Simple Glamorous: Contour

Hi, this is Ashley and I'm back today with yet another blog post about make-up! I hope you all had a chance to try out my last posts tips. Today I am focusing on contour. "Contouring is the art of using light and dark to enhance certain features and play down others. It can be used to sculpt cheekbones, chisel jaws, hide double chins, slim down wide noses, and lower high foreheads" (Cockerill 56).

To create the colors and look seen below, I used the NYX Wonder Stick, and the Dream Illuminateur Correcteur

On the left is the, NYX Wonder Stick,and on the right is the, Dream Illuminateur Correcteur.

Shadow
1:First you want to create shadow. Apply the darker color under and in line with your cheekbones, (Cockerill) start at the hairline and push the color towards the center of your face. Personally this is a really easy step and its okay if you do not get it perfectly lined up with your cheek bone because once you blend you will not be able to see where your original line was.
2:Then you want to take the color from the bottom of your ear and along your jawline,"this helps create definition and soften a heavy jaw" (Cockerill 58). Honesty with this I recommend using very light product and not making this line to dark because it is very hard to blend there, and in good lighting you will be able to see the line and will not create a flawless look.
3:Then you want to sweep the color under your chin and down your neck, this helps to lift the jaw, disguising a double chin and creating a more youthful appearance (Cockerill 58).
"To soften the temples and minimize a high or wide forehead, apply the dark color from the end of the eyebrows all the around the hair line" (Cockerill 58). I do not have a high or wide forehead but I still apply shadow here and I really feel that it helps warm the face and complete the look.
4:After this you will want to move to a smaller brush to contour the nose, mouth, and eyes. Cockerill states that to slim the nose you would want to put the contour onto either side of the nose and down under the tip (Cockerill 58).
5:For mouth: Apply a little bit of the dark color underneath the lower lip and the center of your mouth, "this pushes the area back, making the lips appear to come forward and seem fuller" (Cockerill 58). I have tried this step but my face normally gets really dry around there, and I personally leave this step out of my daily routine.

In the top picture you can see the contour that is going down either side of my nose and under the tip (see step number 4).
In the bottom left picture you can see the contour talked about in step number 1.
In the bottom right picture you can see the contour along my jawline and down my neck, see steps 2 and 3). 

Leave the contour, and continue on with adding the light color as demonstrated and instructed below, wait until the final step to start blending all the harsh edges.

Light

"Apply the light colors to areas that you want to add light and draw the eye toward" (Cockerill 59). Cockerill states that is best to stand in natural light and look in a mirror, he states the parts of your face on which light falls naturally are the areas to highlight (Cockerill).

Apply a light color underneath the eyes to minimize dark circles, draw a triangle shape. Apply the color between the contour on your cheek and on your jawline. For me, applying the color underneath my eye does miracles and will hide the circles that are obviously shown from not getting enough sleep!

Then move and apply the color to the center of your chin and above your upper lip.

Finally apply the lighter color to the middle of your forehead and take it down to the center of your nose. Personally after reading these tips and then going to try them out for my own I noticed that I already have very fair skin so the light colors don't show up as well and make it harder to blend, so next time I would most likely just stick to the shadow and very minimal light, although I highly recommend at least putting the light color underneath your eyes!

Here you can see all the places I added the lighter color

Blend Blend Blend!

Here is a picture with the shadow and light all blended together,  I used a large foundation brush to blend all the harsh edges,

Blend all of the colors with a sponge or brush, trying to soften the edges and create a flawless look.


I personally truly do like the look that contour gives to the face, it truly does make a difference! Reading all the places on where to put the shadow and the light colors did draw a more flawless look to my face. I hope you will be able to find these tips as useful as I did, and be sure to check out my next post!

How into contour are you? Do you feel confident adding all these darker and lighter shades all over your face? Do you enjoy the look that darker and lighter colors gives to your face?

Cockerill, Gary, et al. Simply Glamorous: Make-up Transformations to Make You Look & Feel Fabolous. Jacqui Small, 2015.