Contouring For Beginners

If there's one step I usually skip in my makeup routine, it's contouring. I don't know why--it only takes a few seconds and adds so much to your face. I already have quite defined cheekbones but contouring is great to add definition to your face. I love glittery bronzers, but when you look for a contouring product, you want a great, cooler-toned matte brown. Here are a few of the products I use when I actually do contour. Hopefully writing this post will inspire me and you to take an extra 30 seconds to add more definition to your face!

1. Becca Lowlight/Highlight Perfecting Palette. This is a great buy because you also get a decent sized highlighter with the contour cream. Cream can be easier to contour with because it blends like a dream. I personally like to use my fingers to blend this, then add the highlight to the high points of my face and voila!

2. Marc Jacobs Omega Bronze. If you want a product you can use as a bronzer and contour, I highly recommend this one. The shade isn't so cool that you can't apply it to your cheekbones, but it's also so matte that it works well to define. The product is basically the size of my face, so I wouldn't worry about running out of it any time soon.

3. Kevyn Aucoin Sculpting Powder. For those who are already pros at contouring, I'm sure you recognize this cult favorite. The shade and texture are designed specifically to mimic shadows on the low points of your face and it is very fine-milled. You won't look overly made up and although there is very little product for the higher price tag, trust me when I say just the tiniest amount goes a long way.

4. Clinique Chubby Stick Sculpting Contour. I mentioned this in my January Favorites--this is truly the lazy girl's contour tool because you just draw some on your face, rub it in, and you're ready to go. There's also a complimentary highlighting stick.

5. Soap and Glory Solar Powder Bronzer. The dual tones of this product means one side works for contouring and the other one for adding over-all warmth to your face. It's harder to find in the USA but just search Amazon or Ebay.

What products do you love for contouring? Let me know if you want to see a best highlighter post!

Looking for a good read? I highly recommend In Some Other World, Maybe by Shari Goldhagen. It could have easily been a throwaway multi-perspective novel, but each character and their interactions  are so poignant and relatable I couldn't stop reading.