Search This Blog

5.25.2015

Contour And Highlighting Like A Pro

Grab a mirror and lets start analyzing your face shape. Try to pay attention to the general shape not each individual feature. Some people will have a prominent jaw line, or a rounded forehead, ignore that for now. Just look at the outline of the entire face.

The OVAL is the ideal face shape. When applying your makeup, you want to try to create the illusion of a oval shape. In my previous post, I mentioned that light colours broaden and dark colours recede. Choose either a cream or powdered contour one or two shades darker than your skin tone and a highlighter one to two shades lighter.


After figuring out your face shape, follow these corrective makeup tips to achieve the "perfect" face shape. This video might help you evaluate your face.

For a ROUND face, contour vertically along the sides of the face. This will give the illusion of a slimmer face. If your finding your face looks too short, add a highlight on the forehead and chin.


Some people mix these next two up; the oblong face shape and the square face shape. To fix a SQUARE shape, contour around the corners so it appears softer and rounder. The OBLONG is a longer square. Start with the same steps as the square shape, and then darken the forehead and chin so it appears smaller.


A PEAR face shape, otherwise known as a triangle, means your jaw is much wider than your forehead. Contour the jaw so it looks smaller and highlight the forehead and temples so they look larger. If your face is starting to look to long, skip the step of highlighting the forehead and just highlight the temples.


Opposite to a pear shape, a HEART shape is wider at the top than at the bottom.  Contour the temples and highlight the jaw. Typically the hairline comes to a point in the centre, giving it the name "heart-shaped." If so, you do not want to contour along the middle of the hairline, only at the side.


Last, but not least, we have the DIAMOND shape. Diamond face shapes have a narrow forehead and jaw, but the sides of the face are very wide. Highlight the temples and jaw; do not highlight along the middle of the hairline, not the tip of the chin. This will result in a very long shaped face, slightly resembling the oblong. Finally contour the sides of the face around the cheek bone area, do not extend the contour up or down very far, or it will defeat the purpose of highlighting the other areas.


Play around with your makeup and find the best way that works for you. If your unsure about your face shape, try contour and highlighting different areas of the face. Which ever you think looks the best, continue with that.

Photos from: Salon Fundamentals Cosmetology Textbook. 2nd ed. Vol. 1. 2012. 674. Print.



No comments:

Post a Comment