A Beginner's Guide to Contouring

Welcome to Makeup Tips! Today, we're taking a step back from our usual advanced guides to bring you A Beginner's Guide to Contouring. Let's start by understanding what contouring actually is. Broadly speaking, contouring is a makeup technique which involves using light and dark shades to define and enhance the features of our face. It's all about creating shadows and highlights to add depth and dimension, giving your face a beautifully sculpted look. This may sound a bit intimidating to beginners, but once you understand the basics, it's not that complicated at all. In this guide, we'll be focusing mainly on how to contour with a cream or liquid product, although the same principles apply if you're using a powder product.

To begin with, you need to understand your face shape. Whether you have a round, rectangular, oval, or heart-shaped face, contouring can give your features a more defined, attractive appearance. Start by mapping out the areas on your face that you want to define – typically, this includes the cheekbones, the sides of the nose, the jawline, and the forehead. Once you've decided on these areas, you can begin with the contouring process. First, apply a cream or liquid contour product to your face, in the areas that you want to define. Make sure that the shade of the contour product is two shades darker than your natural skin color. Then, blend the product into your skin using a beauty sponge or a contouring brush. Remember to blend well to avoid harsh lines and make the contouring appear natural.

The next step is to highlight. Use a lighter shade than your skin color to highlight areas where the light naturally hits your face- usually, the center of your forehead, the bridge of your nose, the area under your eyes, and your chin. This will help to make those areas stand out, giving your face a more defined and contoured look. Finally, set your contouring and highlighting with a loose setting powder to ensure that everything stays in place. Remember, contouring is about enhancing your natural features, not about drastically changing the way you look. Practice makes perfect, so don't be discouraged if you don't get it right the first time. Keep trying and you'll soon be contouring like a pro! Stay tuned to Makeup Tips for more such tutorials and tips.