Highlight and Contour: Full Interview

Make Up Forever Kevin-James Bennett our Director of Pro Business Development and Artist Relations says:

thin the nose
I've always found that highlighting the bridge of the nose is much more flattering and realistic than contouring the sides. I like to use a foundation 3-4 shades lighter than the rest of the face and draw a line from top to bottom and then feather out to the sides.
shape the face
I study the natural contours of the face and then exaggerate the areas that fall into shadow with a contour color (usually a very taupey brown devoid of any strong yellow tone). Then I fade the contours by blending the foundation color back into the outer edges of the contour. Blending VERY well is key here.
emphasize cheek bones
The easiest way to "pop' a cheekbone is to highlight the diagonal area that spans from the side of the nose up to the outer corner of the eye. This not only emphasizes the cheekbone, it creates a beautiful light in the center of the face that makes the eyes pop.
highlight brow bones
NEVER use a white shadow or anything shimmering to highlight the brow bone. Simply use a foundation or eyeshadow 2-3 shades lighter than the rest of the face. This should be a subtle, flattering highlight, not and un-natural focus point.

Celebrity makeup artist Troy Jensen (Kim Kardashian’s favorite) offers the following tips:

The art of contouring starts with a prepped face of a light moisturizer, then apply a cream or liquid highlighter, for fair skin tones, use a white pearl, Med skintones use a shimmery beige, and for dark skin tone, bronze or gold works best.

Apply highlighter with a small concealer brush and apply it to certain areas of the face only, not all over. just area's that look amazing when the light hits the face. Such as the top of the cheek bones, down the center of the nose , above the bow of the lips, and the inner part of the eyes near the tear duct. Then apply your liquid foundation with a foundation brush. The highlighter will glow through the make up, giving a natural glow that is not too glittery.

Contouring can be done with dark cream foundation or with a matte powder bronzer or dark face powder.
Dust the powder bronzer to contour under the cheek bone and along the jaw line to get rid of double chins as well as fullness to the face. If you have a long nose. Instead of contouring both sides of the nose to give the look that it's more narrow, dust a bronzer across the bridge of the nose. This will give the appearance the nose is not as long.

Highlighting areas like the brow bone, should not be highlighted with a shimmer, but rather a matte shadow in a pale skintone shade. Like bone, or off white.

The key is that it should look natural, so blend, blend , blend.


Joanna Schlip, celebrity makeup artist for Physicians Formula:
To emphasize cheek bones, make a fish face and brush bronzer or the darkest shade of the trio underneath the bone, where the hollow starts. On the highest point of cheekbones, dust a lighter highlighting shade.
To thin the nose, use the darkest shade of the trio (or any bronzer) on both sides of the nose to streamline it and use the lightest color on the bridge of the nose. To make a nose look shorter or reduce a bump, use the darkest color side-to-side across the bump or on the tip to make it shorter
To highlight brow bones, I love the Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips Custom Bronzer, Blush & Eye Shadow in Sunset Strip. Use this or any shimmer powder (anything that reflects light) above the eyebrow and right below the brow. A kabuki brush is great for sweeping shimmer right on top of the brow area – just make sure to blend really well and don’t forget to rub any excess powder off the hair.
One product that’s great for contouring is the Physicians Formula Organic Wear 100% Natural Origin Face Sculpting Trio.”

Alphonse Weibelt, Vice President of Brand Development at BeingTRUE:
“Apply a neutral tan powder along cheek bones, temples into the hairline, and along the jaw line to create dimension. This will help give an overall slimmer appearance. Try Protective Mineral Foundation in Tan 1.

Also play up facial features like the eye brows, lash-line and eye lashes and steer away from dark eye makeup or contrasting features like dark lips. Apply a warm neutral gloss over the lips - try Aglow sheer lip shine - a shade anyone can wear.”

Tips from Jillian Dempsey, AVON Global Creative Color Director:

How to emphasize cheek bones:
Start by smiling to see the apples of your cheeks and then apply a dot of cream blush, like Avon’s Be Blushed Sticks, to the center of the cheeks. Use your fingers to blend upwards towards the outside of the face. Follow by layering on an iridescent powder to lock in the color but avoid applying it to the t-zone to limit shine.

How to thin the nose:
The key to contouring the nose is using matte bronzer and loose powder to create definition. Start by using a small brush to lightly apply a loose powder like Avon’s Ideal Shade Loose Powder down the center of the nose. Follow by using a fan brush to add bronzer to the sides of the nose, creating contrasting color that adds dimension to the nose. Finish by using a powder brush to wisk away any access powder that may have fallen and set in fine lines.

Prescriptives Director of Artistry, Jillian Veran:

Using an illuminator to highlight skin can help you glow, but too much can create an unwanted shine.

An illuminator, like *magic Illuminating Liquid Potion, on the top of the cheek or over blush is a great way to get a subtle glow. Be sure to use a semi matte blush to avoid overdoing the glow.

If using the illuminator over the entire face, be sure to use a big soft brush and only lightly dust over skin.

To create subtle drama for cheeks and eyes, tap your blush brush with your blush color on it over the illuminator, tap off excess and apply. Do the same for your base eyeshadow color.

CARGO artist Annesley Broadhead:
The idea behind contouring and highlighting the face is to bring out our best features and minimize minor flaws. The most important thing to remember is that if you are going to play with contouring and highlighting it must look natural. Contouring and highlighting plays with shadow and light, just like a black and white picture. To make something look deep or recessed (contoured) you use a shadow; to pull something out (highlight) you use a light shade.
There are a few ways to contour and highlight. Make-up artists will often use a combination of light and dark foundations. For everyday women there are lots of great products that can achieve realistic results. Here's how:
To thin the nose:
Shade the edges of the nose using a flat eye shadow brush and a bit of matte bronzer of matte taupe colored eye shadow. Lightly apply along either side of the bridge of the nose from the inner corner of the eyes down to the tip of the nose. Now use your finger to blend downwards towards the cheeks so that it does not look like a stripe. Next apply a touch of light champagne colored eye shadow in a soft line down the center of the nose from the bridge to the tip. Again blend well for a natural effect. I recommend using the CARGO Matte Bronzer to shade along the nose and CARGO EyeLighter™ in Gold as the highlight. EyeLighter™ can also be used to pop and brighten the eyes.
To shape the face and emphasize the cheekbones:
Apply your foundation as usual and then apply a very light shade of concealer along the upper edges of the cheekbone; this will pull out the cheekbone. Powder as usual. Apply a matte bronzing powder such as CARGO blu_ray™ Bronzer under the cheekbones to contour. To find the proper placement, hold a pencil against the face from 1 cm above the upper part of the ear to the outer corner of the mouth. This is the most flattering angle to place the contour color. Now apply the same matte contour shade along your jaw line to create a more angled jaw. (This is a great tip for those with a more rounded face shape.) If you have a longer chin that you wish to minimize, place the contour shade under the chin as well. To minimize a prominent forehead, a little contour along the side of the forehead by the hairline will work wonders. Just remember: when shaping your face it is all about being subtle and bringing out your best features. If you go overboard, you will look too made-up. Embrace you beauty!
To highlight brow bones:
This is the simplest trick and can take years off your eyes giving the look of an eyelift without surgery. After applying your eye shadow, use a soft white or cream color directly under the eyebrow along the arch. The shadow can be matte or shimmering depending on what you prefer. Complement the under brow highlight by placing just a tiny dab above the brows just past the arch. This draws an onlookers eye upwards and adds even more lift. I love CARGO EyeLighter™ because it is designed just for highlighting the eyes and can be easily tossed in the purse for touch ups.

celebrity makeup artist Terri Apanasewicz’s (includes Cindy Crawford, Gisele
Bundchen and Miley Cyrus as clients) on highlighting and contouring:

thin the nose: Use just a shade darker than your usual foundation or the softest hint of a powder (MAC Taupe eye shadow is a good one). Apply to each side of your nose and make sure to blend. Then powder so it will disappear to the naked eye into the rest of your makeup.
shape the face: For this, a matte bronzer is best or “Hoola” blush from Benefit. Lightly dust it around the parameter of your face, gently hitting the high points. Creating dimension in your face should always be subtle and effective.
emphasize cheek bones: Using one shade darker that your usual foundation, brush it under your cheek bones making sure there is no definite start and stops with the brush. Amazing Cosmetics Velvet mineral foundation is a personal favorite – it’s subtle and does the trick.
highlight brow bones: Use a light shade eye shadow, matte for day and a little sheen for night. I like a cream or soft pink. Apply just under the brow bone along the arch of the brow. It doesn’t have to be heavy to be dramatic. Anastasia has great brow highlighter pencils, just make sure to soften the edges with your ring finger.