Highlight and Contour for a Sculptured Look

Highlighting and contouring have been popular for a long time now. I often get questions about it so I thought I’d add some additional information to piggyback off my article from last week. Let’s get into it!

Can I highlight/contour and wear foundation together? 

Yes and yes! It all depends on what look you are going for. When applying makeup on myself or on clients I like to keep skin looking like skin. I use both to bring lightness and darkness to skin as it naturally looks in sunlight.

Is it better to use a full coverage foundation or can I use a mineral powder? 

You can use a mineral powder but you also want to use it for contour, highlight, and/or to bronze. If it’s used first on the skin you don’t want to add any liquid on top (that you need to blend) because it can start to break up and look patchy. However, if you start with liquid or cream you can layer mineral powders on top.

What type of powder do you use to bake? 

You can use any powder that is finely milled. Powders that are too heavy don’t look natural on the skin. Setting powders are normally used for baking as they set the look in place. I like to use a product that is super lightweight so it doesn’t look heavy under the delicate eye area. Although it is not necessary to “bake”. (Baking is leaving powder to set for an extended amount of time to make the product last on the skin.)

For mature skin or people who have fine lines in the eye area, I don’t recommend leaving powder under the eyes for a long time. Adding a light dusting of powder with a soft brush gives a more flattering result.

What is banana powder and how does it differ from translucent? 

Banana is just a color (yellow base powder). Translucent has “no color” at all. It is meant for all skin tones but I find on deeper skin tones yellow, peachy, or caramel based powders are more flattering on the skin. For lighter skin tones translucent, yellow, or pink base powders look nice on the skin depending on the skin’s natural undertone.

Since I went through some questions I received I wanted to touch on a few more points dealing with tones.

Contour vs Bronzing

Contouring traditionally is meant to resemble a shadow on the face. Shadows tend to have a cool greyish undertone naturally. If you want to look more sculpted, a product that contains this undertone is key. Most products labeled as “contour” contains a grey undertone.

Bronzing contains more of a warm undertone. Bronzing naturally happens when you spend a little time in the sun. You can get this look by using a shade deeper in your normal foundation. 

I will follow up this post with additional information as I get questions concerning placement, product recommendations, etc.

If you enjoyed this article check out the sister articles below:
https://itsterreana.com/concealer-uses-choosing-the-best-concealer-for-color-correcting/
https://itsterreana.com/customize-foundation-for-season-change-and-color-correction/

Thanks for hanging out today!
XO Terreana