No one contours and highlights like Kim Kardashian, like she is the Queen Mother of the technique. If she released a contour kit today, it will sell out instantly, because herself and her makeup team know their onions as far as contouring and highlighting are concerned. So don’t be surprised if a Kim Kardashian Kontour Kit pops anytime from now. Kim I know you Google yourself, so if you are reading this, get in there and cash in.
Now this makeup technique has been around forever, we just didn’t have a name for it until some years ago. Thanks to social media and reality TV, contouring is now a big deal. Just like weaves and cornrows have been around for centuries, only for the Kardashians to think they discovered it by naming it Boxer Braids, same thing with contour and highlight.
The simple definition of contouring and highlighting is shading areas where you would like to reshape or define, with a product (could be a contour kit, blush, foundation or concealer) that is 2 shades darker than the natural skin tone, to contour and another that is 2 shades lighter than the natural skin tone to highlight. Areas like the nose, cheekbones, forehead and chin, are the usual spots. Highlighting balances contouring by drawing attention to the parts of your face that naturally catch the light, like the top of your cheekbones, around the eyes, chin and forehead.
Back in the day, this makeup skill was done with foundations, blush and concealers, but now we have the contour kits around. I am no pro, but I still contour with my blush, foundation and concealer, I have various shades of them, so it works perfectly for me. However some makeup artists and celebrities are against the contour and highlight technique, they see it as unnatural. Bobbi Brown does not hide the fact that she is against the technique, as she sees it as unnatural.
“I don’t get this whole contouring thing. I think I’m probably the only makeup artist who feels this way. And I know some of my artists contour with my products and don’t tell me about it. But contouring just says that there’s something wrong with the way you look. I like to enhance natural beauty and not try to change someone.” – Bobbi Brown
I see where she is coming from, many fo us have overboard with the contour and highlight technique, we are hardly recognisable these days. However, I do like it when it is done correctly and in moderation.
Here are 5 contour and highlight tips I have learnt along the way –
Foundations, Blushes & Concealers Do The Job
Foundations and concealesr do the job perfectly. I use them in various shades, for various parts of my makeup, and I have had no reason to cough out more money for a contour kit. I think the whole contour kit marketing is a ploy to make us spend more money buying a different version of what we have already in our makeup bags.
It is All in The Blend
The perfect contour and highlight would look a mess without the right blending. At the moment, I use a blending brush and a regular cheap sponge to blend, but I am contemplating getting one of those fancy blending sponges, I see around. Have you use any blending sponge you can vouch for?
Contouring The Cheekbones
If you are not sure where to contour with the cheekbones, try sucking in your cheeks, to see exactly where to put the contour line.
Open Your Eyes
Add a dot of a cream highlighter or concealer in the inner corner of the eyes and blend in. Then add a dab of cream highlighter or concealer on the brow bone and in a V-shape on the forehead, between the eyebrows, and blend in.
Don’t Forget Your Neck
Don’t forget your neck when blending in. Make sure the tone fits in with your face.
What do you think of contouring and highlighting? Do you have any tips to share?
