Use a full-size brush designed for blush or those indicating they are for contouring that have a softly angled (rather than flat or square-cut) brush head. Surprisingly, traditional contouring brushes are a poor choice for applying contour because they are usually too stiff, have a flat edge, and can leave visible edges when you apply your color; you want the full end of the blush brush when contouring. Or you can explore some of the softly-shaped contour brushes, which won’t leave hard edges. Tapping off the excess powder before applying, and brushing on the color in short, quick motions going back to the ear will net the best results. Here are some rules of placement to help you most effectively contour your face.
Contouring under or along the jawline: Avoid contouring or shading along any portion of the jawline for daytime. Though this technique can make you look like you’ve lost a few pounds, you can end up with a line of demarcation around the jaw, negating the trouble you went through to find a foundation that leaves no such line. That means it will not look like natural shading. Nevertheless, shading the jawline or just under the chin can be passable for pictures or possibly for evening, but it must be applied very carefully. Shading under the jawline can also result in shading your collar at the same time. Be careful! Be sure to blend well and soften any noticeable edges or concentrations of color.
Contouring under the cheekbone: Place the center of your brush about one-quarter to one-half inch behind the laugh line, and stroke the color straight back, aiming toward the middle of the ear. The area of application should be approximately a half inch in width, with no definite edges visible. Use your sponge to soften hard edges. The starting point for under-cheekbone contouring is almost always the same regardless of the face shape, because the cheekbone corresponds nicely to the laugh line and middle ear area for most women. You can adjust the angle depending on your preferences. The steeper the angle going toward the top of the ear, the longer the face will appear. If you have a square or round face, you might want to try contouring at a steeper angle. The longer the face (as an oblong or triangular face might be), the more horizontal (straight back toward the middle of the ear) the line can be. This, in effect, deemphasizes the length of the face. All this takes experimentation, so be patient until you achieve the look you want. Be sure to blend well and soften any noticeable edges or concentrations of color.
Caution: When applying the under-cheekbone contour, be sure never to blend or place the contour color below the mouth area, below the middle of the ear, or onto the cheekbone itself. There is also no need to suck in your mouth to help find your cheekbones—that will only help you find the sides of the mouth, not the cheekbone.
Contouring the sides of the nose: Although most women think that contouring the nose is strictly to make it look smaller or narrower or longer, there is actually a more artistic reason for using this shading technique. If you’re applying a full makeup, particularly for evening, and you ignore the nose, you will have color everywhere on your face except for a blank spot in the center of the face. Contouring the nose helps to achieve color balance for the whole face when you choose to wear a formal, full-makeup application. It isn’t essential, but it’s a great trick—and one that can be seen on models gracing the covers of almost every fashion magazine out there.
The goal is to make the contour color look absolutely as soft as possible. The challenge is to restrict the color to the sides of the nose. You never want to accidentally blend the color of the nose contour onto the area under your eyes or onto your cheeks. Take extra care to blend only a small amount of contour color on such an obvious focal point.
The best technique for applying the nose contour is to place the brush itself between your fingers and thumb, so the brush tip becomes somewhat flattened. This way the brush tip can more easily follow along the sides of your nose. (You can use the same brush you use for contouring or a very large, flat eyeshadow brush.) Now, take the index finger of your other hand, place it flat down the center of the nose, and apply the contour color along the side of your finger. Where the brush falls against your finger is the area to be contoured. Once you’ve done this, remove your finger and softly apply the contour fully around the tip of the nose and on the flare of the nostrils. Continue the contour in a narrow, soft line up under the eyebrow, avoiding the corner of the eye and the area between the eyebrows. Be sure to blend well and soften any noticeable edges or concentrations of color. Blend using very soft, short strokes and pay careful attention so that you do not spread the contour color onto the cheeks.
Contouring the temple area: Temple contour is a traditional step that is as basic as applying blush. The difference is that most women don’t know about it. Take a look at the cover of any fashion magazine or ad for designer clothes, and you will notice this contouring on most of the models. When temple contour is neatly applied, the eyeshadows at the back of the eye can be blended into it so they don’t end abruptly with a harsh edge of color. Without temple contour, the forehead becomes a great bare wall against the colored background of the cheeks and eyes.
The temple contour is placed next to the back third of the eye near the brow bone, directly out and up onto the forehead like a pie wedge, but without the edges. Temple contour can be applied either before or after the eye-makeup design is in place. If you apply the contour after the eye-makeup design, it is important to place the brush directly over the eyeshadows at the back third of the eye and then brush the contour all the way back to the hairline. If you do the contour first, apply it in the exact same place and in the same way, but when you apply the eyeshadows, blend them directly over and onto the temple contour. Either way, the contour softens the back edge of the eyeshadows.
When temple contour looks wrong or unnatural, it’s usually for one of three reasons:
1. Forgetting that this step begins at the back third of the under-eyebrow area, right on top of and over the back third of the entire eye area. It does not float on the forehead unconnected to the back corner of the eye.
2. Not brushing the contour directly over the eyebrow itself, which can make the application look choppy instead of smooth and even (you should apply the eyebrow color after the temple contour).
3. Applying the color in a straight, one-inch strip next to the eye instead of in a softly blended, two-inch pie wedge that is partially blended onto the forehead. Temple contour is a shaded area, like the blush area, and it should never look like a stripe. Be sure to blend well and soften any noticeable edges or concentrations of color.
Contour mistakes to avoid
1. Do not use a blush color to contour any part of your face. Contour only with golden brown, chocolate brown, or dark brown shades.
2. Do not use contour under the jaw or at the chin area during the day; it can look too obvious and possibly get on clothing.
3. Do not apply contour as part of your regular makeup routine until you get used to blending it on softly; it should never look like stripes or brown lines on the face.
4. Do not forget to blend hard edges; contour should always look soft and as natural as possible on the face.
Knowing how to choose a great blush color and applying it correctly are essential to successful makeup application. Blush adds life and a hint of healthy color to the face and its importance should not be overlooked when you’re deciding how to go about doing your makeup.
Blush is one of the more prominent parts of any makeup routine, so if you do make a mistake—such as applying it too close to the lines around the eye, applying it like a stripe of color across the cheek, applying the wrong color, or applying it underneath the cheekbones as if it were contour—it is very noticeable. I urge you to take time to learn how to apply blush properly.
There’s no universal consensus about where you are supposed to place blush. There are many opinions on where it should start, where it should end, and how high or low to place it along the cheekbone. My strong preference—one that is shared by many, as is evident in fashion magazines—is to keep the blush on the cheekbones and away from the eye area, blending the color just on the cheekbones and starting it about one-half inch behind the laugh lines. Some women start the blush no farther into the center of the face than the center of the eye. That can make the blush look very strange. The idea is to blush the entire cheekbone, and that means full across the cheek.