HIGHLIGHT AND CONTOURING TUTORIAL- detailed blog post with picture demo

Hello guys, this is a much awaited , much requested (however belated) post. A big thank you to my readers for suggesting I write this post.

This contouring tutorial was part of the look I did in my post about the face of Zaron 2015 competition.
You can view the post here.
There are some basic rules for contouring and highlighting, however methods and products used are at your personal discretion.You may choose to use creams and powder to contour or  just powder products alone. cream products tend to give a more defined and sculpted appearance but may be difficult to blend out properly while powder products are easier to use and give subtle definition to the face.

The concept of highlighting and contouring aims to restore definition to the face after application of foundation and to further brighten or bring forward areas of the face while other areas are made to recede.
It is a concept that employs light and shade to create the illusion of a smaller face, narrower nose, also to help hide flaws like a double chin etc.
It is best observed in photography
This tutorial shows one of the many techniques for applying contour and highlight, however you are free to adapt it and create a variation that is convenient for you.

Points to note

• to sculpt your face properly you need to take note of your own unique face shape- round, square, heart, oval etc and use this technique to play up or down play your facial features as you want e.g a large nose or wide face etc
• you can use liquid or cream concealers or even foundation for this technique most important thing to note is the shade you are using
• when contouring and highlighting you need to set the cream concealer under the eye with powder quickly to prevent creasing
• as with most makeup techniques  proper blending is key to achieving a gorgeously sculpted looks devoid of any harsh lines.

I would normally apply all my cream products for highlighting and contouring before setting with powder. However for the purpose of this tutorial I applied the highlight first and then set it with powder to prevent it from creasing while I tried to take pictures for this blog post. so please bear that in mind as we get started.

Starting with a freshly primed face, eyebrow and eyemakeup done, I applied a colour corrector under my eyes to neutralise any dark circles (thank you my glasses)  then applied foundation all over my face  reducing quantity as I got close to my under eye area ( all in a bid to reduce creasing later on )

notice the loss of dimension with application of foundation.

I applied a cream concealer about 2 shades lighter under my eyes, bridge of nose, center of forehead in basically all areas where light would normally hit my face.

I also limited the cheek highlight area to just the outside corners of my eye to reduce the wideness of my face around that area.

I blended in with a damp sponge using a tapping and pressing motion limiting the placement of my sponge to within the boundaries of highlight ( you can use a beauty blender or sponge for this)

compare the blended left side with the right

I set the highlighted areas with a yellow based powder (  you can use a lighter shade of powder)
pressing in with a dry wedge sponge.

 I brushed away the excess powder with a fluffy powder brush.

Next I applied foundation to contour just below my cheek bone ( you can do the "fish mouth" to help you properly determine the placement of this product along an imaginary straight line drawn from your ear to wards your mouth) I applied also to the sides of my nose, forehead and temples.

I blended out the contour lines with a damp sponge

 I applied a dark shade of powder to set the contoured areas ( depending on your skin tone you can use a matte bronzer for this look)

I blended everything together with a large fluffy powder brush dipped in a translucent powder to soften out any harsh edges then went back in with the contour powder to intensify the look.

 one can begin to notice the dimension being restored to the face

Here is the finished look,obviously when your face sculpting is on fleek you would want to take that sultry sexy pose yeah!

So try out this technique and let me know how it works for you.
I would love to hear from you,what types of posts would you like to see?
you can leave a comment in the section below

Product Listing
Iman luxury radiance foundation earth 3
Black opal concealer in toast (to highlight)
Mary Kay foundation bronze 808( to contour)
Ben Nye banana powder (to set highlight)
Milani pressed powder Earth glow (to set contour shade)
pearlescent eyeshadow to highlight


Cheers,
Hadassah.