Top Contour Tips for Beginners

Are you new to contour? You are in the right place! I want to give you my top contour tips for beginners. Contouring with Maskcara Beauty IIID Foundation is easy! It is the easiest makeup to start contouring with because the foundation is cream based. Cream foundation is very forgiving. You can read more here about cream foundation.

If you are new to contour you will probably want to start with the basics. When I am teaching someone how to contour for the first time I usually keep it very simple. There are lots of ways you can contour and lots of places on your face where you can place contour. I am not here to teach you how to contour like Kim Kardashian. I am here to teach you how to contour in a very simple way that will work for your everyday makeup look. It will still be very natural and beautiful but also give your face dimension and enhance your natural features.

What type of contour is best to start with?

First things first, what do I use to contour? I use Maskcara Beauty’s IIID foundation contours because they are cream, they are only $14, they fit perfectly into your Maskcara compact and they last a long time. Cream foundation is so easy to blend you can’t go wrong. If you place the contour too high or too low, it’s an easy fix. If you apply too much contour and it looks dark it is easy to buff out and blend in.

You want your contour to be easy to blend so it don’t look fake or give you harsh lines. Powder makeup can be tricky to contour with because they don’t blend well and they will end up making you look dry.

The color of your contour is really important too because you don’t want a warm contour color. Contour is meant to mimic natural shadows on your face which are typically more cool toned. Maskcara’s contours are mostly cool or ashy toned to mimic those shadows. If you don’t have defined natural cheekbones that’s ok. You can use contour to give the appearance of cheekbones.

Maskcara contour is also great because it provides coverage. Most makeup routines are going to have you place your foundation on first and then add your contour on top because the contour doesn’t cover by itself. This is creating layers of makeup on your face which can make it look heavy. Maskcara IIID foundation was created to apply all of your highlight, contour and blush in one layer by applying the right colors to the right places. Maskcara’s contour is made just like the highlight cream foundation so it provides coverage.

Where do I contour?

One of my top contour tips for beginners is to keep it simple. So, I will only talk about contour in two places: under your cheekbone and around the edges of your face.

Take your fingers and feel your face for your cheekbone. You are going to place your contour directly under that cheekbone. The purpose of contour on your cheekbones is to lift your face up. I don’t have a very defined cheekbone but with contour I can naturally make my face appear to have cheekbones. Typical foundation without contour will have your face all one color with can make you look flat and not 3D.

Start at the top of your ear and draw a straight line down the underside of your cheekbone. Angle the line down to the corner of your mouth. Do not extend the line further than the pupil of your eye. If you already have a defined cheekbone you may want to just do a bit of contour starting at the top of your ear but drawing shorter line. Just stop your contour sooner. Either way it will blend out beautifully and just enhance your cheekbone or give the appearance of one.

Then, take the contour and apply it to the edge of your forehead and down the sides of your face to your ear. This will draw the attention inward to your eyes. It will make your forehead appear smaller. If you already have a small forehead just place a little bit of contour down the sides of your face along your hairline to the top of your ear.

With every purchase of Maskcara IIID foundation you should receive a HAC girl card that will be your guide to placing your highlight and contour. There are really no set rules to applying your highlight and contour so you can adjust to meet your needs. This is just a guide to help you in the placement of your colors.

How do I pick my contour color?

This is a great question! It can be very tricky to know which contour color will be right for you and Maskcara has a wide variety of colors! Contour colors are meant to be cool toned but Maskcara does have a couple of colors that have a bit of warmth to them or are neutral. When choosing a contour color you want it mimic your natural shadows on your face so if you have fair skin you will probably go with a lighter contour shade. If you have deeper toned skin you will want a deeper contour shade. Maskcara has contour colors for all skin tones. Their darkest contour shade is a soft almost black shade that works great for eyeliner or eyebrows too!

You can choose your contour color based on your hair color as well. If you have more ashy toned hair then you will probably like an ashy toned contour. If your hair is warmer than you could work with a warmer shade of contour. Remember, contour is not meant to be a bronzer. It is not going to be a very warm color. There is a difference between contour and bronzer and you can read more about that here.

One of the best parts about Maskcara Beauty is that when you order your makeup it comes with a personal makeup consultant. I will be here to help you choose your colors, apply your makeup and even help with troubleshooting any issues. If you want help choosing your contour shade please take my color match quiz below.

You can read more about color matching here.

What do I use to apply my contour?

Maskcara has the best brushes when it comes to applying your IIID foundation. They are very dense which pushes the makeup onto your skin and doesn’t hold a lot of product. They are shaped specifically for highlighting and contouring. Because this is contouring for beginners I recommend the 30 Sec HAC brush. This is the easiest brush to start with. The blunt end is made for contour. It will help you apply a good size line and blend as you go.

Here is a step by step guide on how to highlight and contour with Maskcara IIID foundation.

Thank you for reading! I hope that was helpful! If you have further questions about contouring I would be happy to help. You can contact me here.