Everyone LOVED Torrey’s post about foundation last week, and I’m sure you all are awaiting part 2 which focuses on highlighting and contouring. I won’t delay any longer, here it is!
After applying your foundation, you face becomes flat because it is all one color. Naturally, especially for women of color, our faces are slightly darker around the perimeter and lighter in the middle. To bring back the depth and light to your face, contouring and highlighting are necessary.
Contouring brings shadows to the face, making the area where contoured seem more distant or smaller. While highlighting does this exact opposite. You highlight the areas of your face where light naturally falls.
The areas of your face that are usually contoured are the hollows of the cheeks, the jawline, sides of the nose, and temples.
The areas of your face that are usually highlighted are under the eyes, tops of cheeks, bridge of the nose, middle of the forehead, cupid’s bow (the area right above the middle of your upper lip), and chin.
You can choose to use powder, cream, or even liquid products to contour and highlight. To create the effect, you must contour with a shade that is one to two shades darker than your natural skin tone. To highlight, you’ll use a shade that is one to two shades lighter than your natural skin tone.
This is an EXTREMELY EXAGGERATED example of contouring and highlighting to show the placement of the products. It will look similar to this when you apply, but the key is blending!
For the contour I used Bobbi Brown’s powder bronzer in Bahama and to highlight I used Bobbi Brown’s creamy concealer in honey.
When highlighting under your eyes, you can choose to take the product all the way up to just where your brows end, or even to your temples, in a “V” shape. Or you can choose to leave it directly under your eyes.
To blend the highlight, I used a cosmetic wedge. This allowed me to blend while keeping the highlighted areas bright. If you use a brush and blend too much, you will blend away the highlight and you’ll need to reapply your product.
Here is a picture of everything slightly blended. Still very exaggerated.
Finished blending…
Contouring my nose made it appear to be smaller and more chiseled. Contouring the hollows of the cheeks makes your cheek bones stand out more, this along with highlighting the tops of the cheeks. Contouring your temples, slightly into your forehead, makes your forehead appear smaller.
I’ll admit, this looks quite scary! LOL!
But again, this is very exaggerated, I don’t go so heavy on the contour and never contour my nose or temples.
Before & After 🙂
Can you tell the difference? If so, leave a comment!
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Your Chic is Showing,
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Thanks for this information. You just gave me a great idea. I’ve been trying to narrow down my products for countouring and highlighting. I use Bobbi Brown Illuminating Finish Powder Compact Foundation in Golden and I use Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer Kit in Honey just under my eyes. For countouring I’ve settle on Makeup Forever Mat Bronze #40 because I just loved it when I tried it on in Sephora last week. I was going to try a drug store to mid level pressed powder foundation for contouring. But why not use my Bobbi Brown Concealer? I’m going to try it with a wider area when I get the Makeup Forever bronzer. The only problem I forsee is that I will have to buy concealer more often than the year it lasts and I hope its not to thick for a wider area. I have oily skin and prefer powders. But we’ll see. I wanna try.
thank you!
you don’t want to use too much concealer in your under-eye area as it’ll cause it to crease much easier. when you’re applying the concealer, use a pressing motion as opposed to a swiping motion, swiping with a brush causes you to swipe product away.
for everyday, you don’t have to take the concealer up to your temples, that makes your highlight more dramatic. keeping it in the area right under your eye will help you to retain product.
also, Bobbi Brown makes excellent correctors. applying that first, then the concealer over it will also help you to save products. the corrector helps mask discoloration (dark circles) while the concealer brightens.
try that and let us know how it goes 🙂
You look great