Hilight + Contour Like A Pro
Take round, plump, curvy figures and faces, and turn them into something that is more angular and leaner in appearance with contouring. Whether you have a diamond, heart, oblong, rectangle, over or round face with the right products, and the proper beauty technique, you too can create your own work of art—and instantly appear sleek, chic, and gorgeous. Here’s how.
Fresh Face First
To contour your face, first moisturize, prime, and apply the foundation of your choice. This creates an even surface that is ready to receive color.
Go For the Bronze
Next, grab a matte powder or bronzer in a shade one or two levels deeper than your own natural skin tone, and proceed to apply it on those designated spots of the face that you wish to appear “sucked-in”—mainly your temples, sides of the nose, hollows of the cheeks, under the jaw bone, and in the crease of the eye. You are essentially applying the powder in a number three pattern.
Turn On the Spotlight
To finish, use a shimmering, light-reflecting powder or cream product in a color that is two to three shades lighter than your own. When applied, this will ‘highlight''; and spotlight the high points of your face. Blend the product into the area under your brow bone, apples of the cheeks, center of your chin, above the cupid’s bow of your lip, and on the bridge of your nose.
Overall, the contrast between the light colors used to bring out and the dark shades used to draw in, is what ultimately tricks your brain into seeing sharp angles that aren’t there naturally. With these steps, anyone can go from marshmallow to modelesque. Now isn’t sculpting a wonderful thing?
Body Art
The same tricks that you used for your face can easily be applied to your body. To contour your abs, arms, shoulders, leg, etc.-- simply grab a body bronzing cream or a water-resistant powder in a shade or three darker than your own, and again apply on spots where you want to add definition. An easy trick is to flex your muscle in the area you want to chisel. The edge or border of your muscle is exactly where you should apply contour, while the center of your muscle is where I want to apply the highlight. Six pack abs and toned triceps can be yours with the stroke of a brush.
Have you tried contouring? What did you think?
