Why Contour Can Look So Harsh, And How To Contour Naturally

One reason contouring can look so scary is because it can easily give the face a more dramatic, or obvious look. A lot of people assume that contouring the face involves swiping a dark powder or cream all over the face and buffing it out. But that’s not what we want to do here. We want to use contour to replicate the shadows that would naturally occur under the cheekbones, jawline, and temples. When we apply our shadows in the right spots, it gives our face a more defined look without obvious dark stripes on our face.

A good way to start practicing how to contour is to get a mirror and stand in front of a window. Look at your face and tilt your head to one side. Do you see where the shadow is just below your cheekbone? That’s usually where we need to place the contour. Using just a little bit of product, we’re going to place our brush just above that shadow, not actually on the cheek. Where we place the contour is more important than the color we use. When it’s applied too low, the face can appear heavier instead of sculpted.

Another reason contouring can look so harsh is because people choose a contouring color that’s way too dark. When we’re starting out, it can be tempting to use a really dark shade because we think it’ll give us better definition. But it ends up just looking muddy, and impossible to blend. To fix this, we need to choose a color that’s just one shade deeper than our natural skin tone. When our color is too dark, it’s much harder to blend and it doesn’t look as natural. If it looks too light when you first apply it, that’s okay! It’s probably the perfect shade.

To help you practice where to place your contour, spend 15 minutes applying the product to one side of your face, buffing it out, and removing it. Repeat this process a few times until you feel more comfortable with how to place your brush, and how to buff out the color. Pay special attention to the edges of your contour. When the edges are well blended and disappear into your skin, you know you’re doing it correctly.

As you get more comfortable with contouring, you can practice adding it to other areas of your face like your temples and jawline. You’ll want to use a lighter hand in these areas because the natural shadows there aren’t as prominent. A lot of times people want to run out and contour their whole face at once. But this can end up looking cakey and obvious. When we practice one area at a time, we train our brains to see when things look balanced on our face. Over time, we can start to see the structure of our face, and how contouring gives it depth without looking like a line on our face.