Perfecting Your Highlighting Technique

Highlighting and contouring are two closely related makeup techniques that have the ability to radically transform your face when done correctly. People use color correction, highlighting, and contouring to look younger and to draw attention to their most attractive facial features while downplaying their problem areas. Perfecting your highlighting technique requires getting to know your face very well and discovering which looks are most flattering. It will take practice to get the knack of each of these tips, so be sure to use them often.

Tip One – Make Sure You Have the Right Makeup

If you do not have any current makeup in your collection developed especially for highlighting and contouring then you will probably have considerable difficulty getting the results you want. People often make the mistake of thinking that existing blush or eyeshadow will be sufficient; these might be able to achieve some small degree of contouring but there is a good chance that the results are less than thrilling.

A common mistake is using pearly or iridescent colors that you might have on hand. These will not make good highlights or contours because they interfere with the way the light is absorbed and reflected. If you have never purchased any makeup specifically for contouring than it is unlikely that you will be able to achieve the full look with just supplies on hand.

Tip Two – Be Willing to Invest in High Quality Products

Contouring makeup is often sold in a palette so you can have all the necessary colors handy whenever you want to use them; Lala Daisy stocks a lovely collection of five essential contouring colors from Colorescience Pro that might suit you perfectly. 

If you just want to purchase a single color, look for a matte bronzer. You will want to purchase the best you can afford since this bronzer will need to be blended and smoothed throughout the contouring process.

Tip Three– Make Sure You Have Great Brushes

You should also make sure that you have the right brushes available. You might choose to use brushes such as:

• Chisel point or deer hoof
• Rounded
• Eyeshadow brush or eyeshadow fluff brush
• Small blush brush
• Fan brush

The right brushes will help you achieve the precision application and adequate blending that are essential for effective contouring.

Tip Four – Practice Blending

Blending highlights is a skill just like applying lipstick or eyeliner; it can take a surprising amount of practice to get exactly right. You can practice on days when you have plenty of time to spend on your face or use a little of your contouring palette on your hand and practice blending techniques there. Skin softened with the best facial cream will also be easier to work on.

Tip Five – Use Different Brushes on Different Parts of Your Face

This might seem like a no-brainer but you would be surprised how common a mistake this actually is! Large brushes – an angled blush brush, for instance – will let you easily contour large portions of your face, such as cheekbones. Small brushes – such as eye shadow brushes – let you precisely highlight small areas, like your eyelids and nose.

When you have the right tools, great makeup, and perfect technique you will find that highlighting and contouring become second nature.