than the lightest but that’s it. What do you suggest if concealer and foundation need to be 2-3 shades lighter? I don’t mean to be a “I’m so special” case but I really have been trying to figure this out and I can’t. Bronzer/contour is easy enough.
The Untrendy Girl
You may be surprised to hear my answer to your “contouring while light” question.
If you have oily skin, I would use a chubby, creamy white pencil (NYX makes a good one – ULTA). Apply your foundation, and while it’s still drying, run the white pencil in a line over your nose, under the brow bone, inner corners of your eyes, and outer cheekbones. Use your finger to gently blend, but not wipe off, the white pencil. The white pencil with blend with the foundation and the warmth of your finger to create lighter areas.
If you have dry skin, use the light-reflecting qualities of a shimmery eyeshadow to create your highlights. Use a pale shadow like “Shroom” or “Ricepaper” (MAC). Use a small eyeshadow brush and strategically sweep over the areas you want to highlight. Make sure you use a dense eyeshadow brush so you can control where the shadow deposits, otherwise your whole face will be shiny. Don’t forget, your highlights will be more visible when the light hits it, so don’t go overboard.
Melissa R
Thanks for posting this. It really does make my make-up work FOR me!!!
Rachel
I agree with susan, when do actually apply the main foundation (make up that u use everyday) -before or after???
Jennifer
I’m confused. I use concealer and it says that is what you will use to contour the face. However, I am not sure what the highlighter is. Is that going to be my regular base that I use or is that still more concealer? And, as the other girls have questioned — when do you put on your actual makeup (base foundation)?
The Untrendy Girl
Good question. The reason why contouring perplexes so many is because every artist does it a different way.
I like to apply foundation to the full face, then I’ll use a lighter concealer or white cream to highlight the areas I want to stand out (i.e. bridge of nose, brow bone, inner corner of eyes, cheek bone).
Then I will move on to contour with a matte powder bronzer in a darker shade.
Highlights = lighter, sometimes reflective powders, creams or liquids
Contour = darker, matte powders, creams or liquids.
Some artists like to highlight/contour with foundation. In that case, they’ll apply lighter foundation just to the areas they want to highlight, and darker shades in the areas they want to contour, and then they’ll blend the edges and set with translucent powder.
It’s important to grasp the idea behind contouring; bring some features forward with lighter colors, make others recede with darker colors.
Contouring shouldn’t be as dramatic for dailywear as you see celebs like Kim Kardashian wearing in photo shoots.
Esther
Not so easy to do when you have fine lines around the eyes (or anywhere else for that matter). Any make up I apply under the eyes just ends up sitting in and accentuating these fine lines.
The Untrendy Girl
I feel your pain. Starting to see fine lines around the eyes myself, I have definitely cut back on piling on the makeup.
Although I do find that powders and even liquids tend to settle in fine lines, you can minimize their appearance by using a primer such as Smashbox’s PhotoFinish primer prior to using makeup.
Using the minimum amount of product necessary is key. That means, a tiny dab of primer, applying concealer only to shadows, not the entire undereye and setting makeup with the most finely-milled translucent powder available. I’ve heard great things about Laura Mercier’s translucent powder. I’ll be purchasing it after using up my current favorite; CoverFx translucent powder.
Highlighting can be as simple as blending in a tiny bit of reflective eyeshadow/cream shadow to the inner corner of the eye, brow bone and the highest point of your cheekbone. These spots will reflect light in the right settings, making your skin glow without looking heavily made up.
Again: Use the LEAST amount of product possible, prime, make sure it’s any powders are finely-milled and blend edges well.
I hope this helps!
Munchkin
Great site with nice tutorials, really liked the brow tutorials, though when I came across this one I must comment, not to sound negative or anything like that, I just think as an untrendy girl, whatever this woman, celebrity, whateva, does doesn’t impress me much, think there are more down to earth, closer to everyday examples to chose from that’s all
The Untrendy Girl
Hi there! Thanks for your compliment and your comments. I agree with you about not idolizing negative role models for the sake of their “celebrity”. In this particular case, I chose to use Kim Kardashian because I have long admired her beautiful makeup — always perfectly contoured and blended so well.
Having said that, there are certainly celebrities whom I would never highlight due to their negative impact on society. As a woman who appears to promote self-acceptance and female empowerment, Kim Kardashian does not fall into that category of celebrities for me.
Ignorant Awareness
I did this once with an overly shimmery powder, & then deliberately didn’t blend (I wanted to see whether this highlighting/ contouring business really DOES make a difference, or whether it’s just photoshop like other people have been claiming).
Well lol, let’s just say my partner said I looked like a dead zombie (because of how pronounced my cheekbones look). For someone with incredibly low cheekbones, that’s quite the (backhanded) compliment- especially from a guy haha!
Kristen
So I have a question I wear foundation cause I have dark marks from acne so do you put your foundation and powder on before contoring and highlighting or do u put foundation on then do all of it and then put your powder on over to blend it all??
Lauren
I have a receding chin! How do you contour what isn’t there??
Kayleigh
Lauren, if I were you I would still shade under the jawline as this creates the illusion of a shadow, which would therefore create the illusion that your chin projects out further than it actually does. Also making sure not to skip highlight on the chin itself and perhaps for you also along the jawline but above it, so that it brings that area forward visually. Play with it a bit when you don’t have anywhere to go so you get the hang of it!
Athena
Is that even Kim in the before pic?
riahna
great traning of step by step thanks
Vicki Morgenstern
After reading this tutorial, I felt more prepared to use contouring and highlighting on talent in my production industry work. But, I was stumped about the best contour. Recently, I have discovered the NARS contour creme in Cap Vert. It has a slight yellow base so it will match the majority of the population’s undertones. The texture of this creme stick is perfect and can be blended to look like a shadow and not a dusty face. Suddenly, my three chins appear to be done to one, and without an invasive I highly recommend this product as a creme contour. Let me know how it works out.