In the complete opposite spirit to the #nomakeupselfies (not intentionally) I decided to make one of these highlighting & contouring tutorials that I've seen so much of on the beauty blogosphere lately. It's so hard to find make up tips for darker girls (especially cheap ones!) so I thought I'd do my bit and be a part of the movement to change that.
I am by no stretch of the imagination a make up artist or beauty blogger but i taught myself this technique after searching for DAYS online for a decent tutorial for darker skin. Don't get me wrong there are some really great tutorials out there for black girls - some of those beauty bloggers are doing things with make up that i didn't even know was possible! - but a lot of them are american which means i either can't buy the products that they use or i have to pay a premium for shipment. The other issue i have is a lot of these beauty bloggers are using high end products like Mac or Urban Decay that are waaaaaaay out of my measly make-up budget, so really this post is just a tutorial showing you how to contour and highlight with things that you probably already have in your make up bag.
So for this particular look I used 4 main products to form my base (for those of you who don't know a base is the bottom layer of your make up or your "foundation" layer). Both your highlighter and contour can be either cream or powder it doesn't actually make a difference as long as you use it in the right places and also that you use the right shade. However if you are using powder remember to use a good fix spray or primer or you can apply a thin layer of Vaseline on the area before applying the powder to stop it from straying. And if you're using creams make sure to have a decent setting powder for the same reasons and also to avoid shine. I have:
1. Paris Berlin Concealer Pallette (for highlights, can be substituted with a light face powder or lighter foundation try to use something with good cover up qualities)
2. Ben Nye "Banana" translucent setting Powder ( can be substituted with talcum powder)
3. Maybeline Dream Matte Mouse foundation
4. A sample pot of Ben Nye "Ebony" Face Powder (for contours, can be substituted with any dark powder/eye shadow/ dark lipstick/ dark foundation)
The main trick to high lighting/contouring is understanding your bone structure and your best features because these are there things that you will want to highlight/make stand out.
STEP 1. In this step i used a light brown shade of concealer around the under-eye and cheeks area (for this step you can also use bronze powder or even a cheap tube of fake tan) This will bring out my cheek bones.
STEP 2. For this step i used a peach shade of concealer to go under my eyes, shape my eyebrows and also i began to outline my top lip. (for this area you can also use any type of pressed powder or eye shadow or even foundation as long as the colour is extremely fair compared to your true skin tone - anything with a slight sparkle too will help those highlighted areas pop under your foundation - For lip and eyebrow outline you can use any cheap gold lip/eye/brow pencil. Remember if you're using powders use a primer or apply a thin layer of Vaseline to the area to stop the powder from straying!) I also gently blended the concealer around my brow bone to accentuate my eyes.
STEP 3. Using the same peach shade and a foundation sponge, i highlighted a small patch of my forehead and lightly on my chin. Then using an old blending brush to create a technique i like to call the "skinny nose job" - i learnt this trick when i noticed all the housewives of Atlanta look like they've had nose jobs! after doing a bit of research i realised that they've all just been using this technique for years! Of course some of them have just had nose jobs!- I drew a narrow line from my forehead don to the tip of my nose ending in a diamond shape on the tip of my nose. You can make the line as narrow or as wide as you want - The narrower the line, the skinnier your nose will look, the thicker the line the more natural your nose will look - I tried to keep my line as narrow as the bridge part of my nose for a more natural effect.
STEP 4. I used the foundation sponge and the same light shade of concealer to highlight my bottom jaw bone, leaving the hollows of my cheeks dark. This will make your cheek bones appear higher.
STEP 5. Before using my contour powder use a thin layer of Vaseline on the areas where i will be wanting to create shadow these areas are: the hollows of my cheeks, my temples and around my hairline and finally the sides of my nose and nostrils. I used an eye shadow brush and a blusher brush to apply the dark powder liberally to these areas.
STEP 5.5. I used the concealer to determine the shape i want my lips to be (you can change this to any shape) and i also high lighted the dimple above my cupids bow. Before the next step i applied a generous amount of Banana powder underneath my eyes and used it to buff all the other highlighted areas with a fluffy blusher brush (if you are using talcum powder you can use a generous amount under the eyes but be careful on other areas not to cake it on too much and to blend or buff it in with a fluffy blusher brush to avoid white powdery patches beneath foundation) The banana powder leaves a slight shimmer on top of the highlighted areas which will make them stand out under my foundation.
STEP 6. Using a big fluffy blusher brush (yes another one! luckily you can buy a pack of 4 in poundland) i used my dream matte mousse foundation to blend it all together. A blusher brush will allow you to blend and buff it all together more evenly and more naturally even if you are using liquid foundation.
STEP 7. I added a bit more dark powder around the areas that i felt needed more shadow like my cheekbones and the side of my nose ( you can use your judgement here to decide where you would need to apply more shading) I also fill in my eyebrows with a dark brow pencil.
STEP 8. I applied the rest of my make up as i usually would - A thin line of liquid liner, a couple of coats of mascara and i use a lip brush to carefully fill in my lipstick to make sure i stay in the lines that i drew with the concealer.
AND THAT'S IT!
Easy peasy, hope my tips help you to create your own look for less!
