Contour your face the right way

It appears that contouring is a trend that is here to stay. Despite all the online tutorials on contouring that you have may have already seen, it is essential to understand how to contour based on your unique face shape. A few basic tips may help everyone, but contouring is not a one-size-fits-all practice.

Your makeup should be tailored to your unique features. Which features should you emphasise, and which should you downplay? Your bone structure can be accentuated through contouring, but to accomplish it correctly, you must first determine what kind of facial shape you have.

If you are not sure about your facial shape, take a selfie with your hair tightly pulled back to see the outlines of your face. Observe your cheekbones, forehead, and jawline in more detail. Your facial shape will be determined by the length and width of each.

You are ready to start contouring once you have determined your face shape, have learned the fundamentals of contouring, and have your beauty blender makeup sponge handy. Here are some top contouring suggestions for different face shapes.

Round

With your cheekbones being the largest area of your face, round faces are often shorter in length and very symmetrical. You may lose definition after applying your base makeup because your features are often softer and more rounded. Creating shadows and breathing life into those angles is the key to contouring a round face.

You need to contour slightly below your cheekbones to bring out their shape. Suck your cheeks or make a duck face in the mirror to find the right area to begin dabbing the product with your beauty blender makeup sponge. You should also contour along your brow and down your temples — imagine contouring along a letter “C” on each side of your face. Also, be bold when using the highlighter! If you prefer a more subdued appearance, a tiny blender is excellent for precise applications like highlighting.

Oval

While both round and oval faces feature a round jawline, oval faces are longer and tend to have wider foreheads.

If you have this face-type, use blush to add depth and dimension to your face in order to give it a more rounded appearance. To have a well-rounded appearance that highlights your greatest features, dab your favorite blush on the apples of your cheekbones and just below your chin. Aside from that, an oval face is already symmetrical, so you can concentrate on contouring just below the cheekbones to highlight your features.

Heart

Heart-shaped faces have larger foreheads but become more angular and pointed toward the jawline. This enables you to play around with highlighting and contouring. Use your highlighter to draw attention to your upper jawbone, cheekbones, and the bridge of your nose. Next, contour around the sides of your forehead to help reduce its breadth.

Only a slight contour is required below your chin because your jawline is already clearly defined. Blend it all together, then add a touch of bronzer or blush to your cheeks for some colour, and you are ready to go out.

Square/Rectangular

If you have a square facial shape, your temples, cheekbones, and jawline all have distinct angles that are almost equally spaced apart from the centre of your face. A variant of the square face form is the rectangle face shape. The forehead, cheeks, and jawline are often around the same width on an oblong face shape that is longer than it is wide. You must soften the defined edges and round out your angular features. To achieve a natural look, contour and blend thoroughly around the edges of your face.

Highlight your chin, forehead, and nose-bridge to lengthen the face. The highlighter will help heighten your face, so apply it under your eyes and just below the corners of your mouth. The next step is to contour your angled features after you’ve highlighted according to your preference. Brush lightly around your lower cheekbones, forehead, and jawline, then blend to perfection. You don’t have to go crazy with contouring your hairline or temples if you don’t want to. Do what you like!

Diamond

If you have a diamond facial shape, your chin and hairline are narrower than your cheeks, which are the broadest sections of your face. Faces with a diamond shape also tend to be long rather than wide.

Contour your cheekbones from your ears to the middle of your cheeks. Avoid drawing the shape too closely to your mouth because doing so will have the opposite impact of what you want. To help enlarge these narrower regions, highlight the triangle-shaped area under your eyes in an upside-down triangle shape, bringing it down in line with the contouring you did there.

In the end, contouring and highlighting are more about personal preference than trends. Mix and match products and techniques to create a look that is unique to you based on your mood, the occasion, and the aesthetic you are striving for.