Highlighting and contouring
Beauty and makeup go hand-in-hand; anyone experiencing life in Dhaka will know how busy our schedules are, with all the weddings and parties and other social events crashing together. These days makeup and its changing styles have taken up a big spot in the fashion scene, with highlighting and contouring being the latest rage.
So what is contouring? Contouring basically means creating shadows. These shadows help to define certain areas, enhance shapes and with the help of the highlighters, give a more sculpted look.
A favourite for makeup artists to use on their models, this has now conquered the lives of many women who do this on regular basis to give their facial features certain shapes. With all the YouTube makeup tutorials, women are learning this technique quite fast.
When highlighting and contouring, there is a fine line between one enhancing their best features and one painting on an entirely new face. It is used to bring out your cheekbones, slim the nose, and subtly sculpt the face. The key to successful contouring is to keep it subtle, but effective.
It is of absolute importance to pick the right products. It is always advisable to keep the contouring part matte, not shimmery. A matt bronzer or cream concealer, one or two shades darker than your skin tone,will do the work.
An angled brush will help create the shades in the cheeks perfectly. For smaller areas, like the sides of the nose, a small contour brush or an eyeshadow fluff brush would do it.
It is necessary to create shadows at the right places. For instance,when doing your cheekbones, suck in your cheeks, and work from the top of the hollow inwards, shading along the sunken area, and then blend well with a sponge or your finger. To slim the nose, blend two lines of the cream or powder from the beginning of the brows down the sides of the bridge of the nose with a small brush.
Highlighting is basically putting light on your face. The intention is to make those parts more prominent. It would be wise to pick a highlighter one shade lighter than your tone, preferably with as little shimmer as possible. A product with just a little bit of shine will give the face a radiant glow.
There are various liquid or powder-based highlighters available in numerous shades. Choose one that suits your tone, brightening it but at the same time, looking natural.
It is very important to not put on too much highlighter, as many people tend to do. Put the product up and down your cheekbones, on the brow bones, the centre of the chin and a little tap on the tip of your nose.
It is a must to know your own face shape. For a round shape, contouring makes the cheeks look smaller, on a narrow face and it makes it look even longer. The best would be to shade along the top of the forehead and a bit on the chin.
And finally, blend. Blending is the key to making the makeup look either gorgeous or gross. Looking artificial is never wanted, so blend well to bring that natural look. Practice well, because practice makes perfect. Keep calm and contour and highlight perfectly!
By Lameya Alma Amin
Photo: LS Archive
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