How to Contour and Highlight Your Face (Makeup)
Using makeup is a great way to contour and highlight your face to create the look you want. First, you'll need to gather some basic supplies, like makeup brushes, a foundation, a highlighter, and a concealer. Apply your foundation and concealer to get rid of any imperfections. Then, start contouring with a slightly darker foundation or a contour stick. You can emphasize your cheek bones by making a straight line across the hollows of your cheekbones and blending it in. Or hide your double chin with a line across your bottom jaw line, and blend it in. You should also use a highlighting concealer that's slightly lighter than your foundation. With this, you can highlight the area underneath your eyes, the middle of your nose, and your cheekbones. If you're struggling to get your ideal look, try following makeup videos online to get some styling tips as you work.
Apply your primer and foundation like you normally would. Rub a primer into your skin as a base for your makeup. Let it dry before you start applying any foundation. Choose your normal shade of foundation and apply it with a foundation brush or blender. You can skip putting on foundation for a more natural look. Just be sure to blend your contour and highlight thoroughly into your skin! Add concealer to your blemishes but not your under eyes. Highlighting involves putting concealer underneath your eyes. Add your normal shade of concealer to blemishes on your cheeks, forehead, and nose, but don't cover your under eyes. Multiple layers of concealer under your eyes can look unnatural and cause creasing. Don't go too heavy on the concealer, since you'll be adding more later. Try not to mix powders and liquids. If you are using a powder contour, use a powder concealer. If you are using a liquid contour, use a liquid concealer. Use a concealer shade 2 to 3 shades lighter than your regular concealer. The concealer that you use as a highlighter should not be the same one that you use to cover blemishes. Choose a concealer that is lighter than your natural shade so that it makes certain areas of your face stand out. Draw an upside-down triangle under your eyes with concealer. The area under the eyes is often darker than the rest of your face. To brighten up your eye area, apply your concealer with the applicator in an upside-down triangle shape underneath your eyes. Start the triangle right beneath your lower lash line and bring it all the way down to the top of your cheeks. Fill the triangle in completely with concealer. Highlighting your under eyes also helps to emphasize your cheeks. Make a line of concealer going down the bridge of your nose. Keep this line fairly thin. Start at the top of your nose and bring the line down toward the tip. This will help to make your nose look smaller and accentuate its length. Add a small, upside-down triangle of concealer between your eyebrows. Situate your concealer right above the bridge of your nose. Point the triangle down toward your nose and reach the sides outward toward your eyebrows. Fill the entire triangle in with concealer. This triangle helps to accentuate your brow bones. Dab some concealer on the bottom part of your chin. Stick the bottom of your jaw outward so that your chin juts out. Apply a small rectangle of concealer to the bottom half of your chin. Fill the rectangle in completely. Do not add concealer on the top half of your chin, or it could make your lips look uneven. Blend the concealer thoroughly with a brush or damp beauty blender. Use small, circular motions to make sure there are no harsh lines on your face. The concealer you used is much lighter than your skin, so it will leave light strips if you don't blend it well. You can also use a blending sponge to blend in your concealer. For the most natural-looking results, dampen your sponge first. Blend a darker foundation with your own to create a contour liquid. Choose a liquid foundation that is 4 to 5 shades darker than your natural shade. Mix a capful of your normal foundation with a capful of the darker foundation using a makeup brush. You can also use a contour stick or powder instead. If you are using a powder contour makeup or a bronzer, find one in a shade darker than your own. Draw a line under your cheekbones with your contour shade. Find the hollows of your cheekbones by sucking your cheeks into your mouth. Use a small, flat makeup brush to swipe a line underneath your cheekbones from your ears to the middle of your cheek. Make sure the lines are fairly even on both sides of your face. If you are using a contour stick, apply the stick directly to your face. Add contour lines from the arch of your eyebrows up to your hairline. If you have a prominent forehead, you can make it look smaller by contouring. Use a small, flat makeup brush to swipe a line above both of your eyebrows up toward your hairline. Try not to get any contour liquid on your hair. If you have a naturally small forehead, you don't have to contour this area. Make your nose look smaller by adding contour lines along the bridge. Use a small, thin makeup brush to draw 2 lines on either side of the bridge of your nose. Start from the top of your eyebrows and brush the lines down until they reach the tip of your nose. Keep these lines thin, and make sure they don't touch each other in the middle. These contour lines elongate your nose and make it look smaller. If you are using a contour stick, use a brush to swipe the stick and pick up the contouring makeup. Define your jaw line by drawing contour lines underneath it. Find your jawline by feeling the sharp ridges at the bottom of your face. Make contour lines from your ear to the beginning of your chin. Do not contour right beneath your chin, or it could give you a strange shadowy look. Make these lines fairly thick and prominent. If you have a naturally strong jawline, you can skip contouring your jaw. Blend your contour in with a brush or damp beauty blender. The most important part of contouring is blending in your makeup. Use a stippling brush or a blending sponge to go over every line that you've created on your face. Blend the lines into your foundation in an upward motion until they are very faint. Do not leave any harsh lines or angles on your face.  Try looking at your makeup in the sun to see if it looks natural. Finish the rest of your makeup like you normally would. Once your face makeup is done, add eyeshadow, mascara, eyebrows, lip stick, and blush. Put on as much or as little makeup as you would like to.  Contouring and highlighting goes best with a full face of makeup. Brush bronzer into any contour areas you’d like to accentuate. Sometimes, blending out a contour line can make it disappear. If you have some areas that you want to create larger shadows for, like your jawline or your nose, use a large, fluffy brush to apply a thin layer of bronzer onto those areas. Use a thin, stiff brush to create lines on your nose and cheekbones in bronzer and then blend them out. If you are going for a more natural look, you don't need to add bronzer. Apply liquid or powder highlighter in areas you’d like to shimmer. Makeup brands often sell a product that is specifically called highlighter. This usually has some shimmer and shine to it, which makes it great for calling attention to features on your face. Apply your liquid or powder highlighter to your brow bones, the tip of your nose, and your cupid's bow. You can also add some on top of your cheekbones to make them stand out. Highlighter comes in a few different shades, but it is usually in a light white or peach tone. Use a setting powder or spray to ensure your makeup lasts. If you're going out for the night or to an event where you don't want to look oily, apply a setting powder to your entire face to make sure your makeup stays in place. Pat it into your under eye area, your forehead, and your cheekbones especially. Blend the powder into your face to look flawless. Or, use a setting spray and lightly spritz your face. Wait until the spray dries to go out on the town. Setting powder can cause flashback. If you're going to have your picture taken with flash, don't use setting powder. 
Apply your primer and foundation like you normally would. Add concealer to your blemishes but not your under eyes. Use a concealer shade 2 to 3 shades lighter than your regular concealer. Draw an upside-down triangle under your eyes with concealer. Make a line of concealer going down the bridge of your nose. Add a small, upside-down triangle of concealer between your eyebrows. Dab some concealer on the bottom part of your chin. Blend the concealer thoroughly with a brush or damp beauty blender. Blend a darker foundation with your own to create a contour liquid. Draw a line under your cheekbones with your contour shade. Add contour lines from the arch of your eyebrows up to your hairline. Make your nose look smaller by adding contour lines along the bridge. Define your jaw line by drawing contour lines underneath it. Blend your contour in with a brush or damp beauty blender. Finish the rest of your makeup like you normally would. Brush bronzer into any contour areas you’d like to accentuate. Apply liquid or powder highlighter in areas you’d like to shimmer. Use a setting powder or spray to ensure your makeup lasts. 