Contour For Beginners: Our Top Tips
Contouring is a great makeup technique for sculpting, adding dimension to your face, and enhancing your natural features. However, figuring out what products to use and the correct technique for applying contour isn’t always obvious. Here’s how to contour for beginners.
The Difference Between Contour and Bronzer
These two products virtually do the same thing, right? Wrong! The most important thing to remember with contour for beginners is that there is a significant difference between contour and bronzer. Contour focuses on defining the structure of the face, whereas bronzer focuses on adding warmth to the skin where the sun would naturally hit (for example, your forehead and temples). These two products also differ in colour and in finish. Bronzer is usually a warm-toned product with a slight sheen or shimmery finish. Contour tends to be more neutral in tone with a matte finish, especially if it’s in powder form.
Tools and Products You Need to Contour For Beginners
The key tools and products you need for basic contour application for beginners are a contour shade that’s two shades deeper than your natural skin tone, and an applicator tool. The tool you use will mostly depend on whether you use a cream or powder contour. Choosing between a cream or powder product ultimately comes down to personal preference and potentially your skin type. If you’re prone to dry skin, a cream contour might be a better option. Opt for a damp sponge when applying cream products; your contour will melt into the skin. If you’re prone to oily skin and you prefer to use a contour powder, you’ll want to use an angled brush to follow the natural curves of your face, and a smaller brush to carve out your nose.
Map Out Your Face
Once you’ve decided on your contour product and your application method, you’ll want to map the areas of your face where you’ll be applying your product. In general, you will focus on applying the contour along the temples or hairline, then sweep the contour down to the hollow of your cheekbones, then finally along the jawline. You can also define the nose by adding two parallel lines towards the bridge of your nose. Once you’ve mapped at your contour, you can use your tool of choice to blend the product seamlessly into your face.
How to Apply a Powder and Cream Contour
When applying powder contour, it is important to remember that powder formulas are easy to apply and are quite buildable. With your powder contour, swirl your angled brush into your powder and gently glide the brush back and forth. Start with a sheer layer of product, and once you have created your contour shape, you can go ahead and build up the colour as needed. To soften your contour, you can use a fluffy brush to buff out any harsh lines.
If you choose to use a cream contour stick, apply the product directly to your face and gently tap the product with your beauty sponge. A tapping or bouncing technique will melt the product in the skin without moving it around.
Enhance Your Contour With Highlighter
The final step to master your contour for beginners is to enhance the contoured effect by applying a highlighter to the high points of your face. Using a luminous highlighter is perfect for giving you dewy, glowing skin. Use a cream or powder product to highlight the top of your cheekbone, on your Cupid’s Bow and down the bridge of your nose.
Want to Know More About Contour For Beginners?
If you would like to know more about contouring for beginners, in particular, how to contour for your face shape, our team of experienced makeup artists in Brisbane can help you. Feel free to get in touch with us via email, or message us on Instagram to ask any questions about contour.
