If you weren’t born with the bone structure of Madonna, Halle Berry, J.Lo, Diane Kruger, or Kate Moss, don’t worry your pretty little head. Use these tips from from makeup artist Mally Roncal and learn how to use makeup to fake it.
Sure, contouring seems like a scary-complicated thing to do, but it actually isn’t — “all you need to do it properly is a highlighter and a shaping powder, like a sheer taupe eyeshadow (since this looks similar to your skin tone) to manipulate light and add depth to your face,” Roncal says. You can also use a powder foundation one or two shades darker than your skin color instead of a taupe eyeshadow, if that’s what you prefer. “But the key is to use products that look like your skin only a little darker, so the contouring looks believe-able.”
1. To create killer cheekbones:
Take a cream or powder highlighter that suits your skin tone (pinkish-champagne-colored one if you’re fair, a golden one if you’re medium or dark) and apply it right on top of your cheekbones with your fingertips, from the apple of your cheeks and outward, directly below the outer corner of your eyes. The combination of the placement of the highlighter and the luminous particles it contains will instantly make them standout!
2. If your jawline is soft/isn’t as sharp as you’d like it to be:
Using a shaping powder, start behind your ear and blend the formula with a contouring brush along your jawline until you reach the tip of your chin. Repeat this step on your opposite side. Then, be sure to blend it underneath your chin and onto your neck, to avoid any lines of demarcation.
3. To make your nose look slimmer:
Remember that less is more with this area, especially since your nose is at the forefront of your face. So, using the head of your eyebrow as a guideline, apply a stripe of highlighter down both sides of the center of your nose. Having a lighter product on the sides of your nose creates the illusion of a slimmer nose overall. Then, you’ll want to take a little bit of shaping powder (or powder foundation that’s one shade darker than your skin) and blend that into the tip of your nose, followed by a dab of highlighter to even it out.
4. To create the look of a slimmer face:
If you wake up and feel like your face is swollen or puffy and you want some definition, use a powder foundation one or two shades darker than your skin tone to “slim” your face. Start by sucking in your cheeks and making a fish face — that way the fullness of your cheeks goes away and you’re left with the hollows of your cheeks standing out. Next, take your powder foundation and apply it, using a contouring brush, right where the hollows of your cheeks — in the puckered spot — because that is naturally where the shadowing would be if you had strong cheekbones. Blend the color a bit to ensure a flawless application.
5. To make your collarbone pop:
If you’re wearing a revealing top or dress and want your clavicle bones to stand out, take some highlighting shimmer powder and pop it right on the tops of your collarbone of the shoulders. You can even swirl your blending brush into a champagne-colored eyeshadow to do the trick!