Skillful contouring can change your entire face shape, sharpen features, and add such a boost to your everyday makeup look. But as much as I love me some RuPaul’s Drag Race – chantay, you stay – not every girl would like to contour like Kim K a drag queen for daytime makeup. So, after much trial and error, I’ve come up with some tips and tricks for how to contour, like a daytime drag queen. 😉
Choose your shades wisely
Many drag queens I know contour with pure white, and the darkest shade of foundation you can get. And while that’s really flattering in a nighttime photograph, it may seem rather drastic in daylight. So I try to pick a foundation that’s no more than two shades either side of my actual skin tone, which helps to create the believable illusion of contours on your face.
Blend Blend Blend!
This one requires just a bit of discretion, but part of creating a barely-there look really is in the blending. The more you blend your contouring, the less obvious the effects would be, but the more subtle the results get. For daytime, I would recommend no sharp edges, but keeping a slight separation of colour so that when viewed from far away, the effects of contouring is still clear!
Don’t throw out your regular foundation!
And speaking of blending, you’re going to need something to blend your contouring shades into, so don’t throw out the foundation that you use regularly! Instead, use it as a base for the in-between spots, so that you get a seamless transition of colour, and produce a more invisible effect.
Use a primer
I’ve always been an advocate of primers, especially silicone-based ones like Benefit’s Porefessional. This not only helps your contouring shades and shapes stay put in the long run, it also creates a smooth surface so the eye isn’t drawn to any specific points in your shading, helping it stand up to harsh daylight scrutiny!
Get those hard to reach places!
A great way to create and maintain that illusion is edge to edge coverage. Blend the edges of your foundation and contouring shades right up into your hairline, ears, neck, and right under your jaw, so that you don’t get a faceful of makeup that noticeably stops short of the edge of your face. Let’s put it this way: your cheekbones would never stop short of the side of your head, so your contouring shouldn’t either!
Pair it with statement makeup
As cool as it is, I think that contouring should never be the focus of your makeup. It usually plays a very strong supporting role to whatever look you’re trying to achieve, and can act as a great foundation for statement eyes or lips! Use this opportunity to pair statement lips with nude eyes, and carrying off that seamless contour like you were born with sharp model features!
Do you have favourite contouring tips? What is your favourite contouring technique?