Beginner Tutorial: How to use a Contour Palette
Posted by Lamora Beauty on
Y'all... makeup is hard. Figuring out how to properly do your makeup can feel like trying to solve a multi-part calculus problem before you've even learned your times tables.
Dear beauty world, some help would be appreciated, please! At Lamora, we feel you. So not only do we create products that are high-quality, affordable, and easy to use... but we spend FOR-EV-ER pouring through all of the information we can get our hands on and consolidating it into simple, easy-to-understand tutorials.
One of our newest products, the Contour Palette, is one of our FAVORITE beauty products ever. But it can be a bit confusing to know when, where, why, and how to use what colors. Below is a tutorial based on the best research available, and will walk you through exactly how to apply each color, where to put it, and what brush to apply it with. We hope you enjoy!
Step 1) Base Highlight
To start, apply a base highlight using the Matte Highlight. The shimmer will help lift and brighten the overall appearance of your face and bring out your features flawlessly.
Use the tapered highlighter brush from the Lamora 5pc Contour Set to apply the product using light sweeping motions, always starting at the center of your face and working outwards.
If you’d like to apply more of a shimmering highlight (or intense highlight), use the Lamora Highlight Palette. You can find an awesome tutorial on how to use this palette here!
Step 2) Precision Contour
Depending on your skin tone and the shape of your face, you’ll want to play around a bit with the colors for this next step, but this is our general suggestion:
Use the Precision Angled Contour brush to sculpt your chin and nose with the light contour color. This will make your nose look smaller and give you a chiseled look below the lips.
Next, use the same brush to apply the deep contour color just around the hairline to minimize the forehead. Be sure to pull the color a bit into the hairline and below to create a seamless blend.
Step 3) Define the Cheekbones
Next, use the medium contour color to create base definition on your cheeks to help sculpt and slim your face. Again, depending on the color of your face and the shape, you’ll want to play around with this a bit.
Apply product to the brush head, then hold the brush at an angle and use short and fast sweeping motions, working along the line between the corner of your mouth and your upper ear. The best way to find your cheek line is by sucking in your cheeks to make the bones more prominent. Start at the half-way point of the eye and be sure to pick the brush up at the end of each pass before you get to your ear.
The lighter you press, the lighter the contour, but don’t start with too heavy of a sweep or too much product on the brush!
Step 4) Sculpt and Slim
This next step takes the “lightly chiseled” look to a gorgeous new level. Use the Flat Contour brush to apply the darkest contour color (Deep Contour) right on the cheekbones and along the jawline.
Hold the brush at an angle to move with the natural slope of cheekbones and jawline in long sweeping motions, working from the inside of your face outwards. This brush is perfect for sculpted lines, but you’ll want to use a beauty blender or the powder brush to blend in the look.
Step 5) Blend and Pull
A non-natural looking contour can turn an awesome thing into a waste of product, and fast. To get that airbrushed finish that we all long for, use the Lamora Beauty Blender to blend the color together using small circles and sweeps when you want to pull the product in a specific direction.
Then, use the light contour color to blend color onto the neck and fan it out just before you reach your chest. This will blend the contour colors on your face to the natural color of your skin and create a perfectly airbrushed finish. No wasted makeup here!
Step 6) The Final Highlight
Almost there! For the finishing touch, use the Fan Brush to sweep the Matte Highlight above the contour of your cheek bones and arch to create a beautifully sculpted look. You can also use this brush to apply colored highlights or blush.
We suggest picking up the Lamora Highlight Palette to really perfect the look!