6 Mistakes Everyone Makes While Contouring

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Contouring has made it. No longer is contouring considered to be a strange, niche makeup choice; something that is primarily the reserve of dedication makeup fans and makeup artists. Contouring has gone mainstream, helped by celebrity fans such as Kim Kardashian. Any woman with more than a passing interest in makeup will now have a contouring kit in their beauty bag-- but its popularity doesn’t mean that women know how to contour properly.
When done well, contouring can look truly incredible. You can sharpen your features, improve the way you look, and bring focus to areas of your face that you want to show off. You can slim your nose, enhance your jawline, and achieve a sculpted end result that puts Roman statues to shame.
However, on the flip side, when done badly contouring has a tendency to… well… make your face look dirty, odd, and misshapen!
It’s natural that you’d want all the benefits of contouring, given that they can be genuinely transformative-- but contouring is not without its issues. Below are six of the most common mistakes that you’re going to want to avoid in your quest for a perfectly contoured face.

Mistake #1 - Using Too Much Product
Contouring is all about the art of subtlety. The more you use, the more you change the way that your face appears-- and sometimes, those changes aren’t for the better. You should only be using as much product as it takes to achieve your desired result; layering up product will just look messy rather than refining your overall look.
Ideally, contour should be applied with either a flat makeup brush or a Beauty Blender. These tools help to ensure you’re not picking up too much product at a time, so you don’t ruin your foundation or accidentally over-apply. Always seek to apply as little product as possible; being over-zealous will ruin the overall finish that you’re aiming for.

Mistake #2 - Using Powder Products
If you are over the age of 21, then powder products are not your friend. Powder is more liable to sit in fine lines and developing wrinkles, and will make enlarged pores look all the bigger. Unless you have skin that’s still in its first flush of youth, you’re going to achieve far better results if you switch to creme or liquid products.
The one upside of creme and liquid products is that they are easier to control. Apply a tiny amount to the back of your hand, dab your applicator, and apply where you’re wanting the contour. This is far easier than just having to hope that your brush has picked up enough powder; contouring with cremes and liquids is more like painting, with your face as the masterpiece and the canvas.

Mistake #3 - Expecting Miracles
Contouring can achieve a lot when it’s applied correctly, but it’s not going to be able to completely erase your flaws.
One of the most popular methods of contouring is contouring to make your nose appear smaller, as described on Allure.com. Many women have self-confidence issues about the size of their nose, and good contouring seems like a solution for their concerns.
While contouring can make a difference to the outline of your nose, it alone cannot completely transform your nose entirely. Ultimately, if you want a dramatic change, you’re always going to have to examine surgery, such as choosing to find out from DavidHalpernMD.com about the options available to you. There is no possible way to contour away all of your issues with the size of your nose; contouring can help, but it’s not a radical fix.
The same applies to all other areas that you try to disguise and/or improve with contouring. You have to be realistic in your expectations, as being unrealistic can lead to adding more product just to see if it will make more of a difference. As discussed above, adding more product isn’t a good option, so try and keep a sense of perspective about what you can achieve.
The same applies to all other areas that you try to disguise and/or improve with contouring. You have to be realistic in your expectations, as being unrealistic can lead to adding more product just to see if it will make more of a difference. As discussed above, adding more product isn’t a good option, so try and keep a sense of perspective about what you can achieve.

Mistake #4 - Applying Contour In The Wrong Areas 
Contour should only be applied to the following areas:

• Beneath the cheekbone
• On either side of the chin
• On either side of your forehead
• Along the sides of your nose 
• Your lower jaw line

If you are tempted to apply contour elsewhere, then you’re immediately going to run into problems. Contour should be subtle; a way of improving your features rather than painting entirely new ones. 

Mistake #5 - Not Using Highlighter 
Contouring is the dark, the shade; it helps create shadows in your face, leaving your features looking cleaner and more refined. You can use contour alone for this purpose, but it is far more effective if you also use a highlighter above the contour. 
Highlighter helps to increase the impact of the contour; it is the essential light to the contour’s shade. There are thousands of different highlighting products to choose from, so pick something that works with your skin type and complements the contour well. For night wear, gold highlighters are particularly striking, and work well with a deep, rich brown as a contour. For daytime wear, you will likely find pink or silver highlighters are more effective; they prevent the overall look from being too dramatic. 

Mistake #6 - Not Blending
Contour should not be obvious on the skin; you don’t want to look like you have dark bands zigzagging across your face. Poorly applied contour can look more like you are applying camouflage makeup than applying a product to try and improve your facial appearance.
When you have applied your contour in the right place, you should take a clean brush -- or sponge -- and begin to blend the color in with the rest of your makeup, as described on Elle.com. Do this slowly and gently, checking your appearance in natural daylight as you work. Your contour should complement the rest of your makeup and blend neatly in with your foundation, so it’s important not to be heavy-handed. 

In Conclusion
If you avoid the mistakes above, you can be confident that your contouring efforts will always have the desired result. Be realistic, light of hand, and use the right kind of products for your skin-- follow these essential tenets, and you won’t go far wrong.  And you can put these tips into action to have a flawless finish by clicking on the pics below for some of our favorite products (use arrows to scroll left and right).