If you haven’t tried contouring yet, then you are definitely in the minority. From Hollywood celebrities to teen girls, everyone seems to be raving about how contouring revolutionized their makeup routine.  If you are curious to try it out for yourself—or if you are looking for contouring tips to get your contouring skills on point—then read on to know all the clever tips and tricks when it comes to makeup sculpting.

Here are the top 20 contour tips to change your life. We guarantee that you will never go back to the flat makeup look once you’ve tried contouring and seen the results for yourself.

1. Keep It Subtle

There are so many YouTube videos showing you how to contour and highlight. But our problem with most of these videos is that they go very heavy with the contouring. The point of contouring is to provide definition and dimension to our facial features. This should be done subtly as opposed to the heavy-handed contouring that most YouTube videos feature. Unless you want the whole world to know that you’ve ‘’contoured’’ your face, you should keep it very light-handed. Use very little product and blend well to create a subtle contour and highlight effect. We’ve seen nightmare scenarios where so much contouring and highlighting products are dumped on the face, resulting in the face looking like a map showing regions of dry land and wet land. So curb your enthusiasm and keep it subtle for a more natural look.

2. Invest in Foundations for Contouring

Sure, there are a lot of contouring kits available in the market these days. But our favorite product for contouring is the humble and trusty foundation. Here’s how it works: one foundation that is an exact match for your skin tone, one other that’s two shades darker, and finally one more that’s two shades lighter. Use the foundation that matches your skin as your base coat and use the darker shade to contour and create shadows, and the lighter shade to highlight. Three shades of foundations are all you need to create the perfect contouring and highlighting effect. And never go too dark or too light, stick to a shade or two darker and lighter for best results. If you are a newbie to contouring, then this is, by far, the easiest, most fool-proof way to contour.

3. Contour to Suit Your Face Shape

One of the biggest risks with following YouTube contouring videos is that what looks great on that person may not look so good on you when you try to replicate what they did. This is because contouring is all about working with your face shape and structure to bring out the best features and make you look good. So if you copy what someone else does, you are essentially copying what works for their face structure. So if a person has an oval face and contours accordingly, you copying that for your square face will lead to disastrous results. To avoid this, figure out your face shape and know how to contour for that shape.

Here are some quick tips on how to contour for each face shape:

• Round Shape: Contour on your forehead, right under your cheekbones, and along the jawline to make your face appear thinner.
• Heart Shape: Focus on contouring along the hairline on your forehead to make it appear more narrow. Avoid contouring the jawline as it is already pointy and narrow.
• Oval Shape: Contour the sides of your forehead and below the cheek bones. It is all about making your face look more sculpted by defining the cheekbones.
• Square Shape: Contour the sides of your forehead, below the cheek bones, and on the jaw line and chin. The focus should be on creating an illusion of a softer, rounder face.

4. Develop a Natural Contour Tan

This is such a neat trick. If you’re not so great with makeup or simply can’t be bothered to contour your face on a daily basis, then you should consider getting a natural contour. Apply SPF 30 all over your face and then apply SPF 60 or higher on the areas where you would normally highlight—center of the forehead, down the center of the nose, cupid’s bow and the apple of your cheeks—when applying makeup. Sunbathe for an hour or so and wash it off thoroughly. What you’ll be left with is a nice, natural contour effect. Be careful with this method though. Don’t overdo it in the sun or you could be left with harsh tan lines that look anything but natural!

5. Play with Textures

Don’t hesitate to play with textures to make the contour look more appealing. For instance, using a matte foundation for contour and a light-reflecting, SPF foundation for highlight will work wonderfully to create shadows and highlights that play off of each other to create an alluring effect. This is because shiny or glittery surfaces reflect light and attract attention while matte surfaces are great at creating shadows and adding dimension.

6. Figure Out Which Needs to Be Your Focal Point: Contouring or Highlighting?

Depending on your skin tone, you will need to focus more either on contouring or highlighting. If you have darker skin, then you need to focus more on contouring as shadows get played up on darker skin tones even without much contouring. And it is the exact opposite for lighter skin tone. Those with lighter skin tone need to focus on deepening the shadows to create more definition.

7. Never Skip Concealer

Before you start contouring, you need to use a concealer to cover up the dark circles under your eyes and the acne scars on your face. This step is very crucial. See, when it comes to contouring, we deliberately create shadows to give our face a sculpted look. While those shadows help enhance our beauty, natural shadows such as dark circles and the dark areas around the nose and mouth can detract from that beauty. So be sure to cover up all those flaws. Think of it as getting your canvas clean before you start your master piece.

Note: Be extra careful while covering up under the eyes. Dark circles are a very unpleasant sight that can totally ruin your look. So be sure to thoroughly cover them up and use a highlighter over the concealer to ensure that light bounces off and reflects on that region. Tired, dull looking eyes are every makeup artist’s nightmare.

8. Trust Your Eyes

No matter how many video tutorials you watch, when it comes down to it, your eyes are the ones you need to trust. No makeup guru can bestow contouring wisdom on you and make you instantly knowledgeable about what needs to be done. The only way to get the results that you want is to practice and perfect the look. Look in a mirror to see how your contouring looks and make adjustments as you see fit. There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to contouring, as each person’s facial structure, skin tone, and the results they wish to achieve all affect how their contouring pans out. So trust your eyes and go with your sense of what is aesthetically pleasing for you.

9. Decide On Your Contouring Tools

From beauty sponges to makeup brushes and even just the fingers, each makeup artist swears by a different tool when it comes to contouring. So which one is the best? Well, it really depends on your personal preference. There is no one magic tool that helps you contour better than the rest. It is all about what you are comfortable with and what offers you good control over your makeup. So try out different tools to find out which one works the best for you. Beauty sponges are good for working with cream foundation and other cream formulas that need to be blended well. Makeup brushes work well with powder-based products. Your fingers can also be great tools for blending cream foundations. The warmth from our fingers can help in blending the product really well to get a smooth, natural-looking finish.

10. Extend Contouring to Your Neck and Shoulders

One major problem with contouring is that, while it can make your face look sculpted, it can leave your neck looking flat and dull in comparison. And we’ve all seen instances of the beautifully-done-face-paired-with-pale-looking-neck scenarios. What’s the point of spending all that time and effort on doing up your face if you’re going to look like you’re wearing a mask where your face is one shade and your neck and shoulders are a different shade? To avoid this, make sure your contour your neck and shoulders as well. It will only take a minute or two to quickly use some foundation and bronzer to create a nicely contoured neck. You can even camouflage a double chin with some clever neck contouring.

11. Blend, Blend, And Blend

We can’t stress this point enough. Blending is an important step when it comes to makeup. Harsh, unblended lines and creases can ruin your look and make your makeup look unnatural and amateurish. This is especially true when it comes to contouring. Blending is what will give you that smooth, naturally sculpted and defined look when it comes to contouring. So spend a considerable amount of time blending your makeup and ensuring that there are no visible lines or patchy areas on your face and neck.

12. Always Finish Up with Some Translucent Powder

The best way to seal your makeup and give your face a final finishing touch is to use some translucent powder at the end. This will help to not only set the makeup in place and control oil and shine but, since the powder is translucent, you won’t have to worry about covering up or disrupting your contouring and highlighting in any way.

13. Invest in A Good Buffer Brush

Remember the earlier tip to blend, blend, and blend? Well, investing in a good buffer brush will help you do just that. Going over your face with a nice buffer brush in the end will guarantee a well-blended look. A buffer brush is also great at getting rid of excess product (if your practice ‘baking’ your makeup) so that you will be left with a much more natural look.

14. Practice Dermaplaning

Dermaplaning is the process of removing dead skin cells and facial hair, using a straight-edge razor meant specifically for that purpose. It has been gaining popularity with many aestheticians and makeup artists claiming that it has become a part of their regular skincare routine. So how exactly does dermaplaning help with contouring? Well, as we mentioned earlier, one of the most important aspects of contouring is blending. And dermaplaning helps facilitate smoother makeup application and blending by getting rid of dead skin cells and peach fuzz. So dermaplanning once a month is a great way to exfoliate your skin and keep it looking fresh and smooth. Of course you can exfoliate using a face scrub, but the advantage with dermaplaning is that it also removes the peach fuzz. This means that your makeup glides on more smoothly and is easy to blend. Just refrain to doing it once in three weeks or so and no more as doing it often could actually end up damaging the skin.

15. Take It Easy On the Blush

When you’re contouring and highlighting your face, make sure you take it easy on the blush. Too much blush can be distracting and can interfere with your contouring, ruining the effect. So use very little blush—just enough to give your cheeks a nice flush—to keep the focus on your contouring. Also, a good idea is to use a bronzer or a gold-toned blush instead of a pink or peach-colored blush. This is because using a bronzer will help make the transition between the contour, highlight and blush smoother and more visually pleasing.

16. Contour Your Nose

Contouring your nose is pretty simple and can offer dramatic results. Simply draw a line down the sides of your nose and blend well. Doing this will help make your nose look straight and slim. You can then apply a line of highlighter down the center of your nose and blend it in to add more definition.

If you have a ‘hook’ nose, you can apply a little contour on the bottom of your nose and blend it in to camouflage the hook and make your nose appear more puckered and pointy. Who needs plastic surgery when we’ve got contouring, right?

17. Define Your Brows

One of the most overlooked aspects when it comes to contouring is the brows. While you concentrate on the rest of your face, do not forget your eyebrows. A pair of well-shaped and defined eyebrows can take your entire look from ‘’looking good’’ to ‘’wow, you look stunning’’. Use a brow powder to fill in any gaps and give your brows a nice shape and structure. Top that off with a gel to set the powder. Next, use a highlighter just under the arch of your brow to further emphasize the shape of your brows. Try this tip and you’ll see how much of a difference a little eyebrow grooming can make.

18. Keep The E and C Rule in Mind

When it comes to contouring, the E and C rule is a fool-proof way to achieve decent results. So if you’re finding it difficult to figure out exactly how you need to contour your face, simply follow the E and C rule. Here’s how it works: Start by drawing an ‘E’ on the side of your face, starting from your hairline and going down to your jawline. The top line of the ‘E’ should start near the hairline; the middle line should go from the top of your ears inwards, going just under your cheekbone till the about a few inches from your nose. And finally, the bottom line should follow your jawline. Next comes the ‘C’. The ‘C’ should start right under the top line of your ‘E’, curving toward the top of your cheeks. Try this rule when you’re pressed for time or if you’re just not getting the nuances of contouring and are looking for an easy way to do it.

19. Don’t Forget the Ears!

Whatever you do, please don’t forget to brush your ears with a little contour powder or foundation. Most of the contouring occurs around the ear region, so ignoring the ears and concentrating just on your face means that you’ll be left with a beautifully contoured face paired with pale ears that look out of place, like as if you’ve had an ear swap! So be sure to add some color to your ears to match your face and make your makeup look more natural.

20. Do Your Makeup Under The Right Light

If you’re doing a day time contour look, then it is a good idea to do your makeup under natural light. This is because a daytime look requires you to be more sparse and subtle with the contouring, while you can go ahead and be a little more heavy-handed and dramatic for an evening look. So if you are going to be spending time outdoors, then use a natural light to make sure your makeup looks good and is not too much. And if you’re going out at night, then do your makeup with some bright light to ensure you get it dramatic enough to show up on photos, but subtle enough that you won’t have people running in the opposite direction when they see you!

Additional Tips

• Always moisturize your face before you start applying makeup. Dry skin makes a terrible canvas for contouring. So keeping your skin well-hydrated and moisturized is very important.
• You can use matte eyeshadows to contour your face. The great thing about using eye shadows is that you can play with different shades of brown to create a more interesting contour look. Using a dark brown shade to create more depth and a lighter brown for a hint of shadow can result in a very complex look.
• If you are new to contouring, try to keep your eyes and lips well-defined but subtle. Too much color can work against your contouring effects. So initially, till you get the hang of it, keep your eyes and lips neutral in order to not go overboard with your makeup and risk looking gaudy. Just a touch of eye liner and mascara and some nude shade of lipstick should do the trick.
• Invest in a good contouring kit once you’ve mastered the technique. There are some really good kits available that make contouring even more simple than it already is. When you have all that you need to contour in one compact case, it makes the whole process quicker. And what’s more, you won’t need myriad products when you’re travelling. Hallelujah!

Don’t let all these tips and tricks scare you off. Contouring is a really fun way to manipulate, enhance and change your facial features to suit your preferences. Don’t like your broad forehead? Contour! Want high cheekbones? Contour! Wish your nose was slimmer? Contour, girl! And you know we’re not just hyping it up without evidence to back these claims. We’ve all seen those pictures of Kim Kardashian with and without contouring makeup. And we all agree that she looks so different in those pictures, right? You can do so much with contouring and once you get the hang of it, you will realize just how easy it really is.

With a little practice, you can master the art of contouring and finish up your daily contour routine in under ten minutes! A sculpted face and a big mug of steaming, hot coffee should be the way for every woman to kick-start her day! So join the contour revolution and sculpt yourself the face that you always wanted!