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Diffuse with a small blending brush, and use outward and upward circular motions. Contour your nose and mouth, if you choose: Khan recommends drawing perpendicular lines down the sides of your nose, then adding a horizontal line at the tip to connect the two.Better yet, swatch it to make sure it fuses to the natural shadows in your skin. So if you do choose a bronzer, make sure it's a cool-toned product. "The idea is to mimic the shadows of your face and minimize parts of it to appear smaller or more refined," says Khan. Use a cool-toned product: OK, you could technically use a bronzer to contour your face, but it's important not to pick something too warm and sunny, here.You can also blend highlighter using your fingers by blending the edges of the highlighter outward with the tips of your fingers. Blend outward in the direction you’ve applied the contour don’t swirl in circles in order to prevent muddling the sharp lines of your contour.īlend highlighter by swirling the pointy end of a makeup sponge in small circles. A great makeup sponge for both contouring and highlighting is The Original Beautyblender. In order to prevent this from happening, use the wide, flat side of a makeup sponge to blend your contour into the rest of your makeup. Contour especially creates a discolored, blotchy look if it is not blended sufficiently since it is so dark compared to the rest of your face makeup. If you don’t blend your contour and highlighter enough, it will look too severe and unnatural.
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Anastasia Beverly Hills offers a collection of contour and highlighter kits in both powder and cream that are of excellent quality.Īlthough sharp lines are an important part of applying contour and highlighter that looks good and helps shape, slim, and illuminate your features, sufficient blending is an equally significant element of contouring and highlighting. However, powder contour and highlighters are easier to use and are more difficult to mess up, so they are generally better for beginners. Liquid contour and highlighter products create a more dramatic look and are more effective for beauty lovers who are hoping to dramatically slim or alter the shape of their features. Furthermore, you need to choose between liquid and powder contour and highlighter. You need to make sure that you get highlighter and contour that complements your natural skin tone.
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It’s important to invest in the right contour and highlighter products to ensure that you end up with the look you want. Setting powder and spray should be the only products you use after contouring and highlighting in order to avoid smudging or dulling your contour and highlighter. An excellent long-lasting setting spray is the Urban Decay All Nighter Long-Lasting Makeup Setting Spray .Ĭontour and highlighter should always be the last skin makeup you apply, after your foundation, concealer, loose powder, bronzer, and blush. If you’re in the market for a translucent setting powder, a great one is the Urban Decay De-Slick Mattifying Powder .Īfter dusting on your setting powder, lock in your makeup by misting a setting spray onto your face in a T and X-shaped motion to cover your whole face. Use a light touch and a large kabuki brush when applying the setting powder in order to ensure that you do not mess up the makeup you’ve just finishing putting on. Both of these problems can be minimized by setting your makeup after applying contour and highlighter.Īfter you finish applying your contour and highlighter makeup, dust a translucent setting powder over your finished makeup. Because highlighter is so shimmery, it is quick to fade and rub off as the day progresses. You can spend an extensive amount of time at your makeup table in the morning making your contour and highlighter look just right, only to realize that it has worn off when you glance in the mirror a few hours later.Ĭontour has a tendency to melt down your face throughout the day, causing it to slide down into the wrong places and look strange. One of the worst things about contouring and highlighting is how quickly the makeup can fade after it is applied. By knowing where to highlight and contour, you can be sure that you’re applying the right makeup to the right places at all times. Highlighter should be applied down the bridge of your nose, above your cupid’s bow, on the top of your cheekbones and temples, under your brow bones, and in the inner corners of your eyes. Contour should be applied on the sides of your nose, under your cheekbones, around the top of your forehead, and the bottom of your chin and jawline.
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