How to Easily Contour Your Face

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I have recently become a bit obsessed with facial contouring and have been telling almost anyone about it. Facial contouring is one of the best secrets ever for getting higher cheekbones, thinner noses, and a more pronounced jaw line; in fact, I would choose my daily contouring techniques over eye make-up or foundation. Yea, it does that much.

For those of us who do not relish the idea of chisels and surgical knives, contouring is the best way for us to get those Hollywood-like results without the Hollywood pain and recovery and price tag.

For Under The Eyes

Lighteners can work in many different ways. One of the best ways is to use a slightly lighter foundation under the eyes. I tend to follow the same 2-4 shades lighter rule for this as well. When applying, apply around the occipital bone from the inner corner of the eye diagonally down to the top of the cheekbone, then follow the cheekbone up until you reach the outer corner of the eye. Then, blend and begin with the rest of your contouring/make-up doing. Easy peasy.

For the Cheeks

Shadowing

Almost everyone knows that we can contour our face to get higher cheekbones. A lot of people will use a bronzer or dark colored blush for this. Instead, try a dark shadow color or a concealer/foundation that is 2-4 shades darker than your natural skin color. Bronzers usually have light reflecting qualities that can diffuse the shadowing effect.

Another great tip I recently learned about contouring those cheeks is to have the darkest area be where your hairline begins and the lightest area be below the cheekbone, directly under the center of your eye. Keep it looking natural by not bringing the darker color beyond the lightest point.

Highlighting

To really make your cheeks pop, use a light shimmer powder above the cheekbones and below the darker, shadowed area talked about above. Often times, highlighting will do more for our face than shadowing ever could. I use a highlighter that is about 3 shades lighter than my natural skin color and follow the same rules as for shadowing. Highlighter should be applied atop the cheekbone from the hairline and no farther in the center of the face than the center point of the eye. If this is not making too much sense, watch this video where he explains exactly what I mean :)

Once the highlighting and shadowing are done, take a powder brush and blend them together by using a circular motion towards the hairline. This will keep it looking natural instead of like an alien.

Jaw Line

If you, like 97% of us,  were not blessed with Audrey Hepburn's jawline, do not fret, it can still happen. To get a more defines jawline, use the darker shadow that you used to shadow the cheekbones. Apply the shadow at the jawline starting under the ear and going to the same mid line of the face. This on may need to  be blended a bit extra so it does not look like a foundation flaw. To keep it from looking funny, only apply the shaow to the underside of the jawline.

Lips

Yep, lips can be contoured to, and often are. To get a more pouty bottom lip, use an eyeliner pencil that is 5-6 shades darker than your natural skin color and draw a half centimeter line directly under the middle of your lower lip. blend this line in a little and it should give the appearance of being a shadow.

To make the upper lip look a little more voluptuous, use a lighter concealer or foundation directly above the center of the upper lip. This will make the upper lip appear to come out farther on the face. For those wanting a little extra, get a lip pencil that is 2 shades darker than your natural lip color or your preferred lipstick color. Apply the pencil to the outer corners of the bottom and top lip, making sure to stop about a third the way in. Blend this, then add a dot of the lighter concealer used under your eyes on the center of your lower lip. Apply lip gloss and enjoy those new, pouty lips! 

Nose

What we have all been waiting for. This was the first method of contouring that I ever learned and it is still my favorite today. To get a thinner appearing nose, draw a line with the lighter concealer used on the under eyes and lips on the thinnest part of the nose. The line should begin at the tip of the nose and end at the point between the eyebrows. Blend this line.

Next, get a contouring pencil or a brown or black eyeliner pencil depending on your skin tone. Even though I am quite pale, I use a dark gray eyeliner pencil for this since my skin is not as rosy as the brown pencil makes it look. Draw a light line on either side of your nose just beside where the concealer is applied. The line should begin at the nostrils and end just below the eyes. The closer the lines are to the mid point of the nose, the slimmer the nos will look.

Be sure to blend this look completely or your will be stuck with some pretty interesting explaining to do ;)