the lost art of contouring.

What is contouring and highlighting? By definition, it's the act of shading certain features to contract or define them, and highlighting other ones to make them stand out. It can also be corrective, for example to minimize a large forehead or nose. Contouring and highlighting is an amazing sculpting tool, however if you're not careful, you could be one blend away from looking like a baby drag queen.

Kevyn Aucoin's famous contouring example from his book Face Forward.

Celebrities have been doing it for years, from Lucille Ball to more recently Kim Kardashian, and many celebrity impersonators rely on this method to help transform them into their famous alter egos.

These two pictures are the same man!

 

Without having years of experience or your own pro makeup artist, you can achieve a defined, polished look using basic contouring techniques and drugstore products in just a few steps.

1] Lightly apply a medium tone bronzer (preferably non-shimmer) just under your natural cheek bone on a 55 degree angle, around the edge of your jaw, and around the perimeter of your forehead.
[Product Pick: Essence Matt Bronzing Powder... for beauties on a budget!]

2] Apply a shimmer highlighting powder on your cheekbones up to your temple, under your brow bone, and middle of your forehead.
[Product Pick: Smashbox Soft Lights Shimmering Powder]

3] BLEND BLEND BLEND!!!!! 

Optional: Finish with blush on the apples of the cheeks, and your sculpting is complete!


Try adding some contouring and highlighting the next time you're glamming up for a special event... it's considerably less expensive than getting a facelift and zero down time.

{ beauty tip } light, shimmery eyeshadow applied to the inner corners of the eye is a great way to highlight the eye area and make eyes appear wider and more awake... "verve" from the NAKED2 palette mentioned in my last post works great for this!