How to: Contour, Blush and Highlight

Bid your sweetest farewell to flat and round face by learning the basics of contouring, blush and higlighting.

One magic of makeup is to create illusions of shadows and highlight to enhance great features and lessen certain unwanted areas on the face. This makeup technique simply define and enhance once face shape.

**CONTOUR**

Importance/Benefit: Creating a false shadow by using a darker matte tone making it appear as if there is depth which brings out or lessen features.

What to use: couple of shades darker than your natural skin. 

Important to use contouring products with matte finish for a more natural looking shadow than using bronzers with shimmers (which will just defeat the purpose contouring). An angled face brush which is not too thick and flimsy nor dense help get into the hollows of the face well.

Areas to contour:

*If you have wide forehead- apply to each temple and blend well.

 *If you want slimmer and pointed nose- apple on the sides of your nose evenly. Add a lighter color on the bridge.

*If you want higher cheekbones: Suck in and do a fish face. Apply darker shades on the hollows. Don't over do. Contour lightly and make sure to blend well. Getting the right shade and applying to right areas are the key to avoid muddy contour look (LOL I just made this phrase up)

*Other areas to contour may also be: lips, chin, eyes

**BLUSH**

Benefit: Add a pop of color on your face. There are tons of different shades of blush. I am personally in love with blushes, mainly the pinks and peaches. They just scream---youthfulness, color and fun! For lazy days, no need for eyeshadows, just slap on your fave blush and lippie and bye-bye to stress or dull looking face.

Comes in different colors and forms i.e. pressed, baked, creams, tints and the loose powders.

Can also be applied using brushes, fingers or puffs.

Blush also comes in matte (no shimmers or anything just plain color), satin (have that pearl finish but not absolutely glittery nor matte), shimmery (chunks of glitters can be seen).

Ways and technique:

*If you want a higher cheekbones-apply only the apples of the cheeks blending it well with your contour.

*If you want to slim down your face just by using blush- apply in a higher angular shape.

*If you want to widen your face-apple the blush horizontally straight and blending it well.

**HIGHLIGHT**

Importance/Benefit: Accentuates the good. I love using highlighter. 

It just instantly adds a youthful glow to my skin!

What to use: few shades lighter than your normal skin tone. Comes in either matte or shimmery highlight finish. It can also be in powder or cream form.

*Apply the light colour onto the high planes of face such as:

Tops of cheekbones (above the blush forming a C-shape going toward the browbone area),

Bow of the lip and of course the nose bridge.

Here's a reference photo:

Brown-obviously connotes contour, pink for the blush and white for the highlight.

I hope this simple and brief explanation helped some of you who wanted to know the basics of the three.

It really makes a difference when you add dimension on your face rather than flat and for some who have round face. Why not try and practice? I'm pretty sure you'll get the hang of it and eventually find yourself making this a habit. 

Appreciate what you have and enhance it.

That's the beauty of makeup.

Thanks for reading and hope you have a wonderful day ahead.

'Til my next post dearies.

xo,

Jannah