#CONTOUR MAKEUP HOW TO#
#CONTOUR MAKEUP SKIN#

You just want to go right to your cheekbone almost.' 'You want to start from the top of the ear and work your way down to the ends of the mouth, but not all the way down. 'We used to do the fishy face and wanted to go in the hollows of the cheek when you're contouring your cheeks, but you actually want to go right above that hollow so you can lift the face a little bit more,' Wright explained. ' As we age, we never want to bring our faces down so as you're contouring, just keep that in mind: that we want to lift and we want to pop,' Figueroa said. Each makeup artist shared their best tips for applying contour, even if you're a beginner! While their strategies for application are similar, there is one thing they explicitly had in common: Apply contour in areas that will lift the face, not pull it down. Once you've chosen your color, it's time to get to work. If you want more of that sun-kissed glow, Wright suggested that you can use a deeper, bronzer shade to contour. 'So if you find one that's too warm or has too much orange in it, it's not going to mimic a shadow the same way that something with a cooler undertone would.' 'You would want to find a cooler tone to mimic shadows because highlighting and contouring is kind of like manipulating shadows,' Lovello explained. Lovello's rule of thumb is to generally go three shades darker than the normal shade, but added that she feels like most go 'quite a bit more than three shades darker.'įor everyday wear, Lovello, Figueroa and Wright recommend opting for cooler tones and matte creams. 'I always say two shades darker because you can always build color,' Figueroa told Shop TODAY.

#CONTOUR MAKEUP SKIN#

Figueroa and Lovello recommend staying between two and three shades darker than your actual skin tone.

#CONTOUR MAKEUP HOW TO#

Shop 11 setting powders and sprays that will keep your makeup in place all day long How to choose the right contour stickīefore you actually start contouring, you'll need to pick the right shade for your skin tone. We asked Wright, Figueroa and celebrity and bridal makeup artist Cara Lovello for their best tips on contouring and which products they recommend. Then I realized it's actually such a quick and easy way to add sculpting and shadows to my face,' she said. Actually, more on myself which I'm really surprised because I always thought contour sticks were a little more work than I wanted to. 'I've actually been using contour sticks a lot lately on myself and my clients. With contour, you're basically bringing those dimensions back to where you want them to be,' said Rhode Island-based makeup artist Erica Wright of Glam Done Wright.Ĭelebrity makeup artist Nydia Figueroa admitted to recently discovering how great contour sticks are. 'I always say that foundation takes away a lot of the dimensions in the skin. It works when you apply a product a few shades darker than your normal foundation at points on the face to help define your natural features. While some people may naturally be born with those features (lucky them), the rest of us will have to settle for it another way: contouring.Ĭontouring is a makeup technique that adds dimension to your face.

I also recommend taking a powder the shade of the cream and lightly setting it.Whether you're a makeup aficionado or a beginner looking to get started, everyone wants that sleek look with strong cheekbones and a jawline that looks like it could cut glass. I find that light creams give you more control and are easier to blend.

'I love using creams-something lightweight that blends easily. But Moore loves using one particular type for darker skin tones. Of course, it's everyone's own choice what kind of contour makeup they prefer-whether that's a cream, stick, powder, you name it. If you're going outside to the beach or to a festival, bronzing should be good enough, however, if you're going to a gala or out for drinks and it's nighttime lighting, you can bronze and contour.' It's important to also know the lighting of the occasion you'll be attending. Your contour should come next and should be two to four shades deeper than your foundation shade (whatever you're comfortable with) and go into the shadow areas of your face, then blend. Use a slightly warmer and deeper shade to warm up the skin by bronzing. 'These two work together but are different. 'K now the difference between bronzing and contouring,' he says. I found that I couldn't use the same contour makeup as those with lighter skin tones because it just didn't show up very well for me or didn't look right. Another thing I found frustrating when I first started learning to contour was the lack of information out there about contouring for darker skin tones.

Contour makeup