the art of contouring

in the world of beauty, i'm all about the eyes. it's so typical and girly; my desert-island product is mascara, i'm a sucker for shimmery shadow, and i've perfected swoopy cat-eye liner. 

but a recent rendezvous with a certain nars bronzer and stila highlighter have made me obsessed with contouring.

nothing's worse than seeing a beautifully made-up face that's completely flat; all one color, one texture, one tone. it looks like a mask! everyone needs some blush at the very least, and you can make even more of an impact by giving your features some highlights and lowlights. my contouring routine goes like this:

1) apply a thin layer of caudalie vinoperfect cream for an even, radiant glow.

2) smooth chanel vitalumiere foundation wherever necessary for a bit of coverage (with a shiseido foundation brush). 

3) dust almay clear complexion powder over t-zone (forehead, nose & chin).

4) using a dense kabuki brush (like this one), swirl nars bronzer in laguna below cheekbones, under the jaw, and at the temples/hairline for shading.

5) dip a fluffy fan brush into a highlighting powder (i sometimes use stila 'kitten' eyeshadow for this) and blend it over the apples of cheeks, over the top of cheekbones, down the bridge of the nose, and over the brow bones to counteract the shading.

result: a glowy, contoured complexion!

if you want to do all of the above with one product, the tom ford shade & illuminate is for you. it's pricy at $70 - but easily the best tool for contouring. try the products below for an equally flattering effect:

{highlight, clockwise from top left: rms living luminizer, stila 'kitten' eyeshadow, nars illuminator in copacobana, sonia kashuk fan brush, stila all over shimmer duo, madina chic & shine stick // shade: tom ford shade & illuminate, clinique true bronze pressed powder bronzer, nars bronzing powder brush, bobbi brown bronzing powder, nars bronzer in laguna}

II emily