Monday, December 5, 2011

Natural Contouring




Sup, people?  It's Caro.  Contouring is tricky business!  It's hard to get that defined face shape we like, but I'm going to do my best to show you how and still look natural.

If you look at the pictures above, you can't really see the contouring.  That's the point!  Beware muddy brown lines under your cheekbones.  That may make your cheeks look prominent, but it will also make you look like you don't really know what you're doing.  We're young.  Natural, glowy finishes are what we want.

So I'm going to take these pictures and edit them to show you exactly where I put my bronzer, highlighter, and blush.  You'll be surprised!





Attractive, right?  I know.  Hot.

Anyway, this is just to show you roughly where I put my contouring.

Step 1:  Take a bronzer a few shades darker than your skin (cream bronzer is the most natural) and apply it under the cheekbones, right above the jaw line, down the sides of the nose, and up around your forehead down into your temples.

Step 2:  Use your favorite highlighter (shimmery ones are my personal favorite) and put it on the tops of your cheekbones, on your chin, on the bridge of your nose, on the center of your forehead, and right at the top sides of your nose.  You can even put a little dab on your cupid's bow above your lip if you're into the plump lip look.

Step 3:  If you're using cream products, blend out with a bit of your foundation (but if you do this, don't put on a whole face of foundation first.  Start with the contouring and THEN blend with your foundation).  If you're using powders, dust a bit of translucent powder onto a stiff kabuki brush and just blend, blend, blend.  For difficult areas, you can use your fingers to really work it out.

Step 4:  Use a pink blush and lightly blend it onto your cheekbones.  Don't smile and put it on the apples of your cheeks, because this messes with the shape we're creating.  Just sort of blend it into the area where the highlighter and bronzer meet.

And that's it.  If you go all out, this can be time consuming.  But the more you do it, the quicker you get.

Good luck!  Comment below if you have any questions and I'll be sure to answer.  Just.... don't leave the house with brown stripes all over your face and tell everyone I told you how to do it.  BLEND, BLEND, BLEND!!

Love,
Caroline

(And just for fun because I'm a fangirl)

8 comments:

  1. This is brilliant. :) Because I'm so blond, when I use darker pigmented stuff around my hairline to contour, blending it usually makes my hair orangy and it just doesn't work out. Any suggestions?
    And what do you use for highlighting/bronzer/dark products?

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  2. Ok, so am I the only person in the world who only wears foundation and mascara? If my skin looked anything even remotely similar to yours I'd faint of joy. Literally. So have you ever heard it said that people develop their own unique sense of style? And if so, what are you guys'? Cause I am in the middle of putting mine together, and I'd love to see what other girls who are modest dress like!
    thanks a ton,
    ellie <3

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  3. Josie - You don't need to work it directly into your hair line. You can put it just far enough up so it doesn't touch your hair, and then blend it like a crazy person. As for bronzers, I use a Tarte bronzer or and Urban Decay Baked bronzer. I stick with shimmery ones just because I like the uber glowy and shimmered out look, but matte is fine as well. It just depends on your style.

    Ellie- No, actually, you're not! I often will just put on concealer on blemishes and under my eyes and then swipe on some mascara. Thank you for the skin compliment, but I promise, it doesn't look like that on it's own! I've just learned how to even it out and conceal. And I'm not sure if I understand your question... we definitely believe, on Dressing Room Door, that everyone has a different style. For instance, Lillian excels at mixing patterns and colors, and Katie is chic and sophisticated. I, personally, am a mix of Bohemian and 60's. If you go back and look at our pictures, I'm sure you'll see our own styles! We're definitely not trying to push anything on anyone. When I do a makeup tutorial, I'm not saying "Ok, everyone, you need to do this this and this or you're not cool." I'm just giving basic tips for people who want to learn more and experiment with the things they have.

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  4. Yeah, now I've Reread what I said I see how confusing it would be.. What I meant was something like this:
    Are any of you huge fans of skinny jeans, or do you not like them, are any of you walking around in aframe skirts and high heeled boots, cause that's what you love, are any of you walking around in red wine lipstick cause it's so 60's? I think I meant, if you could have one outfit, what would you pick, a plaid shirt with skinny jeans, an aframe skirt boots and a blouse, a sundress.... Sorta like that, cause although I've kind of discovered what each of you like, I would never be able to guess the answer to that question..
    Does that make more sense?

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  5. Well, I'm not sure if I quite understand. But we definitely all have our own styles; I just don't know if they can be completely encompassed in one outfit. I don't think anyone's can, really. I'm a mix of a bunch of things, and it changes on the day. One moment I'm wearing jeans and a flowy shirt, and the next I'm wearing huge earrings, tights, and a twirly dress. I think, for me, my style is a reflection of my mood, and I think the same goes for most people. I'm not sure if there's any one standard you can set for certain styles.

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  6. Let me tell you, your freckles are gorgeous! Please don't do what all of those ladies do and cover those beauties.....

    Janelle

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  7. You look really pretty! Whats your face shape? I have the same face shape and nose as you? :)

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