beauty talks: conturing make-up

Let’s talk about the latest craze on Pinterest lately, conturing make-up. You’ve all seen the pics of girl with the tribal looking make-up all over her face & you’ve just sat their confused as to what was going on. Or you’re the one who is in awe of the before & after pics you’ve seen & you wondered if this photoshop make-up bliss could be real. Well ladies, I was in the same boat. I first learned about conturing make-up on Pinterest by seeing the above linked pins. I was disbelief. I never knew or even thought to think that make-up could be used to sculpt your face & make it appear thinner & longer. Face palm, cause that’s cheapest & easiest plastic surgery around. Just kidding, but it seriously does the same trick. So I searched pins high & low to find out about the best products to use & how exactly to do it. I watched one YouTube video on it (I don’t remember which one or else I’d link it) & after that I was ready to try it out for myself. And I thought what the heck? Let’s share my contouring journey with my readers since I’m sure they’ve just as interested in it as I am! So let’s go, here’s how I contour & some tips I’ve learned about it along the way!

So here’s one of my everyday basic make-up looks before conturing. You can find out how I do it & the products I use, here. All my make-up is done, except no blush or bronzer & I just have basic powder foundation on. The trick to contouring is taking a lighter tone of make-up to highlight certain features on your face & a darker tone of make-up to bring out or sculpt other areas of your face.

First step is highlighting. I use the L’OREAL PARIS true match super-blendable crayon concealer in fair/light. You want a color that is 1/2 shades lighter than your skin tone. You apply it down the center of the nose, the forehead, under the eyes, & under the cheek bone across the jawline. This crayon works great for spreading the product & getting it exactly where you want it to go. Your face should now look like this…

Sweet. Stay there. Now onto the sculpting part of conturing with the darker tone.

For this part I use the L’OREAL PARIS true match super-blendable crayon concealer in medium/deep. This one is 1-2 tones darkerthan your skin tone. You apply this color around the edge of your hairline from temple to temple, the outline of your nose, across the cheek bone, & just barely under the jawline. You should look real tribal like this!

Looks great, I know. But here comes the best part, blending!

I like to use this little spongey pointed ball. I forget the name but I got it for like 4 bucks at Ulta & it works great. The shape helps to get into the corners of my eyes & lets me use the one sponge for both shades since it had the two identical ends. You can dab or rub/smear to blend the make-up in. I do a little bit of both. And it takes some work, but it eventually blends & looks flawless.

I’ve been using this NYX matte bronzer in Medium & some brushes to fine tune what the crayon does. I just dab a little over the cheeks with a blush brush, & use an old eyeshadow brush to re-define the line along my nose. And a little on my neck too just cause all the pictures say too okay!

Then I’ll take this NYX Mineral “Set It & Don’t Fret It” Matte Finishing Powder in Medium/Dark & lighting brush it all over my face. It just blends & sets the whole deal. After that you’re all done! I normally re/touch up my eye make-up after this point. Redo the liner, add some mascara, curl the eyelashes, & go over the brows just to define the look a bit more. And add tinted lip balm. Then I’m done!

Let’s compare!

I’m still not a pro at it & I’m constantly trying it out in different ways. But you can tell that it makes a difference! Crazy, huh? It really only takes about 2 extra minutes to do it & you probably don’t need as much highlighter as I put on. I was just showing y’all for effect. But try it out! It’s easy & cheap to do! I’ve been doing it everyday since I bought my products & I love the difference it makes. I wouldn’t do my make-up routine without it anymore, especially since I take my outfit pictures everyday. But you could just do it for special events or weekends. I love it & challenge you to try it out! You won’t be disappointed ladies.

—abbey kay