Contouring Makeovers

Contouring Makeovers

As much as we hate to admit it, Kim Kardashian has seriously impacted the makeup world. She’s hardly the first to try contouring, but her insane before and after photos made women everywhere want to learn this transformative makeup technique. Makeup artist Rolando Robinson made over four women from our own office and walked us through the steps for proper contouring.

Cheekbones

For our first model Sam, Robinson wanted to focus contouring on the cheekbones to make them really pop, though he made sure to contour the rest of the face, too. To begin, he moisturized the face. “Always, always, always moisturize your skin. I love moisturizing with oils. I also swear by L’Occitane Lotion Divine .” He mixed it with Beauty Counter Lustro Face Oil 3 and Laura Mercier Radiance Primer before applying to her face.

After applying foundation, he began to highlight. “Use a liquid, like a foundation or BB cream. Make sure it’s two shades lighter than your skin.” For Sam, he mixed It Cosmetics CC+ and Dior Hydra Life BB Creme to get the right color and consistency for highlighting. He used a large concealer brush to place highlighter under the eye and up on top of the cheekbones, creating a U-shape. Then he went down the bridge of the nose and in between the eyebrows. “This flattens out the forehead and makes it look smaller than it is.” He finished by placing a small amount on the cupid’s bows, at the tip of the chin and on the outer corners of the brow bone. 

Once highlighting is finished, the shading begins. Robinson used Dolce and Gabbana Perfect Matte Liquid Foundation in Soft Sable. “If the color looks too dark it’s okay.” Start at the temples and go down, stopping at the center of your eye. “It gives depth and narrows the face.” Use contour on the sides of the chin to shape it, as well as along the hairline. You should also go down the sides of the bridge of the nose and in the center of the nose to give the illusion of a smaller tip. Also apply to the creases of the eye. To contour the cheeks, Robinson drew a straight line going from the outer corner of the eye to the center of the cheek. It should line up with the end of your nose.

Next comes the most important part: blending. Robinson used a stiff foundation brush to buff out the areas he contoured, so they appeared seamless. Use small circular motions when blending everything in. He then finished the look with mascara, eyeshadow, lip color and bronzer on the apples of the cheeks.

Eyes

Robinson worked to bring out Augusta’s eyes when doing her contouring. “When you’re contouring a face with naturally strong angles, you’re just punching those out. It’s not as difficult and you don’t have to fake it as much.” After moisturizing, priming and applying foundation, Robinson used a blush brush to apply Butter London Cheeky Cream Bronzer to the lids. He then applied Chanel Joues Contraste in 55 in Love to the lids, starting at the outer corners and working in. ”Even though this is considered a cream blush, it’s a mauve-y color, and the warm undertones look natural.”

Next, he used a stiff eyeshadow brush to apply a deep bronzer from the inner corner of the eye’s crease to the outer corner. When applying, he suggests, “Use just enough to give your lid separation from the brow bone, nothing too intense.” Then he lined the eyes with Votre Vu Le Crayon in Chocolat . “Do the outer corner, then just smudge it in, making sure you’re not going too sharp with it.”

For the rest of the highlighting and shading, Robinson used Dr. Jart Bounce Beauty Balm in 01  and Sonia Kashuk Undetectable Creme Bronzer . He finished the look with Butter London Lippy Liquid Lipstick , which he mixed with Mac Pro Lip Palette in Hangu , and Dr. Hauschka Illuminating Powder on the T-zone, on top of the forehead, and under the eyes.

Nose

Contouring isn’t just about emphasizing, it’s also about de-emphasizing. In Rachel’s case, Robinson worked to slim down the nose, but also take attention away from it by drawing eyes to the cheeks. Once moisturizer, primer and foundation were in place, Robinson used MAC Pure White Paintstick  down the bridge of the nose and along the cheekbones.

For shading, he used Sonia Kashuk Undetectable Creme Bronzer down the sides of the bridge of the nose and at the tip of the nose. To help make her cheekbones stand out, he placed shading in the hollows of her cheeks, near the ears.

After blending all of the makeup, Robinson placed MAC Pro Longwear Paint Pot in Let Me Pop at the tops of the cheeks for a healthy glow. He finished with StriVectin Clinical Corrector Anti-Aging Lip Tint in Pink and Make Up For Ever Aqua Lip Waterproof Lip Pencil in 2C on the lips

Dramatic Contouring

Robinson gave Cailan a more dramatic contouring look, which is perfect to wear out at night. After applying primer and foundation, Robinson started with the highlight. “I like to highlight first and then contour. The highlight is just a marker for where you’re going to set the rest of the product.” He used MAC Pure White Paintstick on her smile lines. “Highlighter around the mouth hides the smile lines, and it makes everything uniform.” He also highlighted under the eyes and up toward the temples, as well as down the bridge of the nose, in between the eyes, on the cupid’s bow, and on the tip of the chin.

For this particular look, Robinson used two forms of shading. He started with Tom Ford Illuminating Cheek Color in Amber, which he applied with a small, flat foundation brush. He applied to the sides of her nose and then brought it up toward the inner pockets of the eye. He then applied along the hairline and along the cheekbones, directly under the highlight. He went back and applied Dolce and Gabbana Perfect Matte Liquid Foundation in Soft Sable over the Tom Ford product to make the look more intense. He blended everything in using a combination of his fingers and a buffing brush.

For the eyes, Robinson applied the same foundation he used for shading all over the lids, pressing it in like a stain. He then applied a gold eyeshadow to the lids to bring light and radiance to the eye. “This will help with dimension and creating depth.” He used the same gold to go back over the bridge of the nose to make everything blend. He applied Laura Geller Baked Bronzer in Medium  by starting at the outer corner and working in toward the crease. “After applying eye makeup, I like to go around the brown bone with the Beauty Blender to keep the edges soft. You want it to blend.” He finished with liner and mascara.

For lips, Robinson used Butter London Lippy in Tramp Stamp (out this fall). “If you want the lips to push forward or be the focus, highlight the outer edge of lips. It helps to smooth the liner. If you want a sharp lip but don’t want to use a liner, use an angled brush.”

Tips and Tricks to Disguise, Hide and Cover Scars

Tips and Tricks to Disguise, Hide and Cover Scars

Whether from acne, injury or surgery, many of us have scars. While we can do a lot to try to help them heal or just minimize the appearance, sometimes the most immediate solution is finding ways to cover scars. We asked a few experts and got some great tips for giving our scars the best chance of remedy—and disguise.

Hope of Healing

If the scar is flat and less than two years old, it may diminish. To make sure it does, you need to do two things consistently: Protect the scar from sun exposure via clothing or a broad spectrum sunscreen, and treat the scar with a product loaded with skin-healing ingredients, like the antioxidant quercetin, petrolatum and vitamin C, says Bryan Barron, beauty expert, co-author of Don’t Go to the Cosmetics Counter Without Me. You’ll find such ingredients in products from Mederma, as well as Paula’a Choice Clinical Scar-Reducing Serum.

Scars older than two years are more difficult to treat, as are raised (keloidal) scars, which may require cosmetic procedures from a dermatologist. The reason for this is after a wound occurs, skin begins repairing itself immediately, but the complete process of scar formation takes two years, says Barron. So, the sooner you take steps to reduce the appearance of a scar, the better.

The Art of Disguise

For those times when you need to hide a scar quickly, your best bet is a long-wearing, full coverage concealer applied in several thin layers with a concealer brush or, if you prefer, a clean finger. The trick is dabbing (not rubbing) the concealer in thin layers so you can build to your desired level of coverage, says Barron. Try Make Up For Ever Full Cover Concealer, Mally Beauty Cancellation Conditioning Concealer SPF 25 , or for a great budget option, Revlon ColorStay Concealer. For concealer brushes, check out Cover FX Concealer Brush or, for smaller/thinner scars, Amazing Cosmetics Concealer Brush.

Neutralize the Color

Using a color that is on the opposite end of the color wheel will neutralize or cancel out the other color. So if you have a scar that is red, use a concealer that has a green undertone to it, and that will neutralize the red, says Gabriela Santana-Blackburn, executive director of esthetics and teacher training at Tricoci University of Beauty Culture. If you just put a light concealer over it, it will just turn it to a pink or light red scar. It is important that the concealers are still a natural flesh tone and not just green, yellow or any other color. Red and green neutralize each other, yellow and violet neutralize each other, and blue and orange neutralize each other.

If you have a keloid scar or a raised scar that needs to be covered, do not use a lighter color concealer like we tend to use under the eyes, says Santana-Blackburn. This will draw attention to that raised area instead of the minimizing it. You are better off using a concealer that is a perfect match to the darkness/lightness of your skin so that the scar blends in with the rest of your skin. A lighter product is a big mistake.

Next, press powder into the concealer to give it a longer lasting quality. Most people are in the habit of using a big fluffy brush and brushing on a setting powder. This is really ineffective from a long-lasting standpoint, says Santana-Blackburn. If you use a powder puff and work the powder into it then press it firmly over the area, this will give you a longer lasting coverage that isn’t easily wiped away.

Don’t Make It Worse

The worst thing you can do is expose a scar to the sun without any sunscreen or protective clothing, says Barron. Sun damage destroys skin and inhibits its immune response which results in delayed or improper healing. Other mistakes are using drying cleansers (including bar soaps) and applying products that contain irritating ingredients, many of which are of natural origin (like lavender or eucalyptus) but can cause serious irritation that will inhibit skin’s ideal healing response. Barron says to also be careful not to keep the scarred areas submerged in water for long periods of time, such as using a hot tub or taking a long bath. Skin doesn’t like too much water and prolonged exposure to it causes its barrier to become impaired, which also, you guessed it, delays healing.