From my past education in makeup classes, we were taught and shown how we could use contouring to create thinner cheekbones, and how to create the illusions of getting rid of a double chin, and how to pull forward and enhance other features on our faces.
So what are the steps on how to contour and highlight for beginners step by step?
- How to contour your cheekbones and highlighting them
- How to contour and highlight your temples
- How to contour and highlight your nose
- How to contour and highlight your eye area and out the eye area
- How to contour with a beauty blender
- How to contour and highlight your lips
so I decided to apply what I had learned in classes and what I had taught myself into this post and hopefully help anyone else who is just starting out with Contouring and Highlighting.
Alot of these techniques are used on celebrities while modeling for magazine shoots just to get that perfect photo, so hopefully, you might be able to do the same after reading what I have put together for you…
What is contouring
Contouring is a technique in which it can alter your face shape and give it the illusion of the perfect symmetrical shape. It’s a technique which can enhance or reduce the look of features. Contouring is usually combined with another technique called highlighting which is supposed to bring out features on the face it’s usually where the natural lighting would hit the face. Contouring is usually matte finishes and are 2-3 shades darker than your normal skin color.
The main features that contouring used for:
Double chin: when it comes to contouring and highlighting a double chin it’s supposed to give the eye the illusion that the chin is thinner than it really is. Highlighting the tip of the chin and blending a contour color on the edges.
Sculpting the nose: To thin down the shape of the nose a contour shade should be used on both sides of the nose. A highlight color would go straight down the nose.
Forehead: if your forehead is too high then a contour color should be used along the sides of the perimeter so that it can reduce the height of the forehead. If the forehead is wide then contouring the width of the temples should give the illusion of a thinner forehead.
Cheekbones: would require the contour color under the cheekbone which gives definition to the cheekbones this should help give depth to the face and help it slim down.
How do you blend in contouring makeup
When blending out a contour color I personally believe it all depends on what formulation was used. The three types of formulations are powder, liquid, and cream. The beauty blender blends out liquid and cream formulations out the best. When it comes to contour powder the best way to blend out powdered formulations is with an actual fluffy brush. I personally use the beauty blender mini for blending out contour and highlight colors because it gives me more precision as to where to blend the product out.
Liquid: is best blended out with a buffing brush or a beauty blender
Powder: would be best blended out with a brush. A good contour powder that is universal is MAC’s powder blush in Blunt
Cream: would best be blended out with a beauty blender. The cream contour stick I personally use is Fenty Beauty Match Stix in Mocha.
A good investment in a contour and highlight kit would be Tarteist pro glow highlight & contour palette which includes four highlighters which will suit all skin tones and two contours one being a powder and cream contour.
Can you use a Beauty Blender for blending out contour
When contouring the face with a Beauty Blender it’s important to keep in mind that there is Beauty Blending mini’s which is basically a beauty blender but smaller. The difference between a normal sized beauty blender and a beauty blender mini is that the normal beauty blender can absorb more product. The larger beauty blenders are designed to blend out larger surfaces of the face and the smaller ones allow you to concentrate on more details such as blending out contour. I personally found the beauty blender minis give me more control over how much product I want to be blended out.
Below is the mini beauty blender that I am using to blend out the contour
What is contouring and highlighting
We know now that contouring is a process in which one can use makeup to alter the face shape and give the illusion of almost perfectly symmetrical face shape. The most ideal face shape that most of us are trying to achieve through contouring is by sculpting out an oval face shape. Highlighting be the opposite of contouring in which it brings the features more forward and by placing a lighter color where the light would normally hit.
What makeup do I need to Highlight and Contour my face
There are many types of highlighters and contours out on the market from liquids, creams, and powders. Contour colors usually have a matte finish. When it comes to highlighting the face the highlighters now days have a shimmer finish to accentuate a healthy dewy glow. If you’re not into the who shimmery look you can use a foundation or concealer that is two shades lighter than your normal skin tone. Finally, when it comes down to contouring a foundation that is two shades darker than your normal skin tone can be used as a contour color.
A lot of these products are used based on personal preference and are also based on your skin type in what will work on it and what won’t.
Liquid highlighters are usually ideal for dry skin types and can help hydrate the skin. Liquid highlighters have more intensity than a normal highlight. When using liquid highlighters its ideal to work fast with them.
Mac’s strobe cream can be used as a liquid highlighter or it can be used as a base to help keep a powdered highlighter on.
Cream highlighters and cream contours usually work well on most skin types. I personally found there are two types of cream highlighters which come in a cream constancy and melt into the skin upon application. I also found some cream formulations dry to a matte finish, which will work well for oily skin types. A good example of a good cream highlighter would be Benefits Whats up highlighter which goes on as a cream and dries down to a powder finish.
The cream contour stick that goes well with a cream highlighter would be a cream stick contour stick by Fenty Beauty Match Stick Mocha. This product also goes on as a cream and dries down to a powder finish.
A drug store alternative to a cream highlighter would be is Physicians Formula which goes on as a cream highlighter and dries down to a powder finish.
Maybelline has a Face studio Master Contour V-shape Duo stick which is a cream formula stick that has a cream highlighter on one side and a cream contour on the other side which compliments each other. It comes in three tones light, medium and deep.
Powdered highlighters are ideal for oily skin types and will help with the oil secretion. They are also good to have on hand to set cream and liquid highlighters and can be worn dry or wet by using a setting spray.
Tarte has this really good palette which has four different shades of powdered highlighters and one cream and powdered contour powder. This is worth an investment especially if your skin changes tones during winter and summer months.
MAC has a popular blush color that is used as a contour which is known as a powdered blush known as Blunt.
A drug store alternative to a great powdered highlighter is Maybelline’s Master Chrome Highlighters
Basic Highlighting and Contouring for beginners
Its always good to know where to highlight and contour the face. I have set up a general guide with my own face as to where you would normally highlight and contour your face. When highlighting and contouring your face its main purpose is to enhance the features. It’s vital to blend out any harsh lines and edges out in order to have a seamless and subtle effect.
- Contouring the cheekbones: use a contour color under the cheekbone to create more definition. This will make the face seem slimmer and give it more depth.
- Highlighting cheekbones: a highlight on the top of the cheekbones this will bring them more forward. A highlighter can make it seem like the cheekbones are more lifted.
- Contouring the temples on the face makes the forehead seem narrower which helps anyone who has a wide forehead or a square forehead
- Highlighting and contouring the nose: this works well if you’re looking to slim down the width of your nose. Highlighting the bridge of the nose going down vertically in the center so that this can give the nose more of a sharper structure by bringing it forward. Contour the side of the nose to make the nose appear slimmer. You can also add highlighter to the cheeks directly next to the edge of the nostrils.
- Contouring the nose: to shorten the nose it’s a good idea to place some contour under the tip of the nose.
- Highlighting the eye area: to make the eyes appear more open you highlight the brow bone area so it can lift the arch of your eyebrows. To open the eye area it is wise to highlight the inner corner of your eyes.
- Highlighting the outer eye area: this will help lift the eyes and make tired looking eyes appear more awake
- If you want to enhance the shape of the lips: you can place the highlight on top of the cupids bow of the lips or under the outer corner which will help bring out the lips.
How to contour the eyes
Contouring the eyes usually requires eyeshadows which are actually implemented in our daily eye makeup routines. This process usually occurs when we are defining the crease area it’s usually done with what’s known as a transition color. Contouring the eyes can be achieved with a darker or lighter foundation or concealer.
Can you use a highlighter on your eyes
Highlighter can defiantly be used to help highlight certain areas of the eyes to help bring out the eyes. Highlight color can be applied to the inner corner of the eyes and the bottom outer corner of the eyes. Adding highlighter to the inner corner of the eyes helps the eyes appear more open and applying highlighter to the outer bottom of the eyes will give the illusion of the eyes being lifted. Lastly by applying a highlight color under the arch of the eyebrow will not only define your arch but will also lift the arch making your eyebrows look sharper.
How to contour the nose
When it comes to contouring the best type of product to use is a cream contour formulation. The reason being Is because it will blend out the contours of your face in a more natural manner. When contouring the nose its best to draw down the side of the nose with a contour cream stick. This will give the appearance that the nose is slimmer. If your looking to shorten the length of your nose then apply some contour to the bottom part of the nose.
Below is the Image showing the preparation of the contour for your nose
Below is the image showing me blending in the contour with a brush
Lastly to really sharpen the way the nose looks apply highlighter vertically on top of the bridge of the nose. This technique will really help sculpt the nose. Once the cream contour is blended out with a beauty blender mini it’s wise to set the contour with a matte contour powder with a small eyeshadow fluffy brush.
Should you wet your Beauty Blender Before using it
Most Beauty Blending sponges are intended to be used damp. The reason being is because the water expands the sponge which helps distribute and blend product evenly across the skin. The best way to use the beauty blender is by running it under water and squeezing water into the sponge. This will expand the sponger making the texture more soft to work with.
If a Beauty Blender is not damp it won’t work properly because it won’t grab onto product the right way. If the beauty blender some cases it might end up grabbing onto the product and not evenly distributing product properly on the face making the results looking patchy.
How To Contour With A Beauty Blender
When it comes to contouring you can use a beauty blender to the blender to blend out contour creams that were used to sculpt out the desired face shape. If you’re looking to blend out more of the higher points of the face I found that the Beauty Blender Mini works perfectly for that. It’s small enough to give the precision to a specified spot without blending out too much product.
If we over blend with the normal beauty blender we could potentially end up blending off a lot of product without realizing it. By using a Beauty Blender Mini it helps us focus on blending out the product on a smaller surface of the face and gives us more precision. I also find that when using a beauty blender mini you can contour the sides of the nose properly due to the size of the beauty blender mini.
The image below shows before contouring and highlighting the nose area.
The image below shows me blending out the contour with a beauty blender mini
The image below shows the sides of my nose contoured, and it is blended out and gives the illusion my nose is thinner I added highlight down the bridge of my nose to make my nose look alot sharper.
Contouring different face shapes
It’s always a good tip to remember that an oval shape is an ideal shape we are trying to achieve by contouring the face. To alter various face shapes its a combination of highlighting and contouring in the right places.
How to contour a round face
When it comes to a round face shape its best to make it seem more oval. The width and length of a found face are usually proportionate and there are no angles. Cheekbones are usually hidden due to wider cheeks. A round face needs to be contoured at the cheeks to the jawline and from the side of the forehead across the temple.
Below is the Image for checking the cheek to the jawline to contour
When contouring a round face its best to draw an imaginary line from the corner of the mouth to the top of the ear. When contouring the temples its best to contour from the side of the forehead across the temple. Once the contour is blended out this will start to give the face more definition. With round faces its best to plump the cheeks because the cheekbones are hidden. Use a dark blush to also help contour so that it can help bring out the cheeks.
How to contour a square face
A person who has a square face has a strong squared jawline and more of a broader forehead. Similar to a round-faced person the width and the length are proportionate. However, the difference between someone with a round face and a squared face is that their corners are more angular and not curved. The main corners to contour are the temples and the outer corners of the jaw.
A square face usually has a solid jawline and unnoticeable cheekbones. The way to soften the jawline is by contouring under the cheekbones down to the jawline which would be from the middle of the cheekbone back to towards the ear. The outer part of the forehead should also be contoured just above the temples which will help create a more round shape to the face. When it comes to highlighting the cheekbones its best to highlight them to bring them forward.
How to contour a long face
A long face is usually longer than wide. The cheekbones, forehead, and jawline are also the same width. The decrease the length of the face its best to contour the chin and along the hairline.
Applying contour powder would require being on the forehead close to the hairline and under cheekbones on the lower part of the cheeks and on the bottom of the chin and slightly above the jawline. Blush should be applied on the cheekbones on a horizontally and highlighter should be applied above the cheekbones and on the temples.
How to contour a heart-shaped face
A heart-shaped face is similar to an oval shaped face. They are both wide at the forehead and then the difference is in the heart-shaped face curves down to a point at the chin. Contouring and highlighting can soften the chin. By contouring the temples and the forehead the face can be balanced.
A contour color should be applied to the temples and to the chin. Highlighter should be applied to help lower the cheeks on the jawline. Blush should be applied to the cheekbones.
How to highlight and contour your lips
This technique of highlighting and contouring the lips requires different products because we are obviously going to use it on the lips. The suggested products require:
- Concealer
- Shimmer Highlighter (MAC’s Eyeshadow in Nylon)
- Two lip liners with the same color but with different shades one being darker and one is lighter (the colors used in the pictures were Rimmel’s Exaggerate Full Colour Lip Liner in East End Snob and MAC’s Red Enriched creme stick liner )
- Lipstick (the lipstick used here was MAC’s Steady Going Retro Matte Lipstick)
- Lipgloss (optional)
This trick can give the lips the illusion of looking more fuller and poutier.
Step one: prep the lips this may require exfoliating the lips and moisturizing the lips. It’s important to make sure the lips are hydrated and have a smooth surface to work with.
Step Two: using gentle strokes with your lip liner outline your entire lip to give it definition with one base color including the cupids bow. By using gentle strokes the lipliner will easily define the lips without looking overdrawn.
Step Three: take a darker lipliner shade (this will be the contour color) and color the bottom inner corners and the upper inner corner of the lips this will create depth. Color under the cupid’s bows slightly which will help give the lips an even more defined look.
Step Four: For highlighting apply the concealer on the outer edges of the lips and on the cupids bow. This will bring out the lips giving it the illusion of being poutier and gently blend out the concealer.
Step five: Apply a lipstick that is a similar color to the lips which will help blend out the lips its best to use a lip brush for this step.
Step Six: You can add lipgloss to your lips which is optional for a plumper look.
What brushes is best for contouring
When it comes to sculpting and contouring I found that the best brushes were from BH cosmetics Sculpt and Blend2 0 piece brush set. This particular brush set has ten contouring brushes that are catered for contouring all angles of the face. The brushes are labeled in a number sequence.
123: Flat Top Buffing Brush- this brush has a flat top and is a fairly large brush which is best to blend out powdered contour products on the larger surfaces of the face such as the temples and under the cheekbones. This brush usually blends powdered contour products into the skin.
124: Tapered Face Blending Brush- this brush is tapered and large enough to target larger surfaces of the face. I would personally use this brush in a circular motion to blend out contour powders that may look too harsh on the skin. Its bristles are soft enough to blend out a product without worrying about it leaving streak marks.
125: Tapered Contour Brush- this brush is similar to the 124 Tapered Face Blending Brush it’s slimmer. This brushes bristles make it easier to target specific sections of the face. Therefore, this brush would work well in applying powdered contour powders to the skin where the bristles allow you to have the precision of the product. This brush would also be ideal for applying highlighter to the cheekbones.
126: Precision Blush Brush- this brush has shorter bristles. It is your typical blush brush. It works well in blending out blushes and contour powders as well.
127: Angled Face Shader Brush- This brush is similar to a thicker paintbrush. The bristles are more stiff and thinner. I found with this type of brush it works well with cream contour products. It always you to apply cream contour under the cheekbones. This product will give you the ability to apply cream contour with precession, but you would have to use a different brush to blend out the product.
128: Small Deluxe Blending Brush- this brush has small bristles and works well on smaller surfaces of the face such as the bridge of the nose. When blending out contour creams of powder this brush is small enough to blend out contour the sides of the nose.
129: Small Round Blending Brush- This brush has small bristles and has a rounded head. This brush would also work well in applying highlighter and contour products to the nose. Depending on how sharp you want the contour to stick out on your nose or your eyes this brush is ideal to apply and blend out products on the smaller sections of the face.
130: Large Shader Brush- this brush has slightly curved bristles that are shorter and stiffer. This brush is ideal for applying a product such as a liquid or cream contour. It will distribute the correct amount of product on any part of the face. Its stiff bristles will help control the amount of product applied to the skin and it will help give the correct precision of product as to where the contours of the face should be.
131: Nose Contour Brush- this is a weird looking brush in which the brush is short and stiff and has a “V” shape. The best way to use this brush is to apply cream or liquid contour product to the nose. The product will be caught to the outer edges of the bristles which helps gives the product an even distribution on the nose. It basically contours applies the nose with cream and liquid products which then would have to be blended out with a different brush.
132: Precision Detailer Brush- this brush is a long thin tapered stiff brush. It will give you the most precision in applying liquid and cream products to the face. This brush mimics a pencil so it would give the same precision in applying a cream contour product to the face.