Makeup Highlighting and Contouring
Attention ladies! The art of highlighting and contouring is something that many celebrities have been doing for years. Highlighting and contouring the face creates the illusion of more defined facial features. It can give the appearance of a slimmer face, and it will help enhance your bone structure.
Highlighting
In order to highlight the face, you will need a concealer that is one to two shades lighter than your natural skin tone. You will begin to apply the concealer underneath the eyes, on the bridge of the nose, on the forehead, on the cupids bow (the top of the lip), and the chin. Once the concealer is applied you, will slightly blend the concealer out, making sure that the concealer is evenly blended into your foundation. These areas of your face are being highlighted because it is where the natural light will hit the face. The purpose behind highlighting is to make the targeted areas more visible. It will also give your face a luminous glow. After your face is highlighted in the areas that you wish, it is important to set your concealer with a translucent powder.
Contouring
Highlighting and contouring go hand in hand. Once you highlight, it is important to contour. Contouring the face will create the illusion of a slimmer face. Contouring is used to create an appearance of depth, by making certain areas appear less visible or sunken. You can contour with a liquid or powder. The shade of your contouring product should 2 to 3 shades darker than your skin color. This will create a shadow like illusion on your face. Contour should be placed on the sides of the nose, around the forehead/temple area, the hollow of your cheeks, and on the sides of the face towards the neck/chin area. Wherever you highlight, you should contour around it.
After highlighting and contouring, I always apply a finishing spray to give my face a flawless finish!!
–Iman Hamilton is a native of New Orleans, a university student, model and makeup artist. She is a self-taught entrepreneur with innate talent and a bright future. Photo credit: Beverli Alford
