One of the best kept secrets of professional makeup artist’s, contouring can help to highlight your features, make your face appear thinner and lift your look. Like The Knot says, “Done well, highlighting and contouring can make your face sharper, while still looking natural.”
Though it may take a little more time than your regular makeup routine, contouring is well worth the effort, especially on what is probably the most important day of your life.
If you’re hiring a professional makeup artist to help you get ready, they should be able to use contouring to perfect your look and create the aesthetic you want for your wedding day. If you’ve chosen to do your own makeup, you can still use contouring, however it might be a good idea to have a few practice sessions before the big day. To help get you started, here are a few tips for achieving the perfect contoured look.
Products
Before you sit down to have your first go at contouring, you’ll need to invest in a few specialist products. Ideally, you should use a powder, or stick, that’s specifically designed for contouring, however you could also use a selection of foundations that range from dark to light. Try to avoid products that contain glitter, especially for the lowlights, as this will look unnatural and unprofessional. It’s also a good idea to avoid using bronzer for the same reason.
Bridal contouring
Most brides want their makeup to look natural, as well as beautiful. To avoid your contouring coming across too strong, start experimenting with shades a few months before the big day. That way you can hone your skills and find the perfect products for your skin tone.
Step one: primer
In order to achieve a professional finish, you’ll need to start with a flawless canvas. As this layer will form the base of your bridal look, it’s important to use a good quality product and apply it as smoothly as possible.
Step two: highlight
Use a light powder, or stick, to highlight the top of your cheekbones, the bridge of your nose, the centre of your forehead, your chin, the arch of your eyebrows, and your cupid’s bow. If your skin is very pale, you may find you get better results by skipping this step and going straight to contouring.
Step three: contouring
Next, you need to apply a darker shade below your cheekbones, along your hairline from temple to temple, along your jawline and down both sides of your nose. Remember that the basic idea of contouring is to make shaded areas appear slimmer, something that will give your face more definition and highlight your features.
Step three: blend
In order for your contouring look to be successful, you need to blend it all together very thoroughly. The better your products are blended, the more natural your makeup will look, so make sure you leave yourself enough time blend everything together.
For more ideas on how you can make your wedding day perfect, explore our site today.