How to Contour for a Natural Daytime Look + a Giveaway with 3 Winners!
Saturday, June 9, 2018This is a sponsored post, but as always, all opinions are my own.
When I first heard about contouring I was a little hesitant to try it out. I saw lots of amazing transformations on Instagram and Pinterest, but it seemed like an optical illusion that would only work from the front, that if you turned your face, everyone would see the harsh shading, but I was intrigued.
I learned a lot from trial and error and I think I've finally mastered the art of a light and natural contour that works during the day and I'm hooked. If I take the time to wear makeup, I'm absolutely going to contour because it's a great way to bring back the natural shading and color that your foundation minimizes. It also helps to bring out your best features and minimize those you aren't crazy about!
I was sent a Guize Face FX Contouring Palette to try out and I'll tell you all about it (Psst, look for a giveaway at the end of this post!)
First off, I got to pick the shade of the palette based on my skin tone. They have fair to light, light to medium, and medium to dark, which is a big deal! I ordered the fair to light palette because I'm super-fair and it's hard to find shades that work for me, so I was pretty stoked about that.
The palette was well made and comes with a mirror in the lid. The individual colors can be refilled, so if you run out of a color, it doesn't have to go in the trash. You can just order a refill pan! Love it. They're also not tested on animals. Cruelty-free is a plus in my book.
When you open the package, there is a book inside to help you get the most out of the palette. There's even a step-by-step for beginners to tell you just how to shade your face. Everyone's face is a little different, but it's a great jumping off point to contouring.
The powders are highly pigmented and creamy. They blended well, which is so important when going for a natural contour. You don't want streaks!
When contouring, you need a highlight color and a shadow color. That's #1 & #2 in the palette, but then you also need a bronzer to warm up your skin and a shimmer for those areas, like the tops of your cheekbones and your cupid's bow, that you want to draw attention to. Those are #3 & #4 in the palette.
I love that these all come in one palette. That eliminates me having to dig through my makeup for contour, bronzer, and highlighter palettes. It would be fantastic to travel with!
How to Contour for a Natural Daytime Look
Start with your foundation and any concealer applied. I used a liquid foundation and concealer, then very lightly dusted my face with translucent powder to help set my foundation and keep my undereye area from creasing as the day wears on.
Some people like to have their eye look done before contouring, but with a natural daytime look I also contour my eye area to help bring it all together when I do my eye makeup, so I'm contouring before I do my eyes.
#1 for getting a totally blended contour is a large, fluffy kabuki brush. I've been using this one for years and it hasn't let me down yet.
Start with the first shade: a light, matte highlighting powder. Apply it to the raised areas of your face, like the center of your forehead and down the center of your nose. Don't worry about blending yet.
Next, use the contour color, which is a more neutral shade that mimics the color of shadow. Sparingly use this in the areas that need it to help bring back natural shadow or to help sculpt your face.
Tip: Make sure you start with the bare minimum on your brush as it's easy to make it darker, but not so easy to remove excess color. Start by swiping the color onto your brush and then tap off any excess. You can also blow lightly on the end of your brush to remove even more, or dab it on a dry washcloth for the ultimate in sheer application.
Apply:
- At the forehead, just barely around the hairline, and a dab at the temples above your cheekbones.
- Under the cheekbones (from the front of the ear to about halfway across your cheek) to help bring out your cheekbones.
- If you want to minimize your jawline, sweep the color over just the back of your jaw, then bring the brush down under your chin to help sculpt your face.
- Using a smaller brush, sweep the contour down the sides of your nose to narrow it and then under the tip of your nose to minimize any prominence there.
- I also use a small amount of the contour color in my eyelid crease.
Next, load a bare amount of bronzer onto a brush and use it to warm up just the edges of the contour shadow. That will give it a more natural color gradation and a softer, warmer look. Don't forget to add it to your eyelid crease, too. Blend, blend, blend!
As a finishing step, add shimmer. Don't worry, you're done with the blending brush. :) This will draw the eye to those areas and make them seem more prominent and also give your skin a fresh, dewy look.
Apply:
- Along the tops of your cheekbones
- Down the center of your nose
- Across the cupid's bow of your top lip.
You can also go further and apply it to the tip of your chin and the center of your forehead right above your nose. If you're not using eyeshadow, go ahead and add shimmer to the eyelid on the browbone.
All done! The key, and what will take the most amount of time, is blending, blending, blending. If you see a line, blend it out!
I finished this natural daytime look with a smudged brown eyeliner along my top lashes and a lighter taupe shadow along my bottom lashes, black mascara, a dab of light pink blush across my cheeks and eyelids, and a matte lip crayon that matches my natural lip color.
Whether you're new to contouring or already a pro, you'll love this highly-pigmented, all-in-one palette and three of my readers will get to pick out their Guize Face FX shade to try for themselves!
Giveaway: Three (3) readers will each receive a $50 Gift Code to Guize Face FX! That covers either a palette + shipping, or you can order refill pans if you already have a palette!
Giveaway begins on 6/9/2018 at 1:00 am CST and ends on 6/23/2018 at 11:59 pm CST. Must be 18 years or older, open to US residents only (void where prohibited.) I will email the winner; The winner will have 24 hours to claim or I will redraw. Once winners are confirmed, they will be added to the Winner's List here.
Disclaimer: Southern Mom Loves was compensated for this post. No purchase is necessary to enter. One entrant per household, per IP address. All entries will be verified. Void where prohibited by law. Winner will be contacted by email; Please add southernmomloves@gmail.com to your whitelist. Guize Face FX will be responsible for prize delivery to the winner. This giveaway is in no way administered, sponsored, endorsed by, or associated with Facebook and/or Twitter, Google, Pinterest, or any other social media platform.
Contact Holly at southernmomloves@gmail.com if you have any additional questions or comments, or would like Southern Mom Loves to organize your next giveaway.
Contact Holly at southernmomloves@gmail.com if you have any additional questions or comments, or would like Southern Mom Loves to organize your next giveaway.
Do you contour? Have you tried this palette yet? I love to read your comments!
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