How To:

How To: Contour

We've all seen girls, and men in fact, with beautiful bone structure, and envied them. Profusely.
Whether it be amazing cheek bones, defined jaw lines or even both! Some people just are lucky and are born with such amazing features that they can get away with little or none when it comes to makeup, and yet still look dramatic and 'made up'.
As for myself, I am not so fortunate, so I have to resort to the fakery that is; contouring. A lot of budding makeup artists and beauty fanatics see that word and run a mile, it can be difficult to achieve success when it comes to this particular makeup application but remember there are many different approaches and ways you can achieve it successfully; be it from the use of powder or liquid or whatever else takes your fancy.

Today I went for a simple approach, using powder which has so far  been the easiest way I have been able to achieve more defined cheek bones.

One day I will go into more depth on contouring other aspects of your face such as the nose and even how to shape your lips, but today we will start of easy with the cheeks!


STEP ONE:
I began with a blank canvas. Well, to an extent. Begin your beauty regime as normal, in my case this is eyes, mascara, moisture&prime then proceed to foundation.

 STEP TWO:
Okay, so for this tutorial I decided to use powder to contour. Now the powder you choose is completely up to you whether you want a soft, subtle result like I am aiming for, or whether you want a very dramatic contoured look. In my opinion it's always best to begin soft and you can build on it later if need be.
I reached for my MAC Studio Fix Powder Foundation which I purchased in NW45 for contouring purposes.
I would recommend either using your bronzer or buying a powder foundation that is 2-3 shades darker than your own skin tone, that way it is visible but not too dark.
I used my Estee Lauder Blush Brush but use whatever you have. I suggest using a small brush so you don't apply too much and avoid looking
like your bronzer tried to kill you.

STEP 3:
Lightly dab your brush into your powder and just pick up a small amount of powder. Tap off the excess onto the back of your hand.
Now is the "hard part", you need to find the hollow of your cheek which is just under your cheek bone.
You want to apply the powder so it sweeps over the hollow of the cheek and just slightly onto your cheek bone to give the illusion of depth on your face.
Sweep the brush gently back and forth over your cheeks until all the powder is dispersed evenly. Take a look and see whether it's too light or dark and from then decide to add more or continue to step four.

 STEP 4:
Now the hardest part is over! All you have to do is blend it in. Contouring is mainly difficult for two reasons, making sure you're contouring in the right place, and making sure it isn't obvious you've done it...
I've definitely seen some awful attempts before and it's mainly because they haven't blended the powder in and have left a very visible line.
There are two ways I like to blend
1.) Pick up a clean powder/blush brush, Sweep on some pressed powder until it's less visible.
Or, 2.) Wipe the brush you were already using onto a tissue to remove excess powder on the brush and just continue to blend into your cheek with the brush, Use the brush in circular motions and gradually build up to your brown bone, forehead area to really blend in the colour.
Either of those methods will work it's just whatever is easiest for you.

Voila! Contoured cheeks. Obviously feel free to use a darker colour or add more depending on how defined you want them to be.
Hope you found this useful and good luck!