If you haven’t heard of contouring yet, then surely you’ve been living under a rock! One of the reigning beauty trends of the last few years, the makeup technique allows you to define the contours of the face and even change the appearance of your facial features, although done incorrectly can spell disaster.
Ahead of the launch of his RescuMe Academy course, Be Your Own Makeup Artist, international MUA Nigel Stanislaus shared with us his best tips and tricks when it comes to contouring, so you too can #BeTheExpert.
Nigel stresses that he is a fan of contouring use to subtly sculpt the face, rather than using it as a blanket of pigment on your complexion.
image via pinterest
“A lot of women overdo contouring by using way too much product,” he says. “Less is definitely more, as you’re not really supposed to be able to detect it on the skin.”
One of the best ways to check if you haven’t layered on too much cream or powder contour? Check your makeup in both strong natural and artificial lighting to ensure it is well blended into your base.
“A big mistake I see is women applying their contour in bad lighting,” Nigel says. “The result of contouring in dark or poor lighting is that when you’re in daylight, you can see what looks like six layers of powder, poorly blended and it is super obvious.”
If in doubt, Nigel suggests to always opt for a smaller brush to define your features. “Try not to use too much product in too big of an area, otherwise your face can look muddy – you want to use a small of a brush as possible so you can shade just under the cheekbones, not your whole cheek as it tends to look really muddy,” he says. “There’s nothing worse than a muddy application!”
When it comes to which area of the face he is most often asked about when it comes to contouring, it is the nose, hands down!
His tips? “You want to create two lines down the nose, and then to create the illusion of a more pointed nose, I create a V at the tip of the nose,” he says. “I would also highlight the sides of the nose in order to make it look more compact.”
If you are attempting to contour a larger part of your face or body, Nigel follows a simple rule. “The wider the area, the bigger the brush,” he says. “If you want to target an area such as the décolletage, you want to use a big powder brush.
“To me, however, highlighting the collarbones is more effective and you should pay more attention to doing that as well as contouring.
“A trick that we do backstage at Victoria’s Secret is to contour the legs, so the side of the legs are darker and the middle part is a beam of highlight. It works better under artificial lighting, but still gives the illusion of longer-looking legs.”
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