What comes to mind when you first hear the two words contour and highlight? Bright yellow and dark drown lines you paint on your face? How about Kim Kardashian? After all, it is one of the things she’s known for. Truth be told, it’s all of those combined. The gist is pretty much manipulating light and shadows to work in your favor. In this post, I’m going to breakdown contour and highlighting step by step, so there will be no confusion, and you can DIY. Personally this is my favorite part of doing makeup on others and myself.

Today we’ll be using NYX Conceal, Correct, and Contour Palette ($12) and a Beauty Blender ($20).

Step 1: Foundation

I talked about concealer and color correcting in a previous post. You want to lay down a primer, and then follow up with your foundation. (Don’t forget to blend).

Step 2: Contour

• Follow the hollow of your cheeks. Make a duck/fish face and place a concealer, 2 to 3 shades darker than your foundation, where your cheeks go in. Be careful not to trace the concealer all the way down. Only place halfway down your cheek. (Refer to the image above); Blend upwards to meet the top of the cheekbones. (Careful not to cover the cheekbone).
• On the side of your forehead; Blend downwards towards the center of the forehead.
• Underneath the jawline; Blend down towards the neck.
• On the sides of the nose; Blend down the side of the nose and a little bit up into eye sockets (Careful not to put too much).
• BLEND! (Harsh lines are unacceptable).

Step 3: Highlight

• Underneath your eyes in a triangle; Blend outwards toward contour but do not cover (Be careful not to put too much).
• Bridge of the nose; Blend upwards toward center of forehead (Be careful not to put too much).
• Center of the forehead; Blend outwards toward the contour but do not cover (Be careful not to put too much).
• Chin; Blend in place or outwards (A little goes a long way on the chin).
• Underneath the cheek contour; Blend in place or downwards (Only a little is needed here).

Step 4: Bake! (Set concealer)

• Where you have highlighted, take a powder (Ben Nye Banana Powder ($15)) and set. Apply a thin layer of powder, and add on an extra layer and leave there to ensure the concealer won’t move.
• Take a bronzer and warm up the face by placing over the cream contour you applied in Step 2.
• I recommend doing your eye makeup whilst you set your makeup. By the time you finish, you should be ready to wipe away the excess powder.

Step 5: Finishing Touches (Optional)

• Even though this step is optional, I highly recommend doing this for a flawless end result.
• Take a fluffy brush and dip it in a powder similar to your foundation. Tap off the excess powder and press it onto your face. This will even out harsh lines and colors that are too bright or too dark. Meaning it will further blend the colors to look more natural.
• You can now apply a powder highlight to the top of the cheekbones, bridge of the nose, upper lip, and center of the forehead for a dewy look.

I hope you guys enjoyed this post. I plan to be doing reviews and eye shadow tutorials in the future because I think I have covered all of the basics. If there’s something I’ve left out, please let me know! Leave comments below, and please share, like, and spread word of me.