Celebrate your shape!

Face shape that is.

As a makeup artist I always try to keep up with what the industry is producing. One of my favorite ways to do that is by following fellow makeup artists and observe what they are posting and talking about (also comparing and being jealous of some of their awesome jobs, duh). I follow probably over 100 different makeup artists on several social media networks. With that being said, something that I have noticed for quite some time now, ever since the famous "Kim Kardashian contour" was public, is that everyone continues to post the same type of contouring. Meaning, it didn't matter what the face shape was, it was always the same contour and highlight routine. I mean I know we all wish we looked like Kim and if we just did our makeup like hers that magically we will turn into this live-exotic version of Jasmine from Aladdin, but unfortunately that is not the way this works.


You see, not everyone's face is the same shape and the different contouring and highlighting techniques help flatter all face shapes. For those of us who don't just have naturally sculpted features this is a perfect way to make it APPEAR that we have sculpted features. The reason I find it important to share this information is because we should all celebrate what shape we have and learn the best ways to compliment our shape with makeup. And for those of you who do not totally understand what contouring and highlighting is, let me explain.


Contouring is using natural shades that are a little darker than the skin and finding placement that helps the areas of the face "fall back" or "recede".  So any areas of the face that we want to appear to be deeper.


Highlighting is using colors a few shades lighter than our skin and placing it on the areas on the face that we want to bring "forth" or bring "out". So any areas of the face that we want to appear fuller.


Take for example Kirstin Dunst

She has a Round face shape. So you wouldn't contour a round face the way you would contour a square face. The best way to contour this face is as follows. I know its a dramatic Tammy Fay Bakker version, but it shows how to contour a round face accurately.

By contouring the sides of the face it helps it appear slimmer and by highlighting the top of the head and chin, it helps it appear longer. Ultimately, changing the appearance of the shape to compliment the facial features. You know, going from Cabbage Patch Doll to, um, a sexier doll?

Then we have Liv Tyler. The only person that made Elf's kinda cool. (Lord of the Rings joke. *insert snort laughing here*)

Liv has a Oblong face. It is very long and rounded both on top and on bottom. Again, this Tammy Fay face chart will show a proper way to contour and highlight this shape.

When you contour the top and bottom of the face it helps the face appear shorter. Then by doing sharp contouring along the cheek bones it gives shape and attention to the center of the face.

Gosh, I really am sorry for the dramatic face charts. Don't drink a bunch of coffee and then stare at them for too long, it feels as if they stare back. Yikes. Moving on.

Now we will take a look at the beautiful Angelia Jolie

Angelina is a beautiful example of a square shaped face. She has good space on her forehead as well as good space with her jaw. You can see a little bit of the contouring that they did for her in this photo but there is also a reference picture below.

I know this looks a little odd but by highlighting the top planes of the face will make the bottom of the face appear smaller. I do suggest a little bit of contour on forehead near the hairline just to even out the square shape. And for the love of God, unless you are in the Broadway play Hairspray, DO NOT, I REPEAT, DO NOT wear that color of blush. Just a side note for you. haha

Lets take a look at the gorgeous Jessica Alba

SheShe has a diamond shaped face. Meaning it comes to a point at the top and bottom of her face. As you can tell with all of these face shapes not one is better than the other. They are all unique but clearly very beautiful in their own way. It is important however, to find an artist that knows each of these shapes and how to work with them.

Because the face is wider around the temples you can contour along the sides of the face concentrating mostly on the top of the face. Highlighting the bottom of the face will again help it appear more even.

The last shape we will go over today is the heart shaped face. Scarlett Johansson is a perfect example of this shape.

You can see that her face has good proportion at the top and then around her chin comes to a sharper point. Still very pretty and yet can be contoured in the correct manner.

Highlighting the chin area will help make the jawline appear wider which gives great proportion to the rest of the face.

So as you can tell there are other ways to contour the face other than the "Kim Kardashian" contour. Ones that can be a little more contemplative of your specific shape. So ladies, lets go out there and CELEBRATE our shapes by accentuating our beautiful features with highlighting and contouring. You will find that some celebrities have had some uninformed makeup artists and you can definitely tell the difference.

Just for fun I am adding some celebrity makeups that just went horrible. Whether it was the contour or it was just the makeup in general, here are some reasons why to do your research on this type of stuff and also the type of makeup artist that you are hiring. SHAMELESS PLUG..... So if any of you celebrities need a makeup artist with some good knowledge, well, you know where to find me. haha. Enjoy!!!!

  

Until next time.


MUAH!

Anna Milhouse Artistry
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