How to Contour your Face with make up

I get asked a lot for a Kim Kardashian glow when I'm applying make up and I guess some people do not realise how much time and make up it actually involves!! So I thought I would show you how to do a quick and simple contouring to create a brightened slightly contoured look without wearing too much make up to get you started. Once you have cracked it, I will show you have to create a highly proffessional contoured look. 

All contoured ladies!

Firstly I am going to tell you what items you will need to recreate this look:

1. A light concealer 2 shades lighter than your skin colour. In the picture I used Luminess Air Concealer in Light Beige.

2. A dark concealer or foundation to create shadows. In the picture I used L’Oreal True Match in Cappuccino

3. Your normal foundation shade. In the picture I used L’Oreal True Match in Vanillia.

4. Your normal concealer shade. In the picture I used Dermablend foundation in Opal as a concealer.

5. 2 concealer brushes (1 for dark and one for light) and your normal foundation brush.

6. Finishing powder to set. I use Laura Mercier Translucent Finishing Powder.

Step by step.

bare face with just concealer under eyes and on blemishes

I start off by using my normal concealer to cover any spots or blemishes and a little to cover bags under my eyes. If you don’t suffer blemishes or have really dark circles you can miss this bit out!

Where to Contour

Above is the illustration we are trying to mimic when contouring. First start off with the light parts using your light concealer.

although the illustration takes the under eye down the sides of the nose to the lips, I prefer doing two triangles with flicks sort of like the Nike ticks going up to the eyes. This creates an upwards motion to the eyes and makes them appear more youthful. This is especially great if you have downturn eyes or hooded eyes, as it will lessen the effect.

I also create a triangle in the middle of the forehead, bringing a small straight line down the centre of the nose. Make sure this line is straight and even. I also place some the concealer on my cupids bow and the centre of my chin and a final stripe on my browbone just below my eyebrows.

Next take your dark colour. If you place your fingers to the join where your ear meets your face you will feel for the jaw bone. This is the line we want to follow. Draw your line from the ear down to the hollow of the cheek.

Next place the dark colour just below your jaw line in a downwards motion. This creates more of a shadow giving the illusion of a tighter, slimmer jaw line.

Also place two circles above your brow near the temples.

Place two very thin lines along the side of your nose by the sides of the light stripe you placed down the centre of the nose.

Take the lines up into the eye socket and along the crease and pull it out into your temples. Think eyeliner flicks but in your crease instead of the lash line. 

When you are done you will look a little like this!

unblended Contours

Now with your normal foundation brush. For this I use a real techniques buffing brush. Blend the colouring a little into the skin so that the lines are blurred.

Now take your normal foundation and lightly apply to your face buffing it into the contouring colours. Ensure that it’s all blended well. You shouldn’t be able to make out any stripes.

Finish with a covering of finishing powder and brush a soft pink colour onto the apples of your cheeks. For this I used illamasque blush in naked rose. For the finished picture below I also used Elizabeth Arden’s 8 hour tinted lip balm in blush and L’Oreal million lashes mascara in black.

Finshed look

So just for comparision I've put the before and after together. Notice how my face looks more 3D, my eyes look more almond shaped and the centre of my face looks brighter?

Before

After