Everything is clear: why do you need a contouring palette?

If we consider that the main task of makeup is to hide imperfections and emphasize the advantages of appearance, then you definitely cannot do without contouring products. They may look different these days. For example, it could be a highlighter and bronzer duo or a large face sculpting palette with several shades and texture options. The latter allow you to perform correction in both a softer and more aggressive manner. Read more about how to choose contouring palettes and use them.

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Your own sculptor

All people have a nose, cheekbones, chin, eyes, mouth. Their sizes and proportions are individual. Only a few can boast of ideal facial features. Others have to resort to little tricks to hide their flaws and highlight their strengths.

The contouring technique, which is easy to master, will help with this. With the help of 1-2 cosmetics you can “sculpt” a face without flaws. Applying strokes, a woman is like a sculptor: somewhere she “cuts off”, somewhere she adds (in a figurative sense). This is achieved by playing shades. By darkening some areas and highlighting others, a woman gives her face a certain expressiveness.

To achieve this, it is enough to have 2 tones on hand. When choosing a contouring palette, consider the following points:

• girls with fair skin are better off using cool shades with a grayish base;
• For dark-skinned people, warm versions of brown tones are suitable.

Basically, sculptors (also called contouring products) are produced matte. Although some manufacturers add tiny particles of glitter. They are invisible on the face, but give depth to the shades.

Step-by-step instruction

There are two types of contouring. In the first case, moist, creamy textures are used to achieve maximum transformation effect. This type of makeup looks great on camera, but looks out of place in everyday life. For everyday makeup, it is better to use the second option - the dry contouring technique.

For each face type, different areas need to be treated to bring their shape closer to the ideal. But the procedure is common for everyone:

1. Before you start contouring, you need to apply foundation or BB cream to your skin. Thanks to this, the coating will lie more evenly.
2. Using a dark corrector, problem areas that need to be visually reduced are treated.
3. Highlighter is applied to the prominent parts of the face.
4. All lines are carefully shaded; if necessary, you can add some strokes.
5. The result is fixed using regular or transparent powder.
6. You can do eye, lip and eyebrow makeup.

The products from the palette can be used not only for facial sculpting. They are suitable for eye and eyebrow makeup.

Kim Kardashian - contouring star

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Kim Kardashian - contouring star

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Oval face

Oval is considered the ideal face shape. It does not need to be seriously adjusted, it is enough to emphasize the volume. To do this, apply highlighter to the forehead and prominent part of the cheekbones. The sides of the face can be treated with a thin layer of dark concealer.

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Round face

Those with round faces often worry about this. They have to spend more time than others choosing the right hairstyle and makeup. To visually narrow your face, you need to perform the following manipulations:

1. Use dark concealer to draw a line just below the cheekbones, as well as along the sides of the forehead.
2. Make the center of the chin and forehead more expressive using a highlighter. 3 Pay special attention to the eyebrows, they should be natural in shape.

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Square face

To make a square face look more impressive, you need to visually round the corners. The following techniques are used for this:

• Applying dark corrector to the corners of the forehead and lower jaw
• Highlighting the lines on the side of the nose with a highlighter
• Eliminating horizontal lines from makeup

Model GiGi Hadid's face doesn't look like a "perfect" oval.
But even light contouring helps her look chic arrow_left

Model GiGi Hadid's face doesn't look like a "perfect" oval. But even light contouring helps her look chic

Face contouring palette

Face contouring

The beauty industry produces a huge palette of makeup colors. Eye shadows and pigmented lipsticks are packaged in special boxes, where each shade has its own compartment. Palettes for facial sculpting are also available. The honeycombs in them are filled with correctors, highlighters, concealers, and bronzers.

Contouring Concealer Set

Note! The number of shades may vary, but a smooth transition from light to dark is required.

When choosing the right paints for yourself, use the recommendations of experts:

• the highlighter should be a tone lighter than your skin color;
• dark corrector is selected 2-3 tones higher than the shade of the dermis;
• You should not take bronzers with shimmer or pearl, otherwise your makeup will look unnatural.

Despite the fact that orange-red shades are often found in palettes, they are not very suitable for contouring. With their help it is difficult to achieve the desired expressiveness of the image.

Rating of the best palettes

Those looking for a high-quality budget option are advised to pay attention to the Stellari contouring palette. There are 3 shades packed in a round box:

• neutral brown matte sculptor;
• peach-colored satin blush;
• highlighter in a cool pearl design.

Palette from Stellary

A well-pressed powder product can be used to quickly contour your face. At the same time, thanks to the delicacy of the products, it will look natural.

Choosing the right color

To master the technique of contouring, it is not necessary to attend a makeup course. It is enough to understand the principle of playing with light and shadow.

The palette usually contains brown and beige shades, but you can find sets with pink, light green and even black concealers.

Light “porcelain” skin may require additional colors in the palette.

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Light “porcelain” skin may require additional colors in the palette.

To disguise a cosmetic defect, you need to determine its color, and then select a concealer of the opposite shade from the palette. You can do this using a color wheel: the desired colors are located opposite each other in the palette. To simplify the task, it is worth remembering the main color pairs:

1. Red and green. A mint-colored concealer is ideal for correcting pimples, minor rashes and redness.
2. Blue and yellow. You can disguise dark circles under the eyes using a yellow or orange product.
3. Brown and blue. You can hide freckles, even out your complexion and lighten age spots with blue concealer.
4. Gray and pink. To give your face a healthy glow and highlight your blush, you can use any shade of pink.

Almost perfect palette
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Almost perfect palette

Recommendations for use

Contouring brush

To learn how to use a face sculptor, it is recommended to watch master classes from beauty bloggers. Briefly, the instructions can be presented in the form of a step-by-step algorithm:

1. Using a flat, wide brush, apply concealer to the cheeks and under the eyes.
2. The back of the nose and the middle of the forehead are highlighted with a highlighter.
3. Use an angled brush to apply bronzer under the cheekbones.
4. Darken the part of the forehead under the hairline, paying special attention to the temples.
5. Use bronzer to make 2 longitudinal stripes on the sides of the nose.
6. They work on the chin and jaw line.
7. All borders are shaded using a cosmetic sponge.
8. All that remains is to brown the cheeks with a fan-shaped brush.

Step-by-step facial modeling

Using a sculpting palette allows you to give your face an oval shape and highlight your cheekbones. This will give your appearance an aristocratic, elegant look.

The main stages of preparation for sculpting

• After choosing the right sculptors and highlighters, take care of a thoughtful place to do your makeup. Provide lighting, natural or artificial, that is as close as possible to the lighting of the place you are going to.
• Prepare not only contouring products, but also a makeup base. This will greatly simplify the application of cosmetics with any texture. For the best fixation of cream products, a special transparent powder will be useful.
• Take care of your facial contouring tools. Brushes of various sizes are ideal for applying and blending dry products. They are also suitable for applying cream sculptors and highlighters, and a sponge will do a better job of blending them.
• Cleanse your face, use your favorite day care product, apply foundation, if necessary, disguise wrinkles and other skin imperfections with a corrector - and you are ready to start sculpting.

Advantages and disadvantages

Face sculpting - makeup

Any contouring palette is easy to use. Even a minimal set of products will allow you to correct your face. You can choose any combination of colors and shades, both in professional palettes and in budget options. If we look at palettes by type, we can find advantages and small disadvantages in each.

Review of palettes by type

You can add aristocracy to your appearance with a minimal set of tools. Professional palettes are not cheap, and most of the colors packed in them will remain unclaimed at home.

Contouring kit

When buying a palette, preference should be given to well-known brands, but this will entail certain costs.

Note! Budget options do not always satisfy the quality. They may be unstable, have an uneven texture and contain large inclusions.

How to avoid mistakes

Any makeup should be applied exclusively in daylight. If this is not possible, you will have to look for a suitable angle so that the light falls on the entire face. Lighting is especially important for those who like to use highlighters.

On the Internet you can find videos with makeup done only with highlighters. But in ordinary life it will look stupid and inappropriate.

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On the Internet you can find videos with makeup done only with highlighters. But in ordinary life it will look stupid and inappropriate.

The main mistake that beginner “sculptors” make is the wrong choice of shade and the inability to shade the boundaries. These skills are acquired over time. Therefore, you need to train and not despair if it doesn’t work out the first time.

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Examples of makeup using palettes

Contouring has firmly entered the beauty industry. Some use light correction of their appearance, others enthusiastically create new images. How perfect your face looks after contouring can be judged by the photo.

Kim Kardashian is a contouring pro

Ideal image

Transformation of appearance

Who can benefit from sculpture?

Contrary to popular belief, this technique is necessary not only for those who want to visually get rid of a few extra pounds. It is also important to take into account that modern foundations can be quite dense and completely hide the natural shades of the skin. This leads to the fact that the face covered with tone looks flat and unnatural, and to eliminate this shortcoming, light contouring is indispensable.

Even if you are absolutely confident in your own irresistibility, try to slightly emphasize the relief of your face using contouring. You may like the result so much that this technique will become another useful tool to help emphasize your strengths.

What you need for basic contouring

Contouring products solve two problems: they darken some areas of the face and lighten others. To do this, you will need a certain set of cosmetics, application tools and some rules of application.

Cosmetical tools

For the first experiments, the set of necessary decorative cosmetics is minimal. It includes:

Concealers. They can be dry or creamy in texture (bronzers, correctors, highlighters). They come in several shades, and it is recommended to select them to suit your skin type and color.

Contouring palette . Cosmetics stores sell professional contouring kits. The palette consists of different colors that go from dark to light tones. The consistency of contouring palettes can be powdery or creamy. This set replaces makeup base. And if the palette contains several shades of blush or bronzer, then there is no need to separately purchase these products.

All shades in the palette should be close to natural. The presence of red, orange, black or blue pigments is not allowed, as they will not blend organically with the flesh color.

Concealer . If you don’t have a contouring palette, you can replace it with foundation or BB/CC cream

Blush . Blush will help highlight your cheekbones and cheeks. The shade is determined based on the color of the skin or the desired brightness of the makeup, however, they should not be too bright. Blush can be with mother-of-pearl, this will add a little shine and a delicate glow to the face. In summer, you can choose blush in rich shades to highlight your tan; in winter, you should give preference to calmer tones.

Brushes and sponges

In addition to decorative cosmetics, you will also need cosmetic brushes. For the first experiments, you will need a small flat sponge or a beauty blender in the form of a drop. And only three brushes.

Fluffy angled brush. Traditionally it is used to apply blush, but it is also suitable for other dry products. It is convenient to use at any stage: both when you apply the product and when you shade the borders.

Kabuki brush. This is the name given to a wide and tightly packed brush with a short handle. If the cut of such a brush is round, it is suitable for dry textures, but if it is straight, you can shade creamy products with it.

Large fan brush . You will need it to apply dry highlighter in a thin, weightless layer.

Brushes are used for applying dry textures, sponges for cream ones.

Basic application tips

Any of the above decorative cosmetics can be either dry or creamy in texture. How to choose the right one? Focus on the brightness you want to achieve in the end. Loose products give a lighter result, while liquid products apply more densely and are great for evening makeup or photography. In addition, you need to consider your skin type. Powder products are more suitable for oily or combination skin, while cream products are more suitable for normal and dry skin.

If you choose dry contouring products, then before using contouring powder you need to cover your face with regular powder. This is done so that the dark color does not stain the foundation. If you feel like your contour powder looks darker than desired, spritz your face with a makeup setting spray.

Highlighter is also part of contouring. For oily skin, it is better to choose dry highlighters with a matte or semi-satin finish. This product will not make your skin feel oily.

When using cream products, it is worth remembering that they are more difficult to blend. Also, creamy textures emphasize flaking, so they are not recommended for those with problem skin. If your palette does not have a highlighter, you can use a light concealer instead, which is applied to the bridge of the nose, center of the forehead, cheekbones and chin.