While I may be a beauty product addict, I am far from a makeup artist. I am constantly looking for ways to hone my makeup application skills and I turn to videos most often to learn from the pros. In this video, Nur gives a perfect introduction to three of the most daunting words in makeup artistry: contouring, bronzing, and highlighting. Done correctly, these can add gorgeous dimension to your face, enhancing your best features and minimizing your least favorite. However, they can be a bit difficult to get right – especially when you are combining all three effects into one look. To simplify the process for my fellow beauty addicts, here are some of my tips to get these valuable beauty tricks just right.
1. Contouring & Bronzing
As Nur mentions, contouring is used to recreate the natural shadows that foundation takes away and bronzing is used to give us the same glow that we would get from the sun. I actually use one matte, cool-toned bronzer to combine these two into one step. So, once my foundation is in place, I use a skinny brush and take the shade down the sides of my nose, because it slims things out nicely. Then, to give shapes to my cheekbones, I find that an angled brush works perfectly to trace a large number three – spanning from my hairline to my jaw – onto each side of my face. As a rule of thumb, I dust the bronzer on lightly, knowing that I can always go back and layer in more.
As a side note, I loved Nur’s idea to contour underneath the bottom lip for a poutier look! This is not something that I’ve ever done, but who doesn’t want their lips to look more full and luscious? I will definitely be giving this a try.
2. Highlighting
To add lift and light back into my face, I am a big fan of highlighting. Since the bronzer product that I use is matte, it can be nice to tap just a little shimmer onto the very tops of my cheekbones to catch the light. I usually opt for a warm, cream-based champagne color that is more pearly than glittery and I also use my finger to apply it to my brow bone, the inner corners of my eyes, and the center of my bottom lip once my lip color is applied. If you prefer to use a brush, a stippling brush will be your new best friend for dusting highlighter into the right spots. Either way, the affect is beautiful, without looking like I fell into a jar of glitter.
When searching for your perfect highlighter shade, I found Nur’s tip to look for colors that will catch the light to be extra helpful. You can easily test options on the back of your hand to see which shades and formulas give off the right amount of glow for you.
What do you think of Nur’s intro to bronzing, highlighting, and contouring? Were you a pro already or did you pick up a new trick or two?