How To Contour Face With Powder Makeup

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Contouring is an optional part of a makeup regime, but it tin really take your look to the adjacent level. It may seem difficult at first, but the process is actually quite simple. Once yous effigy out where the light and shadows hit your confront, applying the highlighter and profile powders is a cakewalk!

1
Determine whether you have warm or absurd undertones. Look at the veins on your wrist. If they appear green, you have warm skin. If they appear blueish, you accept cool pare. Some other style to determine your skin undertone is to come across how easily y'all suntan or burn. If y'all tan easily, you likely have warm skin; if you burn easily, y'all probably have absurd skin.^[1]
- If your skin has a pinkish or red base, you likely have a cooler skin tone. If you have a yellow base, you probable have a warmer skin tone. A lot of people are somewhere in betwixt.^[ii]
- Knowing your skin's undertone is of import. If your makeup does not match your skin's undertone, it will expect make yous look too ashy or xanthous.
two
Choose a profile kit that matches your pare'due south undertone. Some companies sell contouring kits that are labeled for warm or cool skin. In this case, buy the 1 that matches your undertone. If the kits are not labeled, purchase a yellow-tinted kit if you take warm peel, or a pinkish kit if yous take cool skin.
- Gilt and statuary shades are good for warm skin.
- Nutty or woodsy hues like mahogany and walnut are better for absurd peel.
- Many contour kits piece of work well for both warm and cool.
- You should likewise recollect almost if your skin is light, medium, or nighttime. Using a palette that is also dark looks fake.
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Brand sure that the highlighter and profile work with your peel tone. The highlighter needs to exist a ii shades lighter than your skin tone, and the contour needs to exist a 2 shades darker. A kit may work for most people, just if information technology doesn't, you lot'll have to buy the powders separately.^[three]
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Buy the powders separately if you cannot find the correct kit. Contouring kits are just a set of pressed powders that are a few shades lighter and darker than your skin tone. This means that yous tin employ just most whatsoever pressed pulverisation, such as foundation or blush, as long as it works with your undertone and tone.^[iv]
- Eyeshadow tends to be more than intense in color than other powders, so it's harder to work with. If you do utilise eyeshadow, choose matte for your shadows and either matte or shimmery for your highlights.
- Do not buy loose powder. Utilise pressed pulverisation; it is easier to apply.
5
Do non apply bronzer or illuminator on your nose. Bronzer is also shimmery and won't cast natural shadows. Illuminator is too too shimmery. While you tin can employ it to a higher place your lips or on your cheeks, you lot don't desire to use information technology in areas that will become shiny, like your olfactory organ.
- Using illuminator on your nose will arrive fifty-fifty more shiny.
6
Obtain a choice of clean, natural-hair powder brushes. Camelhair brushes will work the best, simply you can employ other brushes that are soft and fluffy. Have a selection of large, small-scale, and medium brushes. Blush and angled contour brushes piece of work cracking here.
- Exercise not use brushes with stiff or synthetic bristles, such as lipstick or foundation brushes.
- If your powders are more than flossy, consider using a makeup sponge or beauty blender instead.

1
Start with a clean, toned, and moisturized face. Launder your face with warm h2o and a facial soap suitable for your skin type. Pat your face dry with a clean towel, then apply toner. Stop off with moisturizer.
- Look for the moisturizer to blot into your skin before proceeding.
- Even people with oily pare should use moisturizer. Brand sure that the product is labeled for oily peel, even so.
2

Employ a face primer, if desired. While non admittedly necessary, a face primer will fill in any pores and fine lines. It volition make your confront smoother, and go far easier to utilise the foundation.
3
Apply your choice of foundation and concealer. Choose a foundation that matches your peel tone and undertone. Apply the foundation using your preferred method (i.e. sponge, brush, or fingers). Exist certain to alloy it in well and allow it dry.^[5]
- If you wish to use concealer, apply it at this fourth dimension. Call up to alloy it in.
4
Utilise the rest of your makeup as desired, except for the contour. This includes things similar lipstick, eyebrows, eyeshadow, eyeliner, and mascara. You tin can apply all of these, or you can omit some of them for a more than natural look.^[vi]
- If you lot prefer a more natural expect, rummage your brows and use lip lotion or lip gloss instead of lipstick.
- You will not be using any blush at all when contouring your face.
5

Set your makeup with translucent powder. When it comes to makeup, you should apply liquid products over liquid products, and powder products over powder. Setting your foundation with setting pulverisation will non but help keep your makeup in place, merely it will likewise give the contouring powders a smooth surface to stick to.

1
Focus on bringing out your natural features. Like shoes, contouring is not a "i size fits all." Everyone'due south face is shaped differently. Some people will want to contour just their nose, while others made desire to contour their jaw.
- Contouring can assistance y'all balancing your features and enhancing what y'all love about your face.
- Contouring your nose is optional, but it's best not to contour but one role of your face, as this could look unnatural.
2

Note where the highlights fall naturally on your face. Again, everyone's face is different. Step into a well-light room with a mirror, and take annotation of where the highlights and shadows fall naturally on your face up. These are the areas that you volition exist applying the highlighter and contour to.
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Burnish your face upwards by applying highlighter to your cheekbones. Detect where the low-cal hits your cheekbones, or suck your cheeks in to find your cheekbones. Apply a medium to big-sized castor to apply highlighter along the acme of your cheekbones. Blend the powder in upwards towards your optics. This will burnish the surface area under your optics too as emphasize your cheekbones announced.^[seven]
- If yous have very prominent cheekbones, focus instead on the area in the centre of your face up, just under your optics, and around the sides of your nose.
4
Apply highlighter to your forehead and alloy it out. Use a medium to large castor to utilize highlighter to the middle of your forehead, correct between your brows. Blend the highlighter in using radiating up strokes. Make sure that you lot alloy the highlighter in higher up your eyebrows likewise.^[8]
- Focus more on the center of your brow. Do non utilize highlighter to your temples or hairline.
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Use a sparse brush to highlight your nose bridge. Take a small eyeshadow brush, then rotate it so that the bristles are oriented vertically. This will give yous a squeamish, sparse line. Utilise the castor to draw a sparse line downwardly the eye of your nose, from top to bottom. Sweep a clean brush upwardly and down the side edges of the highlighter to alloy it in.
- If you have a wide nose that you wish was a trivial skinnier, make the line thinner. A pointed, pucker eyeshadow brush volition work great here.
- Highlighting your nose is optional.
6

Stop off with your mentum. Use a medium-sized brush to employ a dab of highlighter to your chin. Alloy information technology out using long, low-cal strokes with your castor. This is a bang-up idea for those with modest or weak chins. If y'all have a big or prominent chin, y'all might want to skip this step.
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Add highlighter to any other areas you'd like to emphasize. For example, if you have a very weak jaw, you could utilise highlighter to your jawline. Some people also like to use highlighter to their cupid's bow with a tiny, eyeliner castor.

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ane
Annotation where the shadows autumn naturally on your face. Again, anybody'south face is dissimilar. Footstep into a well-light room with a mirror, and take note of where the highlights and shadows autumn naturally on your face up. These are the areas that you will be applying the highlighter and contour to.
- If your pare tone is night enough, and so the highlighter may give y'all enough contrast so that you don't need the profile.
2
Apply cheek profile to the hollows of your cheeks to slim them down. Use a medium-sized castor to apply the contour pulverization into the hollows of your cheeks, below the highlighter, leaving a slim gap. There should exist a pocket-sized gap at the round of the cheek where blending occurs. Focus on the surface area closest to your ear; the contour should exist very thin and light the closer it gets to your mouth.^[9]
- If you have very prominent cheekbones or sunken cheeks, then y'all might not need to contour this area.
- Don't worry about blending everything in but yet. You'll exercise that at the cease.
- Suck your cheeks in if you have troubles finding the hollows.
3
Employ powder to your forehead and temples, if desired. Use a medium-sized brush to utilise shadow around the tiptop of your face, right along your hairline and temples. Employ the shadows that fall naturally upon your face as a guide. Alloy the shadow along your hairline towards the middle of your forehead.^[10]
- If you lot have a small brow, you may not take much shadow at the top of your brow, which is fine. You are working with your natural features, later on all!
- For a more masculine look, make the shadows at the temples more angled and prominent.
4

Add contour to your jaw to slim it down, if desired. Use a medium-sized brush to utilise profile to the edge of your jaw--it should rest right below the highlighter, if you added information technology. This is a neat way to slim downwards your jaw or make it appear more angular.^[11]
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Slim down your olfactory organ by adding profile to the sides. Use a sparse brush to apply a thin line of contour to either side of your nose bridge, next to the highlighter, leaving a slim gap for blending. Blend the shadow away from the highlighter and towards your face.^[12]
- Do not apply contour to your unabridged olfactory organ, or it will terminate up too intense. It is better to apply but a thin line, then blend information technology out.
- Do non alloy the profile over your nostrils. Instead, sweep information technology downwards and under the tip of your nose.
6

Apply profile to whatever other desired areas. Use your natural shadows as a guide. For case, if you lot have shadows under your lip or around your chin, utilize more profile there. Some people likewise like to use a thin line of contour down the center of their lip (fulcrum).
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Alloy the contoured areas until no harsh lines remain. Beginning by running a large, clean brush along the edges where highlighter meets contour. Next, blend the shadows away from the highlighted edges, as needed. For example, if you applied contour to the hollows of your cheeks, blend it downward. Use large brushes for big areas, such every bit your brow, and small brushes for small areas, such as your nose.^[13]
- For small areas, such as the fulcrum, just run a clean brush along that area to soften it upward.

1

Apply a light dusting of setting powder to your T-zone. Use a large, make clean powder brush to use a low-cal dusting of translucent setting powder all over your face up. Focus on the areas that will go the most oily, typically your olfactory organ, forehead, and chin.^[14]
2

Soften any harsh lines with a heavier awarding of setting pulverisation. If at that place are whatsoever areas where you experience that you lot applied profile heavily, apply a generous dusting of translucent setting pulverization. Let it sit down for a few minutes, then dust it off.^[fifteen]
3
Do any final touch-ups with illuminator, if needed. Take a await at your face in the mirror from various angles. If you experience that some areas could use more than highlighter, employ a shimmery illuminator to those areas. For example, you could apply some to your nose bridge or cheekbones.^[16]
- Remember to use the appropriate-sized brush for these areas.
- Your makeup is done at this point. If you really desire to, yous tin can apply a light coating of setting pulverization or setting spray.

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Practice you put on pulverization earlier or after contouring?

Laura Martin is a Licensed Cosmetologist in Georgia. She has been a hair stylist since 2007 and a cosmetology teacher since 2013.

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How practice you blend in contour?

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Practise you put foundation on earlier you profile your face?

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Utilize less contour than you think you need. It is easier to utilise more later than to take any away.
If yous applied as well much contour, you can soften it up by dusting a pressed powder that matches your skin tone over it.
If you don't desire to practice the residue of your makeup, apply the contour over your daily foundation and setting pulverization.
Use the natural highlights and shadows on your face up as a guide. Everyone's face will exist different.
Remember: less is more. Do not overdo it!

Things You'll Need

Setting powder
Pressed powder ii shades lighter than your pare tone
Press powder 2 shades darker than your peel tone
Powder brushes in various sizes (eyeshadow, blush, etc.)

About This Article

Article Summary X

Combining contour with highlighter tin can requite you a glowing, healthy complexion and enhance your favorite features. Kickoff by applying your primer, foundation, concealer, eye shadow, and whatsoever other makeup you lot'd like to vesture. And so, add highlighter wherever the calorie-free naturally falls on your skin, like your cheekbones, the center of your forehead, and the bridge of your nose. When you've finished your highlighter, add contour to the hollows of your cheeks, below the highlighter. You can also add together contour to your forehead along your hairline, your temples, jawline, and the sides of your nose. Blend your contour and highlighter with the rest of your makeup using clean brushes. Finally, add a little setting pulverisation on top to hold your makeup in place. For more tips from our Beauty co-writer, including how to choose the right profile products for your pare tone, read on!

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