Makeup Talk: Contouring, Highlighting and Purple Shadows.

Contouring & Highlighting:

For those of you who aren't familiar with contouring and highlighting, it is a makeup technique that allows you to highlight your features and create the illusion of a "glow". It's a really popular technique and is often used on the red carpet and in photography. The most infamous advocate of contouring that I can think of is Kim Kardashian.

Notice how my nose, chin and cheek bones are less defined in the left picture and that my skin appears to glow (at my cupid's bow, cheeks and chin) in the right picture.

I used the Makeup Forever Professional 12 Color Palette but you can use a foundation that is lighter than your natural skin tone and also a darker one.

Steps:

Before you begin, apply your foundation/powder

1. Apply the lighter shade to parts of your face that are naturally protruding. Make sure to apply it to your forehead, nose bridge, cheek bones, chin, cupid's bow, and brow bones.

2. Apply the darker shade to parts of your face that are naturally sunken or naturally shadowed. Make sure to apply it to the sides of your nose, along the jaw bone, and beneath the cheek bones.

3. Use a stippling brush to blend the colors into your foundation.

4. Apply a blush (I'm using Tarte's Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush in Blushing Bride) to the apples of the cheeks and bring the color back to the hair line.

5. In a C-like motion, apply an illuminator (I'm using TheBalm's Mary Lou-Manizer) from the sides of the eyes to just above the cheekbones.

Playing with Purple and Brown Eyeshadow:

I'm using colors exclusively from the Urban Decay Anniversary Palette.

Steps:

1. Start by applying a frosted off-white color across the entire lid and brow bone with a large shadow brush.

2. Take a purple color and apply to the lid, stopping just above the crease.

3. Take a brown color and apply the color along the eye-lid crease. Using a back and forth motion will create a more blended look.

4. Sweep the large shadow brush across the lid a few times to blend and soften the edges.

5. Apply a purple eyeliner (I'm using NYX) to the inner corners of the top and bottom lid. Also apply the purple liner to the outer corners of the lower lash line.

6. Take a brown eyeliner and fill in the space between the previously lined (purple) outer and inner corners of the lower lash line.

**Finish by applying a black liquid eyeliner to the upper lid and mascara. =)