Contour Makeup Tutorial For Beginners: A Step By Step Guide

Contouring can be a tricky state of affairs, especially for beginners. But if carried slowly and in a step by step fashion, any newbie can pull it off successfully. It also to note that it takes a lot of practice and dedication before you can finally step out looking like a celebrity makeup artist just did your face beat. Thankfully, there are countless avenues you can access and learn how to apply contour makeup correctly and according to your skin tone.

These popular online avenues include YouTube, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook among others. These platforms have thousands of ‘how to’ and DIY makeup tutorial videos posted to aid whomever it may concern. Hanging around a friend who has mastered the art of contouring and highlighting can also help you learn a great deal.

Below is a step by step guide on how you can contour your face in 6 simple steps and make it look like a pro did it for you. All you need to do is follow these steps carefully, doing everything that each step requires you to do. Purchasing of authentic products for your contouring is not only safe but will also play a critical role in helping you achieve your goals of looking flawless.

Apart from hanging around people bearing knowledge on how to contour properly as well as picking the right products, you’ll have to be patient. As the dictum says, patience pays. Last but not least, you’ll be required to prepare before you begin contouring your face. Here are the seven steps that’ll help you prepare before applying contour makeup:

The best way to kick-start your contour makeup application is by washing your face with clean and warm water. Water is super effective when it comes to instant rehydration of the skin. And that’s why you are required to wash your face on a regular basis. Apart from rehydrating your face the right way, water seems to be the best and cheapest option.

Besides, most of the more expensive cleansing products on the market contain alcohol, fragrance or parabens which can easily hurt your facial skin in the long run. If you can’t find warm water to wash your face, cold water can still do the trick. Once you’ve washed and dried your face, proceed to follow the step by step instructions for applying contour makeup as laid out in your reliable beginners’ tutorial.

As long as you are still alive, you’ll always accumulate dead skin on your face. And that’s why making the habit of regular exfoliation is highly recommended whether you love the makeup on not. Exfoliation is very effective in the removal of dead skin from your face, leaving it soft and fresh. There are different ways to exfoliate - the most popular of them being the use of scrubbing cream and warm water.

When using the scrubbing cream, always make sure you’re rubbing it in as gently as possible and in a round motion. That’s the only way the scrubbing cream can effectively remove the dead skin from your face without damaging it. Again, make a habit of exfoliating on a regular basis since that’s the only way your face will end up looking like your favorite celebrity as soon as you’re done contouring your face.

Any reliable contour makeup tutorial for beginners always reiterates on the importance of using toner on your face on a regular basis. There are so many ways impurities such as dust and sweat wind up on our faces and sometimes clogging up our pores. And that’s why the toner is very important as it is very effective in removing such impurities. That’s why using it before you start applying contour makeup on your face is highly recommended.

Your step by step guide will also advise you to be as gentle as possible especially when applying the toner to your face. Always remember that the skin on your face is tender sensitive, meaning that any form of forceful scrubbing will always end up doing more harm than good. It would, therefore, be in your best interest to use clean bits of cotton when applying toner on your face.

The reason why your favorite celebrity appears to be glowing every time she's graced a red carpet is simply that she uses moisturizers on her facial skin before applying contour makeup. The trick behind moisturizing your facial skin lies with not overdoing it. It only takes a small amount of moisturizer on your face to achieve the magical results you’ve always wanted.

Of course, knowing just how much moisturizer to apply and have the best results takes a lot of time as well as practice. But if you are ready to learn, then this shouldn’t be a task too daunting to achieve. Just make sure you are applying the moisturizer in a round/circular motion so as to achieve an even distribution and by extension, the desired results.

The most reliable step by step “face beat” tutorial for beginners will always recommend the use of rose water for moisturizing and for good reason. Rose water is highly recommended especially for people with either dry or sensitive skin because it’s simply effective in reducing irritability. Everyone needs that extra spark on their facial skin and thankfully, rose water can do exactly that for you and everyone else for that matter.

And that’s why most celebrity makeup artists strongly recommend rose water because of the simple fact that it makes make up the look a million bucks once it's worn. On top of looking hella good, everyone who has had the pleasure of contouring hydrated skin has confessed to having a ball. But despite all the goodness that comes with using rose water, always remember to do so in moderation.

As soon as you’ve applied moisturizer on your facial skin, always give it ample time to be absorbed into the skin. This is important as it well-moisturized skin will allow your contour makeup to appear even and beautiful. Being in a hurry to apply makeup before the moisturizer is completely absorbed into the facial skin will only end up ruining everything even before the contouring process begins.

And apart from most likely messing up your final look, applying makeup on top of fresh moisturizer will definitely result into blotchiness. Blotching usually happens when your makeup stretched way too thin. And this explains why reliable contour makeup tutorials for beginners strongly advise against this.

Primer application is quite easy, which should be good news for all beginners who shouldn’t have any excuse not to apply it. Primer is particularly perfect for hiding acne as well as facial scars hence making the makeup look extra good on you. The primer also decreases perspiration which allows your makeup to stay perfect and stick around for long without the need for retouching.

Thankfully, the primer can be used on just about any skin type as well as color and doesn’t need any step by step guide in order to be applied correctly. Just apply it like you would lotion on your facial skin and look like your favorite celebrity. Also, make sure you’re using authentic primer products for your own sake.

Once you've successfully gone through all the above stages, proceed with your contouring. You can do so by following these 6 steps:

Before you even think of contouring and how to get your way around it, you’ll first of all be required to know your natural complexion. Thankfully, there are different ways to tell your complexion, that is if you haven’t already. And the fastest way of doing so is by asking a professional makeup artist for assistance. You can also ask your friends for assistance especially if they’re good at contouring.

Once you’ve found out what your complexion is, the next step will involve finding original contour makeup products with the right kind of shade and texture. Make sure you’re buying contouring products that are two colors deeper or lighter than your natural complexion and nothing more than that. This is important because you’ll want your look to be as natural as possible.

Again, if you know nothing about makeup, contour shade, and texture, don’t shy away from asking people who do. There is absolutely nothing to be ashamed of asking. In fact, asking for assistance might end up sparing you from a major embarrassment. The best way to find the right products is by simply asking your contour and makeup retailer for advice.

They sure have the right kind of products as well as the expertise/information that goes with it. And once you’ve selected the right contour products which are compatible with your natural complexion, you can proceed with the application. Just make sure you’re having your reliable contouring makeup tutorial for beginners nearby to avoid the rookie blunders.

Contouring your face selectively not only saves time but also ensures that the contouring goes on beautifully. Read any reliable, step by step tutorial on proper contouring and you’ll notice that even the best celebrity makeup artists only highlight specific parts of their client’s faces.

And more often than not, the results are usually out of this world. In this case, the areas on your face that you’ll need to focus on include your jawline, cheeks, forehead, and nose. Shading, on the other hand, can be done selectively depending on the look you’re going for.

To get this right, you’ll start by trailing the contour product from the middle of your ear and stop half-way to the corner of your mouth. Repeat the same on the opposite side of your face. From here, you are expected to customize your application depending on your facial structure and personal preference. You’ll use these two criterions to determine how and where you’ll add some depth.

Possessing such skill comes with a lot of practice. But if you’re determined and motivated, then you’ll definitely find your way around this is a matter of days. And before you even commence with practice, remember the importance of purchasing contouring products with the same shade as your skin complexion.

Layering is another contouring technique that requires a lot of patience and practice before you can master. Layering is an important part of contouring because it’ll end up giving your face the much-needed proportion. Proper layering will also end up saving a lot of product which is always good news for your pockets.

To achieve the desired ‘invisible’ effect on your skin using layering, you’ll start with the light application of the makeup before proceeding with the coloring. The purpose of doing the latter is if the advice by pros in the most tutorial for beginners is anything to go by, to accentuate one’s bone structure.

Thankfully, the art of layering can be learned and mastered as long as you are patient enough to practice it step by step. And as you are layering, always remember to bring focus to your most attractive facial features and make them stand out, not the product.

And speaking of the product, only use authentic products for layering, that is if you want to have the very best results. The counterfeit contouring products, as hyped as they might be, will never give you the desired results no matter how good you are at layering.

As hinted before, the layering process can be a tad dicey. Therefore, apart from learning a great deal from watching related tutorials online, do one better by asking your pro makeup artist friend to show you a few layering tricks they might have up their sleeves. 

When applying contour makeup on your face, it’s always a good idea sticking to shimmer-free products. This is because the whole point of contouring is so you can absorb the light in specific areas and not others. That’s why you’ll get to use the cool browns or matte taupe all depending on the product that makes you happy.

But when you use shimmer-induced contour products, you’ll end up reflecting light from your face instead of absorbing it. And shimmer, being the good reflecting agent that it is, might end up making your face looking like iron roofing sheets in a summer afternoon. Therefore, you’ll have no other choice but to put down the bronzers especially those that have flecks in them.

Feel free to follow any prominent celebrity makeup artist on Instagram or YouTube and learn more about the right products to use on this stage. And if you still insist on using shimmer products, then, by all means, restrict them to highlighting. This is simply because the purpose of highlighting is reflecting light away from the skin instead of absorbing it.

This step might be a tad difficult especially for beginners who haven’t been around contour makeup for long. Therefore, it is important to find a guru to help you out and that’s on top of having a good tutorial on foundation, contour and general makeup application tips at your disposal. Lastly, don’t forget to have as much fun as you can while learning this craft. 

Balancing the blush and highlighter is without a doubt the most important step in contour makeup. This means that you’ll have to pay close attention to whatever you are doing if your goal is getting it done the right way. First and foremost, you’ll have to get same textured highlighter irrespective of whether it’s powder, liquid or cream.

You’ll then begin by concentrating your highlighter on top of your cheekbones all the way to the area just below your eyes. The purpose of doing this is to brighten your complexion without running the risk of going overboard. Again, a lot of caution has to be taken because anything can go wrong at any time. Thankfully, since practice makes perfect, you’ll always get the chance to master this with time.

If you the above balancing routine is a tad tricky for you, then start by applying the highlighter on the area on your cheeks that puffs up after smiling with your mouth closed. Feel free to refer to a ton of reliable makeup tutorials for beginners online and learn a handful of other balancing tricks.

For the umpteenth time, always remember to have as much fun as you can because that’s what wearing makeup is supposed to be all about - fun. And to make things easier, consider practicing with a friend especially one who is better at this. That way, he or she will make the learning process a tad easier for you.  

Once you’ve successfully followed all the above step by step instructions, your next order of business would be complementing your contour makeup. The purpose of complementing your eye makeup and contour is to blend everything into one, beautiful finish. Most beginners who take this stage for granted almost always end up looking like a bunch of clowns getting ready for a circus.

And since you don’t want to step out looking like Pennywise the clown - especially after successfully going through all the above stages – you’ll need to take time and learn the art of blending. If the natural look is what you are going for, then begin by filling your eyebrows before lengthening the mascara with a coat of the same formula.

If you want the bold look on you, then feel free to curl your eyebrows a little bit. Remember, a little does go a long way especially when it comes to makeup. Most celebrity makeup artists would recommend starting with eyes before commencing with contouring. This is simply because of eye makeup results in a lot of fallout that might end up messing up the contour as well as foundation.

And to save yourself from such blunders, it’s always safe for beginners to start working on the eyes. The perfect brush to use for this stage is the medium shadow brush. This brush does an awesome job sweeping the makeup over the skin, giving the best results when all is said and done.

In as much as the application of contour makeup might be difficult at first, any dedicated beginner can master this art as long as they are dedicated. But first, you’ll have to get rid of the mindset that contouring is hard and start having fun learning. That way, you’ll not only enjoy the whole process but you’ll get better faster than you expected.

Secondly, make sure you have the right contouring kit. The fact that the cosmetic industry is a billion-dollar industry means there are a lot of fraudsters trying to cash in through the distribution of counterfeit products. Don’t let them cash in on your naivety. This means that even before you get your hands on a proper contour makeup tutorial for beginners, your first order of business should be purchasing the right/authentic products.

In as much as having a reliable contour tutorial for beginners is very important, don’t limit yourself to it. The internet provides a lot of valuable material as far as applying your contour makeup the right way is concerned. And just because you are one of the beginners doesn’t mean you have to suffer like the rest of them. Do all you can to avoid making such rookie mistakes.

For the umpteenth time, feel free to use the YouTube, Facebook as well as Instagram videos and pick up as many contouring techniques as you can. In addition to that, you can simply ask your friends who are good at contouring to teach you a thing or two about the craft. In the end, everyone who puts their mind to learning the art of contouring becomes good at it, but how fast one gets there depends on how bad they want to.