Makeup Lesson # 6: A Play of Light

Know your makeup and never have to go for face surgery, at least, temporarily.

With the correct tools and the knowledge on how to use them, you can turn what could just be color application into something more intricate, such as contouring. Without having to go under the knife, you can enhance your looks into many creative ways. This would call for a more basic understanding of colors, or shade, to be more exact. As a rule -- and I’m sure you already know this -- dark colors tend to hide or diminish a feature, and light ones bring out and illuminate what you want to bring out. I think, for an example, we should look no farther than the fact that on our “fat days,” we automatically reach for a dark-colored shirt – and there’s no arguing what that little black dress can do to hide bulges when cut very well.

Contouring is divided into two – shading and counter-shading. Shading would be to darken several areas on the face to give the illusion of it being diminished. Counter-shading does the opposite. To proceed with contouring the basic planes of the face, you would need two types of liquid foundation – one that is two shades lighter than your normal shade, and one that is two shades darker. You would also need two concealer brushes. This will be thin enough for the application needed. Have your plastic palette ready. If you want to use cake foundation, just wet the concealer brush so that it can pick up the product.

Put just small amounts of the foundations on the palette – about less than a quarter of half an inch. Simply put, to diminish certain parts of your face, maybe make it more angled and chiseled, or if you just want to make it less protruding, put the darker foundation on these areas. If you were to diminish a protruding forehead, draw three horizontal lines – less than an inch long – cascading down starting from the middle of the forehead to almost the nose area. Draw one diagonal line under the cheekbones to make that area less full and make the cheekbones stand out. Draw vertical lines on each side of the nose to make it straighter, or more Romanesque. Draw three horizontal lines on the chin area to make it less protruding. Draw one vertical line on each side of jaw for a more chiseled look. To make the product blend in, use a makeup wedge and gently smudge it until it almost blends in with your initial foundation. It will not totally blend in, however, as it’s an entirely different shade.

Counter-shading will be easier after this. Simply get a different concealer brush and draw lines on the areas you want to highlight. You can use your shading lines as a guide. Draw a vertical line down the bridge of the nose for emphasis. Draw small vertical lines on the cheekbones to bring it out. To blend in, get a different wedge and gently smudge in.

As a matter of fact, applying blush is also a way of shading and counter-shading. Apply a dark red blush on the underside of the cheekbones and you will achieve a more angular look. Brush on some light, peach-colored blush on the apples of the cheeks and it highlights not just the cheeks, but the eyes, as well.