The exaggerated use of reflections and facial contours. Do you really need it?

Highlighting and contouring originated from male to female drag queens to use the art of makeup as a way to soften jaw lines and hide facial hair and the ridge of the brows. This makeup style was known to be heavy on highlighting and contouring and very expressive. However, for non-professionals, the art of contouring and highlighting can seem like a daunting task, as there can be confusion about the correct way to apply it.

Highlighting and contouring is a corrective technique used to create the ideal face shape, which means it’s not the same for everyone. For women, when highlighting and contouring, there’s a fine line between enhancing your best features and painting a whole new face. Women already have soft, feminine features. When applying makeup, overuse of products can completely overdo it and create unflattering features.

Here’s the thing, the makeup industry has killed the “battered face” trend and made overuse of highlighting and contouring the new norm. The goal now is to give you features you don’t actually possess: bigger, brighter eyes. A narrower and more delicate nose. Using 20 products to achieve a “natural” look or more. Tips, tricks, and techniques come from beauty gurus and YouTubers, not professional makeup artists.

This is not the case if you know how to do your makeup correctly. You’ll find that by following techniques other than a professional, you may end up incorporating unnecessary steps just to look “natural.”

While professional makeup artists take similar steps using highlight and contour flawlessly to enhance, not hide, your beautiful features, they understand that successful highlight and contour is all about using as little product as possible so that the end result is believably natural. to mix it well and to add more color gradually.

Good makeup is makeup that looks good in person and in photos, and that accentuates features instead of hiding everything. There is an art in this. A strong foundation, then a heavy concealer, followed by a heavy cream highlighter/contour can look great at night, on stage, or in front of the camera, but in person it’s pretty extreme. Instead, heavy makeup only draws attention to enlarged pores, blackheads, and other facial flaws.

A light natural contour and reflection for the average woman on a daily basis is a great thing to learn and practice. Some important tips to know before incorporating highlights and contours into your makeup application are as follows:

• Less is more

• Contouring is subtly defining one’s features and to look flawless, it should be barely noticeable.

• Mixing concealer with foundation can create a more even, natural reflection.

• Practice makes perfect facial flaws.