Enhance your features with some shading and highlighting trickery. Lisa Haynes unveils a masterclass in facial contouring

YOU may have heard of the word contouring, you may even have seen Kim Kardashian’s contoured selfies, but many women don’t have a clue how to do it.

When, executed correctly, you can enhance your facial features – and cleverly disguise flaws.

The process is all about using darker colours to create dimension and lighter colours to highlight. In theory, you can whip up Kate Moss cheekbones in minutes. Care to contour? Read on for a masterclass.

Contour kit

BEFORE you choose your contouring essentials, look at how you normally apply makeup. You can contour with a cream or powder formulation.

Daniel Sandler, international make-up artist says: “Cream textures work well if you apply make-up using your fingers.

Those who prefer traditional methods should use a pressed powder formula and soft, angled contour brush.”

Overzealous beginners can blend away excess powder by sweeping some translucent powder over any mistakes. If you’re using a cream, you can tone down the error by blending with a foundation brush.

Avoid sculpting powders with not-so-subtle shimmer. Sandler recommends going matte: “Go slightly darker than your skin tone, but not too dark, or it will look obvious and theatrical.”

Sculpting SOS

CONTOURING is the quickest way to drop a few pounds from your face. The key is the placement of the product, so familiarise yourself with the natural contours of your face.

“Sweeping sculpting powder along the jawline creates the illusion of slimmer, younger features,” Sandler explains.

“Blend the powder softly down onto the neck to avoid a tideline.”

Creating natural looking shadow on areas that protrude will help them appear less obvious. Sandler says: “Apply contour under cheekbones to reduce the look of puffiness and gently shade around the sides of the nose to help it look slimmer.”

Hello, highlight

BALANCE the shading with highlighter to really make your features ‘pop’. Key areas include upper cheekbone, nose bridge, cupid’s bow, inner eye corner, middle eyelid and brow bone.

Sandler recommends: “Contrast against the sculpting by applying a light dusting of highlighting powder above it – this will add a subtle ‘lift’ to your features.

“Practice makes perfect, and always contour in even light so you can see what you’re doing.”

Don’t be tempted to overhighlight.

Achieve an instant facelift by applying a hint of highlighter to the tops of cheekbones. This should be visible when you turn side-on, but not from the front.

Seven super-sculptors

THESE ready-made kits should help make the process a cinch.

  • Daniel Sandler Sculpt and Slim, £24.50 (danielsandler.com)
  • Cargo Cosmetics Contour Palette, £22 (Debenhams)
  • Illamasqua Sculpting Powder Duo, £26 (illamasqua.com)
  • Nars Contour Blush, £30 (narscosmetics.co.uk)
  • Shiseido Face Colour Enhancing Trio, £32 (House of Fraser)
  • Sleek Face Contour Kit, £6.49 (sleekmakeup.com)
  • Superdrug B. Sculpted Contour kit, £10.49 (Superdrug)