Contour or not to Contour?
Jennifer Lo Hair + Makeup Artist
The Craze on Contouring is still going strong what with Contour kits, highlighter palettes, glow sticks, illuminating powders, bronzers, glow drops.... the list of products out there for this effect is endless.
Contouring as we all now know is creating definition and shape to the face. Where your cheekbones are, highlighting where the light would hit protruding areas of the face. This makes a flawless complexion more interesting to look at instead of just being flat.
So. Here is a photo of myself using different shades of liquid foundations to create a more contoured look to my face before blending it in. You can see where I put a much darker shade where I want shadows and a lighter shade where I want highlighted areas. I used a foundation brush but as you can see it is not neatly applied and that is okay as you will blend it together.
As a makeup artist I have many shades and tones of foundations in my kit so for me to contour like this is easy as I have the colours to use. However I would say that the best thing to do is to get a good bronzer and highlighting kit. The Arbonne Starlight Glow palette is brilliant.
I am a huge fan of Arbonne products however as soon as I opened this product I was impressed with the size of it. You really do get a lot for your money. The quality of the pigments are exceptional and you only need a light dab in the powder before applying. Then build it up.
You can see the palettes 4 shades below and what they are used for.
So all you need to do is simply apply 'meteor' or 'twilight' to where I have contoured my face in the darker shades. Using light sweeping strokes. If you go too far or need to blend, just get a buffing brush, mineral powder brush, sponge or even a cotton pad to gently remove or blend in the product.
Apply 'moonstone' to the highlighted areas- top of cheekbones, down the nose and cupids bow, and on top of your brow on the brow bone.
Blast a touch of 'stardust' to the apples of your cheeks, dab and dust on to give your beautifully contoured face a natural pop of healthy colour.
If you want to go FULL on contour and coverage then I would recommend contouring the base first then using the palette on top after, so you have double longevity!
Good Luck!