Contouring and highlighting have become beauty buzzwords in recent years, with many makeup enthusiasts and professionals swearing by these techniques to enhance and define their features. While it might seem daunting at first, with the right tools and some practice, you can master the art of contouring and highlighting. Let's dive into this beginner's guide.
What is Contouring and Highlighting?
Contouring involves using a product that's a shade or two darker than your skin tone to define and sculpt certain areas of the face. Highlighting, on the other hand, involves using a lighter product to draw attention to and illuminate specific parts of your face.
Why Contour and Highlight?
These techniques help to:
- Enhance your natural bone structure.
- Give depth and dimension to the face.
- Emphasize your best features, such as cheekbones, jawline, or nose.
Getting Started: Products You’ll Need
- Contour Product: This can be a cream, powder, or stick. Choose a shade that's about two shades darker than your foundation.
- Highlight Product: Again, this can be a cream, powder, or stick. Opt for a shade two shades lighter than your foundation.
- Tools: Brushes are essential. A contour brush (angled or tapered) and a fluffy brush for blending are good starters.
Step-by-Step Guide to Contouring and Highlighting
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Prep Your Skin: Start with a clean, moisturized face. Apply your foundation as you usually would, ensuring even coverage.
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Map Out Your Face: Using the contour product, draw or dab lines in the hollows of your cheeks (to find them, make a fish face), on the sides of your nose, along your hairline on your forehead, and along your jawline.
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Blend, Blend, Blend: This step is crucial. Using your brush, blend the contour product well, ensuring there are no harsh lines. Move in soft circular motions for the most natural look.
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Time to Highlight: Apply the highlight product on the areas of your face that naturally catch the light. These areas include the tops of your cheekbones, down the bridge of your nose, the center of your forehead, and your chin. If you want, you can also apply some on your brow bone and the inner corners of your eyes for an extra pop.
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Blend Again: Just as with the contour product, blend the highlight well. The goal is a seamless transition between your foundation, contour, and highlight.
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Set Your Makeup: If you're using cream products, you might want to set your face with a translucent setting powder to ensure everything stays in place.
Tips for Flawless Contouring and Highlighting
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Choose the Right Shade: It's essential to select the correct shades for both contouring and highlighting. Too dark, and the contour can look muddy; too light, and the highlight can appear chalky.
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Less is More: Especially when starting, it's better to use less product. You can always build up if you want more definition.
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Practice Makes Perfect: As with all makeup techniques, the more you practice, the better you'll get.
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Consider Your Face Shape: Contouring and highlighting aren't one-size-fits-all. Depending on whether your face is oval, round, square, or heart-shaped, you might need to adjust where and how you contour and highlight.
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Quality Tools Matter: Invest in good-quality brushes and tools. They can make a significant difference in how your makeup looks.
Conclusion
Contouring and highlighting might seem like they're reserved for makeup pros, but with the right products, tools, and techniques, anyone can enhance their natural beauty with these methods. Remember, makeup is an art, and there's no strict right or wrong. It's all about experimenting, having fun, and finding what makes you feel most confident and beautiful. Happy contouring!
