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.

Makeup Masterclass: Contour and Highlighting

Trixie Mattel at 'RuPaul's DragCon Los Angeles 2016

Hello again! Welcome back to my 3rd blogpost on my makeup journey using Jemma Kidd's 'Makeup Masterclass' book. In the last blogpost, I experimented with lip lining and filling (specifically for red lips), but in this post I'll be attempting something less bold, and more tame (that is, if you do it correctly of course).

Contour and highlighting is a makeup technique used to subtly enhance and re-sculpt features of your face, however if it is done incorrectly or too drastic, you end up looking more like Trixie Mattel (a drag queen who cakes on makeup in general in a comedic manner.)
With that being said I decided that for this post, I would hop onto the trend and attempt to contour and highlight my face. In the past I have highlighted my face and occasionally contoured my nose, but I had never really full on contoured my face, so this was quite the challenge.

For this technique you will need:
Powder or cream that is two shades darker than your skin tone (I used a 'Blackheart' Duo Contour and Highlight Stick)
Highlighter or Illuminator
Contour Brush, Angled Contour Brush, or Kabuki Brush (I used a 'Wet N Wild' Angled Contour Brush)

The instructions following Jemma Kidd:


Step one: for the first step I began by contouring the side areas of my face. I made sure to pay close attention and detail into the lines that I created as Jemma clearly notes "Bones are curved, so shadows are too- a hard edge looks false, while any shadow that goes beyond the point you want to deepen will destroy the illusion. Start with little product and add more as needed." I started my line close to my temple area and brought the line downwards, curving the line to my cheeks as I went further down. While following Jemma's instruction, in addition I followed the visuals she provided to make sure I was applying the contour in the correct format. By following the bone structure of my face, the contour later when blended makes the shadows created appear to be more realistic and blendable to my face, natural sculpture, and tone.

Step 2: I then began to contour my nose. My nose is more flared and larger than average. Because of this, I followed Jemma's instructions on flared nose contouring. Jemma states "to slim a wide nose,shade either side, starting from below the bridge and ending above the nostrils. A bulbous nose needs a touch of shade below the tip" I followed these instructions as exact as possible, but you will notice that I accidentally contoured from the bridge of the nose to the tip, instead of just under the tip, which does ruin the illusion and does not slim my nose as much as I desired.

Step 3: Now it is time for highlighting, for brightening and enhancing the features you have sculpted with your contour. I placed the highlight above my contour areas on the sides of my face to enhance cheekbones and deepen the shadow, and as for my nose, I drew my highlight in between my contour lines down the bridge of my nose and then on the tip of my nose, resembling an exclamation point. I also added highlighter on my chin, and inner forehead.

Step 4: Blend Blend Blend! using my Wet N Wild angled contour brush I began using up and down blending strokes to blend both my contour and highlight. After blending my look was complete.

Overall I do not think I did very well with my contour job. Although it is only my first time, the lines were very precise and the nose contour practically achieve nothing, due to the fact that i curved the line with my nose. I also think I should've used a darker contour stick, as it was to close to my skin tone. Although I did not do very well, I will continue to work on this technique to master it in the future. My question to you all is, what do you think I could to to do better on my contour?

Works Cited: 

Mattocks, Zia, Vikki Grant, and Jemma Kidd. Jemma Kidd Make-up Masterclass: Beauty Bible of Professional Techniques and Wearable Looks. London: Jacqui Small, 2009. Print.

Pictures Used 

http://www.gettyimages.com/pictures/trixie-mattel-13939863#cast-member-of-season-seven-of-rupauls-drag-race-trixie-mattel-at-a-picture-id464022672