The Art of Highlight and Contouring

Ever since miss Kim Kardashian graced our screen and reintroduced the art of contouring. It has become one of the most popular and in demand looks when doing private clients, brides and high fashion editorial. Im asked constantly how to achieve a contoured effect at home, well lady here are a few home tips for you.

Contouring, is a technique previously reserved for runway models and high fashion photo shoots, but is now becoming part of our daily routines. 

Soooo what is it, exactly? In a nutshell - Contouring is giving shape to an area of the face and enhancing the facial structure through makeup, It's not supposed to be noticeable—just a subtle definition. And I mean subtle. In other words, It's all about the artistry—and illusion! This is not the time to go find one of your darker shade of blusher or bronzer and draw a line under your cheek bone - its subtle as mentioned previously! 

Highlighting is the process by which you accentuates the highest points of your face. Like the highest part of your cheek bones, just under your eyebrows, bridge of your nose.  The product should be one to two shades lighter than your complexion. You can use both shimmery and matte products for highlighting.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when it comes o trying out the contoured look at home.

Contours are meant to be matte, while highlighting is meant to have shimmer. don't get the two confused and remember texture is key!

A lot of people contour with their bronzer, But I'm against that unless you have tanned skin. You need to find something that creates the illusion of an actual shadow, choose a shade one to two shades darker than your skin tone, these will typically have tones of beiges and browns. 

If you're using powders to contour, you'll achieve a more matte finish. If you use creams, the result will be more dewy. If you are a beginners start with creamy products, these will be much easier to build up and blend in till you get your desired look. 

Get an angled cream brush to hit under the cheekbone and jaw bone. (picture of a angled brush Brushes are key to any good application of makeup! You should buy two, one for contouring and one for highlighting. Just about every makeup artist in the world swears by MAC #217. This will help with the precision to apply under the jawline, and around the cheekbone for a precise, airbrushed finish.

There is one rule to keep in mind when it comes to highlighting and contouring. Hard lines are not elegant or chic. Use a regular foundation brush or a damp egg sponge and tap it into the contour to make sure there's no hard obvious lines. You absolutely need to BLEND BLEND BLEND!! 

Once you have finished contouring your face, don’t forget to add some colour to the apple of the cheek and a bit of sheen to the cheekbones to further enhance the complexion. A peachy-pink tone for a natural-looking flush always works best and adapts to most skin tones, then add luminizer just at the top of the cheekbones, down the bridge of the nose, and a hint on the chin for super-fresh skin. My all time favourite is Benefit High Beam - its creamy liquid texture is easy to apply and long lasting results.