Contouring is a technique for sculpting and adding dimension to your face that involves using contour- a makeup product that is slightly darker or lighter than your natural skin tone. Unlike regular foundation and concealer, which we want to match our skin exactly, contouring is all about creating the illusion of shadow and light.
Benefits of Contouring
Face contouring is a growing trend in some countries, with the goal of improving the proportion of the face and all facial features, as well as making the face smaller overall.
These are the three major benefits of contouring:
- It can help to balance out a person’s facial features and improve facial outline.
- Face contouring can be used by healthy adults who want to improve the outline or contour of specific areas of their face.
- Face contouring among females helps to soften and feminize the face features. Male patients typically want to achieve a more chiseled and masculine appearance.
Areas That Need Contouring
While contouring adds a lot more to the face than just making it look pretty, there are certain areas that need to be contoured.
Nose:
Try not to make your nose too narrow. This would completely change your appearance. Consider the shape and size of your face if you had a narrow nose. You’ll come across as too phoney! So only use this technique to define your nose so that you don’t look flat in photos.
Temple:
The goal is to make your face more oval in shape. As you may already know, the oval shape is ideal for makeup application.
Cheekbones:
Contouring the cheekbones makes a significant difference. It can make you appear to have lost a significant amount of weight.
Around eyes:
Crease around the eye. The goal of contouring this area is to give the eyes the illusion of depth. It adds drama to any makeup and makes your eyes pop out and appear 3D.
Inner corner of eyelids:
By adding shadow to this area, you can make your nose appear narrower and your eyes appear deeper.
Jaw line:
This helps to define your features. It can easily conceal double chins and effectively separates your face from your neck.
Face Shapes and Contouring
A person’s face comes in a variety of shapes and sizes, and it undergoes significant changes as they age. Some people develop fat deposits on their cheeks and chin. Others notice visible facial lines, which is why some people choose to have their face sculpted or reshaped to restore its beauty.
Oblong face
Your face is nearly twice as long as it is wide if you have an oblong face shape. There are no defined points on your chin, jaw, or hairline either.
Contour
Contour your hairline to bring it down and give the appearance of a smaller forehead.
Starting at your ears and ending in the middle of your cheeks, look beneath your cheekbones.
Diamond face
When you have a diamond face shape, your cheeks are the widest part of your face, with your hairline and chin narrowing. Diamond-shaped faces are also typically longer rather than wider.
Contour
Starting at your ears and ending in the middle of your cheeks, look beneath your cheekbones.
Bring the contour too close to your mouth, as this will have the opposite effect you want.
Heart face
Your chin is narrow and pointed, and your cheeks are narrower than your hairline if you have a heart face shape. In most cases, you will also have a widow’s peak.
Contour
Contour your brow and temples to balance out the wider upper half of your face with the narrower lower half.
To emphasise the point, place it on the lower chin.
Round face
A round face shape means that your face is roughly the same length and width, with no prominent points along your jawline, chin, or forehead.
Contour
To slim down this area, apply cream to the sides of your brow and temples.
To add length to your face, apply concealer beneath your cheekbones from your ear to the middle of your cheeks and then down to your jawline.
Square face
A square face shape indicates that your face is roughly the same length and width (if not slightly longer for a rectangle) and that your hairline and jawline are roughly even.
Contour
To slim down this area, contour around the sides of your forehead and temples.
Along your hairline to give the appearance of a smaller brow
Starting at your ears and ending in the middle of your cheeks, look beneath your cheekbones.
To slim this area, apply under your jawbone.
Note: If you don’t have contour, other makeup products can help. One such product is a foundation. Use a foundation shade that is at least two shades darker than your natural foundation shade. However, make sure to use it as a contouring product. That means you’ll have to apply and set your natural foundation shade first, and then only apply the darker contour foundation shade where it’s needed.
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