How to Contour and How to Highlight with Natural Makeup

 How to Contour and How to Highlight with Natural Makeup

Contouring is a trend that’s here to stay. It creates flattering lines in the face, and can obscure any curves or edges you’d rather not spotlight. Highlighting has become a makeup phenomenon — everyone (including us) is obsessed with achieving brilliantly glowing skin via super shimmery highlighters.

In this blog we’ll teach you how to highlight your face, how to apply highlighter, and how to contour and highlight for your face shape (we’ll help you identify your face shape, too). We’ll point you to the right products for each step, including which natural foundations will work best as a highlighting/ contouring base, and will show you which tools to use to get the job done right.

What Is Contouring?

Essentially, when you contour you’re using shading or shadows to create an illusion of recession. Use contouring to help define or reshape your facial features. The areas that are not darkened or shaded then stand out! This can make your cheekbones look more pronounced, your nose more narrow or even help you reduce the appearance of the beloved soft under chin. You’ll instantly transform to a more sculpted Adonis self.

PRO TIP: The key to successful contouring is to always use an opaque matte powder, liquid concealer, or cream foundation.

What Is Highlighting?

When you use the technique of highlighting, you’re doing the opposite of contouring. The areas that have this lighter shade or shimmer will be accentuated and more pronounced. By applying a highlighter we will tell you how to highlight your face or using a strobing effect, you can help emphasize the areas of your face that naturally catch the light.

Contouring and Highlighting in 5 Easy Steps

STEP 1: Select Foundation

Select your usual foundation shade and apply as you normally would. Don’t forget to set yourself up for success by starting with a Mattifying Primer or Luminous Primer.

STEP 2: Shade Key Areas

Choose a Foundation that is a few shades darker than your skin tone or use a Cocoa Pigmented Bronzer. Use the darker foundation shade (or bronzer) and apply it with our Cruelty Free Angled Contour Brush F30 to the areas that you’d like to contour, such as the hollows of your cheeks, temples, hairline, jawline or nose. The Cruelty Free Crease Brush E40 will help you apply the bronzer in a controlled technique in smaller areas such as the sides of your nose or hair line.

STEP 3: Blend It Out

Start with a lighter application at first. You can always add more to build the intensity. It’s much harder to take away than to add on! Make sure to blend, blend, blend so there are no hard visible lines.

STEP 4: Highlight

Select a foundation shade that is 1–2 shades lighter than you would normally wear, or use a highlighter.

STEP 5: Brighten Key Areas

Apply the highlighter or lighter foundation shade to the areas that would naturally catch light. This is generally the tops of your cheekbones, brow bones, bridge of your nose, forehead and chin using our Cruelty Free Angled Contour Brush F30. Layer on a small amount of highlighter to the cheeks, and nose with our Cruelty Free Small Stippling Brush F10.

Conclusion

When choosing a natural foundation for contouring, it’s best to stick to the same finish with your highlighter. Different formulas, like using a powder base foundation then a cream foundation to contour, will have mixed results.