For those of us not blessed with runway cheekbones and a killer jaw line, makeup contouring is the next best thing. With a few well-placed brush strokes, contouring can highlight your best features and camouflage any imperfections.
Bronzer, blush and highlighter are the key to successful contouring. When used in the correct fashion, these three tools can slim the nose, define the cheekbones and reshape the face.
Here, we bring you a handful of top beauty secrets to help enhance your best features and hide your worst.
Check those cheekbones
Before beginning, make sure your hair is pulled back from your face to afford you maximum access to those cheekbones.
- Apply blush to the “apples” of your cheeks. To help with this, smile into the mirror and take the brush from the fat pocket at the centre of the cheek, across the cheekbones and back to the ear.
- With a bigger, fluffy brush, apply bronzer just under each cheekbone. Suck in your cheeks, and blend bronzer into the hollow.
- Stand back and check out your newly defined, never-been-so-prominent cheekbones.
Narrow your nose
Prepare yourself! For this you will need a small eyeshadow brush, a matte bronzer and a highlighting pen.
These steps must be performed after you’ve applied foundation and concealer. Nose narrowing should be final step in your makeup routine.
- Dip a small eyeshadow brush into bronzer (or even brown eyeshadow) and draw a straight line from the inside of the right eyebrow to the side of the bridge of the nose. Do the same for the left side.
- Don’t panic! You should be able to see these lines, we’ll get to blending them next.
- Take a fluffy brush and blend the lines (using some transluscent setting powder if need be) so they appear to be a shadow, not actual lines. The aim is to create a shadow on either side of the bridge of the nose.
- Now, taking the highlighter pen, draw a vertical line down the bridge of the nose. Tap with your finger to blend. The highlighter will reflect light and, alongside the shadows, will create the optical illusion of a slimmer, more flattering nose.
Plump that pout
- Begin by lining your lips with a lip liner (or pencil eyeliner) a few shades darker than your natural skin tone – for those brave enough, opt for brown. The line should lie just outside the natural lip line, on both the top and bottom lips.
- Now, blend the line well with an eyeshadow blush. It should appear to be a shadow and not a line.
- “Fill in the lines” with your favourite lipstick, followed by a lip gloss.
- Finally, use the highlighter pen to the outside areas of the top and bottom lip, as well as the cupid’s bow. It’s best to dot the highlighter with your finger, so it’s not too obvious.
Beautify your facial shape
There are some handy contouring tips to help emphasise the jaw line and soften a high forehead.
Forehead
- Using blush and a medium sized brush – for a more controlled finish – apply bronzer to the temples, along the hairline.
- Then, take the highlighter from the bridge of the nose to the middle of the forehead – let the brush stroke become wider as it ascends.
- Admire your newly refined forehead, reflective in all the right places.
Jawline
- Create a line of blush under the jawline to the bottom of the chin on each side of the face.
- Blend the lines, so they appear as a shadow.
- Dab highlighter at the centre of the chin to help define the facial structure and bring light to the face.
Bonus tip! Dab a band of highlighter under the eyes – starting from the mid face and taking it up towards the temples. The lighter colour will help lift the eyes and make the face pop.
