Face sculpting is an impressive technique that allows you to make absolutely any girl a model from the cover of a fashion magazine. Contouring, or contouring, as this technique is also called, is the latest trend of daily makeup. Now you can make a Hollywood make-up yourself at home. You only need to purchase tools and materials individually or a ready-made kit for sculpting your face and practice a little.
Face shape
Correct sculpting of the face begins with the definition of the source data. Depending on the shape of the face, different schemes and techniques are used. By the way, if you decide on the shape of your face, it will be easier not only to apply a magnificent make-up, but also to choose suitable clothes, jewelry, the perfect shape of the eyebrows and hairstyle. A face can be round, oval (this is considered stylistically universal, contouring schemes for all other types strive precisely for the visual formation of an oval), square, elongated, heart-shaped or triangular.
To determine the shape of the face, you will need a large mirror and a marker that is well washed off from its surface, or lipstick. Put your hair in a ponytail and go to the mirror, straighten your back and straighten your shoulders, try not to express any emotions, your face should be relaxed. Looking straight, circle the outline of your face as accurately as possible in the mirror. Ears and hair volume need not be taken into account. Care must be taken not to move so that the circuit is not smeared. Now move away from the mirror and evaluate the result.
Another way is more "mathematical", there is no need to determine the shape of the eye. It is necessary to measure with a measuring tape the width of the forehead, jaw and cheekbones in the widest part, as well as the vertical distance from the chin to the forehead. Compare indicators. Which line is the widest and which is narrow, how much the face is longer vertically than horizontally. Now you need to compare the results with descriptions of face types:
- the width of the face is equal to the length - round or square;
- face height> width 1.5 times or more - elongated (such a face is also called rectangular);
- width of forehead, cheekbones and chin are equal - square or elongated (rectangular) face;
- forehead height> width less than 1.5 times - oval or heart-shaped;
- the width of the forehead and cheekbones is greater than the width of the chin - a triangular or heart-shaped face;
- the width of the cheekbones is greater than the width of the forehead and chin - oval, round or diamond-shaped;
- the width of the chin is greater than the width of the cheekbones and forehead - a pear-shaped face or an inverted triangle (this is a very rare form).
For another method, only two measurements will be needed: the height of the face divided by three (value A), and the distance from the tip of the chin to the base of the nose (value B). If A is equal to B, then you have an oval or, if the chin is sharp, heart-shaped face, if A is less than B, then this is a circle, triangle or rhombus, and if the value of A is greater than B, then you have a square or elongated face of rectangular shape.
Parameters may not fit into any of the above descriptions, and this is normal. All people are individual, and a person who is ideally suited to a certain form is very rare. Variants of the main types come across more often. You just need to decide which form is as close to yours as possible and, perhaps, follow the recommendations selectively.
The choice of makeup
Facial sculpting tools can be of various shapes and textures. For compact cosmetics bags, solid sticks are suitable: in a convenient double-sided pencil, everything that is needed for a full contouring is placed. Cream powder will allow you to get a weightless coating and will blend well, but will require more time to apply than a stick. In finished pallets, the products are usually creamy, but thicker, the tonal base. Those with makeup so far “on you”, it is better to choose a powdery texture, and when you get comfortable, you can move on to cream.
You can buy a palette for sculpting the face, and not several funds separately. Ready-made kits contain all the necessary cosmetic products. Pay attention to such pallets:
- Eight shades for contouring from NYX, the texture is powdery cream. It lasts about 8 hours, and then it begins to gradually go away, leaving no stains and dirty spots. Cost - 900 rubles.
- Powder sculptor from Loreal Paris. Suitable for beginners - the kit includes instructions and a step-by-step description of the process of applying makeup. Holds on the skin for 4-5 hours. Cost - 1015 rubles.
- Palette from Pupa in matte and shiny textures is suitable for applying daily and evening makeup. The price of a pallet is 1000 rubles.
- The Shape your face palette will save space in the makeup bag, it is at the same time blush, bronzer and highlighter. Means seem very bright, but they are not pigmented so that the skin will be barely visible in one or two layers. Cost - 399 rubles.
- Palette from Sleek MakeUp for 710 rubles. Bronzing powder and highlighter are applied with a large beveled brush. In some cases (depending on the natural color), even eyebrow shadows can replace products.
- Ctrice Prime and fine two-tone palette. It is easy to apply and shade, on the back of the package there is a step-by-step instruction in pictures. The cost of a pallet is 335 rubles.
- Eight shades from Makeup Revolution. It is simply impossible to not find your shade in this palette. Brown-red is suitable for dark-skinned girls, pale pink will perfectly hide wrinkles under the eyes, gray-brown perfectly highlights cheekbones. The price is 940 rubles.
- Economical palette from Just Make Up. A small palette is enough for at least 6 months. In addition, the products are very persistent, hold on the skin for up to 8 hours. Cost - 880 rubles.
- Manly Pro Palette. Just two universal shades will quickly mask all skin imperfections. Such a wonderful tool can be purchased for 1080 rubles.
- Corrective palette CoverAll. Green, purple, pale blue and orange correctors will help to “erase” traces of fatigue, lighten the skin, correct the oval of the face, and emphasize the cheekbones. It costs only 285 rubles.
Hue bronzer and highlighter
Choosing the right shade is half the success. When choosing a sculptor, the products need to be tested only on their skin. The light shade should be one or two tones lighter than the color of the foundation that you usually use. To create a shadow, you need a shade of one or two darker. When contouring the sub-cheekbone zone, the color of its own shadow is used, as when choosing a shade you need to focus on the shadow areas of the face.
Owners of pale skin should not use products with an orange undertone or sculptors that are too dark; gray-brown is suitable as a dark shade. Dark skin needs a highlighter copper-bronze hue.
Face sculpting brush
Different tools are needed to work with different application techniques and textures. Face sculpting is not complete without a fluffy brush with a beveled cut, which is applied blush and focus on the cheekbones, evenly shade the product. Kabuki with a direct cut is needed for blending cream or liquid cosmetic products, the use of such a brush will make the contouring smooth, very expressive and persistent. A fan brush is useful for applying highlighter, for the same purpose you should buy a flat brush for eyeshadow with a slightly sharpened cut.
Contouring scheme
How to make face sculpting? The standard scheme is simple. It consists in highlighting some areas and darkening others. Before contouring, it is advisable to apply a base for makeup, which will immediately improve the condition of the skin and increase the resistance of the make-up. Contouring can be dry and greasy. Dry sculpting of the face can become a stage of daily makeup, in the process only dry products will be used, that is, blush, eye shadow, powder. For fatty creams, tonal bases, highlighters and bronzers are used. This technique requires accuracy, dexterity, thorough shading and more time for application. The main rule of contouring is not to overdo it. Makeup should not be visible from afar, because the main goal is to create soft and sophisticated, as natural facial contours.
Work must begin with the nose, then proceed to the cheekbones and forehead, lastly darken the lower part of the chin. A dark shade also darkens the septum between the nostrils, the areas on the sides of the nose, the line of the cheekbones from the corner of the lips to the ear directly under the bone, the areas on the sides of the forehead and along the hairline. The back of the nose, the “tick” above the upper lip, the area under the eyebrows and the lower part of the cheekbones need light pigment. The final stage is feathering. You need to start with bright areas, gradually moving towards darkened ones. This face sculpting scheme is universal, but when applying makeup it is better to rely on your own shape, since each has its own characteristics.
Round face modeling
Sculpting the face (the shape of the face should already be clarified by this point, because the diagrams are given below with its consideration) of a round shape requires the use of a larger amount of darker shade on the cheekbones than in other cases. A bronzer needs to darken the cheeks on the sides, narrowing the face a little, no need to apply it on the chin and forehead.
The highlighter needs to distinguish the nose bridge and middle of the nose with a straight line to draw attention to the center of the face. Make a triangle on the chin and highlight the inside of the cheeks. These will give the round face a more balanced, slightly elongated and aesthetic look.
Blush chubby girls need to be used very sparingly, there is a risk of overdoing it. It is enough to slightly highlight the cheeks just above the cheekbones. Blush should be applied in the form of a drop. You can generally refrain from applying them. Sculpting a round face does not always require the use of blush.
Loose straight hair, an asymmetrical haircut and parting are suitable for girls with such a face shape, and it is better to completely abandon excess volume and comb. Eyebrows will look best short, with a high rise, and long will only add width.
Square face contouring
Sculpting a square-shaped face aims to soften the chin line and darken hard lines. A dark shade should be used on the temples, along the hairline, to align and lengthen the nose. The chin does not need to be darkened, and on the cheekbones it is enough to draw light lines from the middle of the ear.
With the highlighter, you can highlight the chin, forehead, and the area under the eyes, which will make your eyes open and clear. But it should be remembered that a square face requires a minimum amount of light shade when contouring. Highlight areas with extreme caution in order to avoid the effect of the mask and maintain naturalness.
Blush should be imposed from the edge of the cheekbones down to the intersection with the center point of the eye. This will soften the square shape of the face, but preserve the natural proportions.
For owners of a square face, long straight hair, soft bangs with asymmetry, rounded curls and curls on the sides of the face, hairstyles with soft lines and color transitions are suitable. Eyebrows are best made rounded.
Sculpting an oval face
Any contouring seeks to visually create an oval face, as this is a stylistically perfect shape with balanced proportions. Happy owners of an oval face can use the standard sculpting scheme. It is only necessary to avoid visual lengthening when highlighting the line of the cheekbones with a dark shade.
Reviews of sculpting an oval-shaped face confirm that such girls most quickly mastered the technique. They do not need to think independently about which areas are better to lighten and which ones need to be darkened. It is enough to use the standard scheme to achieve the perfect result.
Girls with an oval face can freely experiment with makeup, clothes (unless, of course, the figure allows) and a hairstyle. But naturally, you need to do all this within the framework of the reasonable.
Heart shaped face
The heart-shaped face is naturally distinguished by cheeks, so cheekbones should not be strongly distinguished. You just need a little bronzer from about the middle of the ear and before reaching the corner of the mouth, it is desirable to highlight a dark shade with whiskey. It is important to maintain a visual balance between the temples and cheekbones. Dark lines in the lower part of the face are generally best avoided. You can darken the corners of the nose and a small area under its tip.
Highlighter should highlight the area under the eyes, the chin and the central line of the nose. On the forehead it must be used with caution, otherwise you can weight the upper part of the face. Blush is applied to the heart-shaped face along the line of the bronzer, at an angle to the chin.
Triangular face contouring
Sculpting a triangular face requires the use of more dark shade on the chin. You need to balance it with the rest of the face. The line should also be darkened at the growth of hair and the wings of the nose. But the nose needs to be highlighted very carefully. It is better to apply a light shade above the eyebrows, under the eyes and only slightly extend the line under the nose.
By the way, owners of a triangular-shaped face usually differ in expressive eyes. Arched curly eyebrows will fit, so they will distract attention from the chin.
The blush on the triangular face should be light, apply blush should be as straight lines as possible towards the nose. The main thing to remember is that the blush lines should in no case repeat the triangle, as this will only overload the face.
As for hairstyles, the same ones will be suitable for girls with a heart-shaped face. These are oblique or straight bangs, an asymmetrical bean, hair of any length, but curled to the chin, hairstyles with a volume below the cheekbone line (and ideally at the level of the chin).
Long face modeling
Step-by-step sculpting of a rectangular (elongated) face:
- Darken the bottom of the chin to reduce length.
- For the same purpose, apply a bronzer with a wider line along the hair growth from temple to temple.
- Select cheekbones a bit with horizontal lines.
- Darken the nose, but only up to half the bridge of the nose.
- Highlighter highlight the area under the eyes, just lightly touch the space between the eyebrows and the nose.
- On the chin, highlight the line under the lip, stretch it in width.
- Apply blush with straight, broad lines to the side of the nose.
Curls will fit along the contour of the face, which will soften sharp features a little, thick bangs to eyebrows, curls in the area of the cheekbones. Eyebrows are best shaped horizontally.
The face before and after sculpting is very different. Look only at the photos that are presented in the article. This technique is definitely worth learning, especially since contouring is not as difficult as it seems. You just need to follow the schemes, take into account the individual characteristics of the face and choose the right shades of makeup products.