Contouring is a strange thing but it’s been ruling out life and our beauty regimen for years now. It’s essentially the process that uses the play of light and shadow in order to achieve a more defined face shape. A lot of the time oval is the face shape that appears to be most desirable by people around the globe. But we’re moving forward to a world where being unique and different is good. So take this contouring advice with a grain of salt and use the bits that suit you and omit the ones that you find unnecessary. It’s your face, your life, your makeup. Here are just the traditional rules of contouring. But we all know the rules are meant to be broken.
Contouring Round Face
A face that’s essentially as long as it is wide is considered to be round. Celebs like Chrissy Teigen, Mila Kunis, Ginnifer Goodwin have round faces. When it comes to contouring what you can do with a round face is to contour around your hairline, forehead and temples to make this wide part appear more narrow. You can also add more angles to your face and make it look more chiseled by contouring just under your cheekbones. One thing you should keep in mind to use different shades of contouring for different parts of your face. Make the forehead contour darker and the cheekbone one lighter for a more natural finish.
Contouring Long Face
If the width of your forehead, cheekbones and chin is very similar and obviously the length of your face is bigger than the width. Celebs like Sarah Jessica Parker, Lisa Kudrow and Gisele Bundchen have this face shape. When contouring a long face you should concentrate on the forehead and the jaw. You can also contour under your chin. This will visually make your face appear shorter. If you want to make your cheekbones more prominent, do horizontal contouring under them, instead of going at an angle.
Contouring Square Face
A square face is one that’s as wide as it is long. The forehead area, cheekbones and jaw are all the same width. Olivia Wilde, Renee Zellweger, Kelly Osbourne are good celeb examples of square faces. When contouring a square face, the idea is to make the top and bottom narrower. To do this contour the sides of your forehead and contour your cheeks from your ear down. You can also contour the sides of your jaw to make your chi look more pointed.
Contouring Heart-Shaped Face
A heart-shaped face generally has a wide forehead and a pointed chin. Reese Witherspoon, Eva Longoria and the Olsen Twins have heart shaped faces. When contouring a heart-shaped face it’s best to focus on the forehead. You can contour the sides of your forehead and temples to make it look narrower. There’s no point it contouring the cheeks because they’re narrowing down either way. What you can do it contour the bottom of your chin to make it less sharp.
Contouring Oval Face
Oval faces are those that are longer than they are wider and they don’t have any major strong features. Celebrities like Jessica Alba, Beyoncé, Charlize Theron and Rihanna have oval faces. You don’t really need to correct anything with contouring the oval face, you only use it to enhance it. You can just use the usual methods of contouring. Swipe the contour along the side of your face in a number three shape from your temples to the cheekbones to the jaw. This will just enhance the natural shape and make the face look slightly more chiseled and defined.