Contouring Tips For Beginners

(Last Updated On: June 3, 2023)

You’ve probably heard of contouring before, it isn’t exactly anything new, but it can be a little confusing, especially if you’ve never tried it out for yourself or if you’ve come across those crazy contour looks that are all over the internet. (Seriously, have you seen some of those?!)

Simply put, contouring is an easy way to give shape to your face, and enhance the natural beauty of it as well. This makes it a total game-changer in the makeup world.

What may seem difficult at first glance, is actually a lot easier than one might think, especially after reading these 6 contouring tips that are perfect for beginners!

Contouring Tips for Beginners | Flawless Makeup 101

Know what contouring is

Before we get into the rest of the contouring tips, let’s go over the basics real quick.

Contouring is a technique that uses makeup to enhance and sculpt the face. When contouring, a shade that’s one to two shades darker than your skin tone would be used to shadow features you’re looking to slim or diminish, and a highlighter, (that’s usually a concealer that is one to two shades lighter than your skin tone), would be placed on areas that you’d like to highlight or draw eyes to.

So basically, you’re trying to place a shadow over features you’d like to diminish and highlighting features you’d like to show off.

That’s why you’ll commonly see people highlighting the top part of their cheeks or the tip of their nose to draw attention to those areas, and shadowing the hollows of their cheeks and sides of the nose to create a more slimming effect.

This technique allows you to sculpt your face, adding dimension and enhancing your already beautiful features!

Know which products to use

Knowing which products to use and when to use them is one of the most essential contouring tips.

Like every other beauty product, you’ll be choosing between creams, liquids, and powders. Creams and liquids would be applied after liquid foundation, but before setting powder. A powder contour product would be applied after your setting powder.

Your concealer will likely be a cream or liquid and if you choose to set it, you’ll be setting it with a powder product after the liquid or cream.

Whatever you use really comes down to your own personal preference. Some people prefer cream or liquid products, others prefer powders.

Two of my personal favorite contour products include the WetnWild MegaGlo Contour Makeup Stick and the Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Kit.

Use guides based on your face shape, but don’t take them to heart

There are tons of visual guides, (like this one), on how to contour based on your face shape and they can be extremely helpful if you have no idea where to start when it comes to contouring.

But keep in mind, that you don’t have to take them literally. As in, just because your face is a certain shape, doesn’t mean you have to contour the exact way they’re showing you to. Use it as a starting off point and experiment to find out what works best for you. Makeup is subjective, and totally not meant to be restrictive, so feel free to break the contour-face-chart-rules a little.

Blend!

The number one way to achieve a natural looking contour, (and one of the most important contouring tips), blend.

Blending out your contour could literally make or break your entire makeup look. Because the shades you’re using are a few shades lighter and darker, you’re going to have to blend the products out to make sure it looks natural.

If you skip out on blending, you’re defeating the whole purpose of contouring, because the difference between the shade of your foundation and the shades you used for your contour is too drastic, you’ll end up with nothing but harsh lines. And you really don’t want any harsh lines.

To bake or not to bake

Baking is a term often associated with contouring. Baking is when you allow translucent setting powder to sit on your face, usually on top of your concealer, for about 5-10 minutes. This is believed to allow the heat from your face to set your foundation and concealer and leave your skin looking flawless and smooth.

Baking isn’t essential, but it can be helpful if you’re looking to create more dramatic looks, or if you just want to make sure your concealer doesn’t crease.

Finishing it off

Once you’ve set your makeup, whether you’ve baked or not, you can add a few more products to really add shape and definition to your face. Say hello to the finishing touch trio ; blush, bronzer, and highlight.

Bronzer can be used to add a little more color to your contour especially if you’re aiming for a more dramatic look, or even if you just want to add a little more depth to your face.

Blush adds a pretty color to your cheeks, (hello rosy glow), and also helps draw attention to them.

And highlight is the cherry on top. Apply it to your cheeks, your nose, your cupids bow and anywhere else you’d like eyes to be drawn to. Go blinding or subtle, either way your look is guaranteed to look beautiful when you’re all done!

What are some of your must-know contouring tips?!

Never touched a contouring palette in your life? Don’t know the difference between matte or dewy foundation? Want your makeup to look like the pros in the easiest and most effortless way possible? Or maybe you just want to take your already bomb af makeup to the next level.

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