Tips on How to Contour & Highlight

Identify Face Shape

*Face chart shows how to get an oval face shape especially for individuals who have a different face shape.

Skin Type

For oily skin types I recommend powder highlight and contour.

For dry skin types I recommend cream highlight and contour.

For combination and normal skin tones you can wear any as long as you set your foundation with a translucent powder. If you're using a cream contour and highlight I would set with powder after countering and highlighting. If you're using a powder contour and highlight I would set with powder before contouring and highlighting

Matte contour powders are the way to go, you don't want anything shimmery because the glitter will enhance the area instead of receding it. For highlighters it's okay if it's shimmery or not the shimmers just intensifies the look, any area with a highlighter is already noticeable because it's a lighter color.  

You would want to highlight the areas that you want to enhance and contour the areas that you want to recede. Taupe, gray tones/cool tones for a contour is key, you don't want to look like you have dirt on your face because of the warmer tones.

Products

I have used Benefit Hoola for a more subtle contour and also Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Bronzer in Chocolate Milk. My holy grail and my go to since it came out is the Kat Von D Shade & Light Contour Palette. It's a complete set I can use it for a day contour or intensify with the darker colors, I also can highlight my cheekbones and set my under eye concealer with Lyric (what I mostly use).

If you don't want an intense contour you can add color and bronze your face. I use the Benefit Hoola Bronzer, Nars Laguna Bronzer and Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Radiant Bronze Light (if you're fair/light I recommend using the Luminous Bronze Light shade). I could also bronze with my Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Bronzer, and Kat Von D Shade & Light Contour Palette if applied lightly.

For highlighters, most of them are going to be wearable for you but, for girls with a darker skin tone that tries a pearly white highlighter it might look ashy on the face so it's always best to try it on and see which ones will work out the best for your skin tone.
For me, I love Thunderstruck Metal Crush Eyeshadow from Kat Von D because it has a peachy undertone, and I also love Jaclyn Hill x Becca Highlighter in Champagne Pop because it has a golden warm tone, but also been using and loving The Balm's Mary Lou manizer. I also love my "That Glow" Glow Kit from Anastasia Beverly Hills. Popular new highlighters from Jeffree Star, Jouer, Sleek makeup, Ofra Cosmetics, Laura Geller, also great affordable ones from Milani, Nyx, E.L.F, and  Wet n' Wild.

Tools

The brushes I use for powder contouring is MAC #135, Sephora Collection #74 and for my powder highlighters I use Sigma F25 , Hakuhodo x Sephora Collection  small tapered brush.

For cream contour and highlight I use Sephora Collection #80 , and I also use my beauty blender.

How to apply

To apply the contour shade, use your ears as your guide, angle a brush from the top of your ears and follow the cheekbone down, swipe sideways and don't apply the product too close to the mouth area, leave about two inches away.  Blend the product upwards and just keep blending up and sideways until it looks seamless. For highlighting you can highlight on your brow bone, cheek bones, cupids bow, and even the inner tear duct of the eyes.

 For nose contouring I personally love using cream first. I create two parallel lines on the sides of my nose bridge and at the tip of my nose I make a little upside down triangle and make them meet in the middle, and then I blend towards the sides of the nose. To accentuate, I apply the highlighting shade along the nose bridge right after contouring to ensure that what I'm accentuating didn't get blended away with the contouring shade, then blend everything out. If you want to be more intense with the nose contouring just apply powder contour and highlight using the same guidelines.  

Some gals can get away with using a stick foundation, any foundation, and concealer that is 2 shades darker from their skin tone for their contouring creams.

Tip

My tip to really have an intense highlight/contour is to use cream highlighter and contour after applying your foundation/concealer and then set the makeup with translucent powder and use a powder highlighter and powder contour/bronzer on the areas where you placed the cream highlight/contour and lastly set it with a setting spray to make it look a little bit natural and blend in the skin better.

Good luck!