After having watched the 2012/13 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show (whilst drowning our sorrows in a tub of ice cream) it seems all of us girls were just left wondering HOW it is possible to look like that?! Those girls must have taken up residence at the gym! It would be a dream come true to look like Miranda Kerr (not just so we could be married to Orlando Bloom) but we all value the occasional Firehouse pizza way too much. Although hitting the gym and eating healthily is the ultimate way to get slim, it may take some time to show results. If you can’t wait that long, Her Campus brings you a fantastic, quick and easy way to make your face appear more defined. You may not know it, but celebrity makeup artists always use the powerful technique of highlighting and contouring to define certain areas of the face. Once you know about this make up trick, you will see how effectively it is used on celebrities to give them a flawless bone structure. But anyone can achieve the appearance of chiselled cheekbones! It may look difficult and daunting but it is actually a simple process that could be introduced into any girl’s make up routine on a night out.
Contouring
It is safe to say that pretty much every celebrity out there incorporates contouring into their makeup regime when attending red carpet events. Kim Kardashian is just one of the many A-Listers that use this trick to make their face appear more slender. Contouring focuses on adding shade to the more shallow areas of your face in order to elevate the cheekbones, the jawline and the bridge of your nose. Not only does contouring make your face more defined, it is also a surprisingly fun technique! After having applied your foundation and concealer, suck in your cheeks to find where your cheekbones are. Take a bronzer – Her Campus loves the Nars Bronzing Powder in the shade Laguna – and your favourite fluffy face brush and while still sucking in your cheeks, lightly sweep the bronzer from the beginning of your cheekbone near your mouth, upwards in small circular motions towards the end of your cheekbone where the top of your ear is. Repeat this step on the other side of your face to make your cheekbones look more defined.
Applying a touch of bronzer on your temples and the sides of your forehead will also help to highlight your face and make it appear more defined. For an added slimming effect, sweep a small amount of bronzer along the bottom of your jawline.
Surprisingly, this slimming effect can also work on noses! Take the same brush and bronzer and this time sweep the bronzer along the sides of your nose; starting at the top near the inner corners of your eyes and moving downwards.
Highlighting
Once you’ve mastered the contouring stage and your face is already looking more defined, it’s time to add a highlighter. Highlighting is a step that is often missed out in makeup routines, but including it will definitely bring that extra glow to your face on a special night out. This step consists of applying a highlighter powder; such as any MAC Mineralize Skin Finish (if you’re on a tight budget, a vanilla-coloured eye shadow with a lot of shimmer will have the same effect), to the parts of your face that are more elevated. These areas include the tops of your cheekbones and your temples. It helps to open up your face and give you a healthy looking glow. To add that special finishing touch to the perfect smoky eye, apply some of the highlighter or shadow to your brow bone and blend in well. This will open up your eye and will add definition to your brows. Highlighting the bridge of your nose will add brightness to your complexion and work alongside the contouring to slim your nose down.
Another little known fact about highlighters is how plumped it can make your lips look. With a trusty touch of highlighter, you too can achieve that sexy Angelina Jolie pout! By lightly sweeping a little highlighter or eye shadow on your cupid’s bow (the point just above the centre of your upper lip), your lips will look fuller; and adding your favourite red lipstick to the equation is the perfect way to wow your other half this Valentine’s Day!
Picture credits:
bellezza.pourfemme.it