Contouring is not about carving a new face. It is light and shadow: you recede what you want to soften and bring forward what you want to catch the eye.
Choose the Right Formula and Shade
Contour should be cool-toned and taupe-grey, not orange — orange is bronzer, and bronzer warms rather than sculpts. Cream contours suit dry and mature skin and melt naturally; powders suit oily skin. Go only one to two shades deeper than your skin, and build.
Oval Faces
Already balanced, so keep it minimal: light shadow under the cheekbones and a touch along the hairline, with highlight on the tops of the cheekbones and the centre of the forehead. Over-contouring an oval face makes it look gaunt.
Round Faces
The goal is length and definition. Contour along the temples, under the cheekbones angled towards the ear, and along the jawline. Highlight a vertical strip down the centre of the forehead, the nose bridge and the chin to draw the eye downward.
Square Faces
Soften the angles. Contour the corners of the forehead and the outer jaw in rounded, curved motions rather than straight lines. Highlight the centre of the forehead, under the eyes and the middle of the chin.
Heart Faces
Balance a wider forehead against a narrow chin. Contour along the top of the forehead and lightly under the cheekbones, and skip the jaw. Highlight the mid-cheek and along the jawline to add visual width at the bottom of the face.
Long Faces
Shorten visually by contouring the top of the forehead and the bottom of the chin rather than the sides. Apply blush horizontally across the cheeks instead of angled upward, which pulls the face wider.
Blending and Placement Rules
Find the cheekbone by feeling for the bone, and keep the contour above the hollow, never below. Blend upward and outward with a dense brush or damp sponge in small circles for at least thirty seconds. Apply highlighter only on the high points that naturally catch light, and check in natural daylight before you leave the house.