How to Contour and Highlight for Everyday Makeup

By Jobs & Hire Staff Reporter | Nov 24, 2013 11:22 PM EST

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Going out on the town requires a bit more makeup than your average day-to-day wear. Let's get right down to the nitty gritty of contouring and highlighting for everyday wear.

We highlight and contour to make our faces look thinner. The contouring adds shadows where high cheek bones would naturally cast a bit of a shadow. The highlights bring out those cheek bones and make them look more natural and radiant. Even if you don't have discernible cheek bones at all you can look thinner, more defined and regal by highlighting and contouring.

Step 1: Contouring. To start, locate the area where your sideburns start and draw an invisible line from there (right above your ear) to the corner of your lip. This is the area we're working with. With an angled brush, get enough bronzing powder or foundation in a darker shade than your skin color, and drag it from right above your ear half way to your mouth. Don't go all the way to your mouth. Do the other side as well.

Now grab a fluffy brush and blend in a circular motion starting at your ear and working towards your mouth.

Step 2: Highlighting. A lot of people apply blush next, but we think the highlighter looks more natural when blended in with a light blush. Grab a soft brush and dip it in a lighter shade of foundation than your skin color or a highlighting powder. Both work well. Using a circular motion start above your cheek bone and draw towards your nostril. Do both sides.

Step 3: Blush. Now that you've contoured and highlighted add some life to your cheeks with a bit of blush and, always in a circular motion, tie it all together!

It's fast, easy and will thin out any face. Good luck! Let me know how this works for you by commenting or posting photos below.

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