Take 5 Pounds Off Your Face By Contouring!

         Unless you are really into makeup, you may not know how to contour your face or even know what contouring is. Contouring is simply shaping your face into it's desired shape, using a darker colour than your regular skin tone. It's the easiest way to slim down your face in seconds, and makes a big difference to any makeup look. I now do this every day in my makeup routine, which has lead to many people asking me if I have lost weight, as they can "see it in my face". I've also had many people compliment me on my cheekbones, when a year ago you could barely tell that I had cheekbones! If you don't already know, read on to find out how to contour! 

My go to bronzer these days is one that I have mentioned multiple times in this blog, which is the Bourjois Bronzing Powder in 51 peaux claires/medianes. This is a beautiful, mainly matte, light bronzer that smells like chocolate. I purchased this product about mid summertime and have not nearly hit pan yet, and I've been using it almost every day since.

As you can see, the packaging is now a little messy, (I actually had to wipe it down before taking a photo of it, and this is the end result) as that's what happens when you're whipping out the same product every day of the week! I just use a blush brush to apply my bronzer, but use a contour brush if you have one. The brush I'm using is the Professional Blush Brush by Quo.

When I take photos, you can almost never tell that I have contoured at all. This is what you want, as the goal is to make it look as natural as possible. That's why I only use the lightest bronzers for my skin, as I have such a fair complexion. Another option is to use a foundation that is a shade or two darker than your regular foundation, and blend it in the same areas described below.

Here is my contouring process:

1. Cheekbones

If you don't know where the hollows of your cheeks are, suck them in and blend your bronzer into these areas. Start blending from the top of your hollows, right down to the edge of your mouth . This will really pull your face in and give your cheekbones definition. Make sure you blend afterwards with a fluffy brush to avoid any harsh lines.

2. Temples

Blend your bronzer from just above the middle of your eyebrow to the top of your cheekbone, in a sweeping "C" movement on both sides.

3. Jaw Line 

This might be my favourite area to contour, as I would always like to take a few pounds off underneath my chin. I sweep just the tiniest bit of bronzer underneath my jaw bone as well as right underneath  my chin. You don't want to use too much, as your face will start to look an unnatural colour from the rest of your body.

And that's it! Some people also choose to apply bronzer on the bridge of their nose if they want to slim it down. The trick is, do not go too much darker than your natural skin tone, know what you're doing and blend, blend, blend. I've used bronzer for years, but I never knew how to contour so it didn't make a difference in the shape of my face. Hope this helped some of you!

GOODNIGHT! xx