This week our in-house makeup artist, Michael J’ann Robinson, is going to give us some tips on common tricks that makeup artists have been using for ages, highlighting and contouring. Highlighting and contouring allow you to balance your features and to create the facial shape that you wish you were born with. These two steps go hand in hand because the contoured areas make the highlighted areas stand out. It takes practice but with a few tricks you will be able to change the shape of your face!
Let’s start with the basics of which products you will need. According to Michael, before you begin you will need your concealer, foundation (which matches your skin tone) and two additional colors of face makeup. One should be 2 to 3 shades lighter than your skin tone and the other should be two to three shades darker (depending on how dramatic a look you want to create). Fortunately, today their are many companies that sell contouring/highlighting palette’s as a set, such as Tom Ford’s Shade and Illuminate. You can find them in the form of creams or powders. Creams may seem daunting but they are great for people with dry skin, who need some added moisture AND they allow you to achieve a beautiful blended look. If you prefer powder, Nars makes a fabulous contouring blush set that is very easy to use (You can watch the video here).
The first step in the process is to conceal and color correct. Cover any dark circles, blemishes or reddish spots with concealer. Next apply your foundation as you normally do.
Now you can apply your highlighter. Michael says that highlighting can give your face an instant lift! (Who doesn’t want that?) Highlight areas you want to bring attention to. These will be the areas that catch light. Michael recommends applying highlighter to the tops of cheekbones (to enhance them), under the eye area, down the center of the nose and above the brow area. Have fun with it! Apply a dab above the center of the lip in the cupid bow and another dab to the chin to enhance the mouth area. Add a dab to the center of your lip to create a pout.
Finally, you can create the facial shape you want by contouring, also called shading. When contouring, apply a darker shade to any areas of the face that you want to appear smaller. Add a line of the darker hue to the side of the nose to create the illusion of a more slender shape. Also add around the hairline (to minimize a large forehead) and to the hollow of the cheeks (to accentuate your cheekbones). You can minimize a double chin by adding contouring under the jawline and chin.
Blend highlighted and contoured areas well, as you do not want to be left with that dreaded makeup “line”.
When finished, apply your blush and some translucent powder and you are good to go!
The final look!
A big THANK YOU to Michael J’ann Robinson for these useful makeup tips!