BeHonestBeauty: How To: My Contouring Routine

Sorry for the absence lately, I've been very busy preparing for finals week. One...more...week...until...misery...over. For this week, I want to focus on one of my go-to makeup routine when I want to add an extra oomph to my bone structure. Of course, I'm referring to the magic trick called also known as "contouring." Done right, your cheekbones will be sharp enough to cut diamonds. Done wrong however, and your cheeks simply look muddy, as if your natural flush is a lovely shade of river bottom brown.

For me, my high cheekbones are muted by an expansive real estate of cheek of over two acres. In order to bring out the best of my bone structure, especially for big night outs and events involving flash photography, I refer to my three favorite holy grail products for contouring:

*drumroll please*

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NYX Taupe is inexpensive, cool-toned, and not too pigmented. This, my friends, is the holy grail of all contouring powders ever made. Without being too pigmented, you can't go cheekbone happy unless you rub your brush into the pan with vigor. It is also not sparkly (cheekbones simply do not "sparkle" even if you're James Marsden) and a great ashy brown that doesn't scream fake tan. I use this with a small contour brush, such as the Sigma F40, directly underneath my cheekbones in order to define them.

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After this step, Too Faced's faux tan in a pan comes into play. Marketed as a bronzer (rather than a contour powder), this product is great for adding warmth directly onto my cheeks and outer edge of the face in order to focus the eyes inwards to my features. It also smells like sugary chocolate milk, doesn't have an orange undertone, and has a great color payoff. I warm up my face with this product and skip the blush. The packaging is simple and elegant for a mid-range product, and you get more than enough to last until the winter season when the vampires call asking for their foundation shade match.

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Finally, I use Too Faced's Candlelight Glow in order to add a lovely sheen on the upper half on my cheekbones. With this product, I have to use a very slight hand. Otherwise, the effect is rather Disco Barbie than ethereal princess. As with the Milk Chocolate Soleil, this product is at a mid-range price point but requires very little to achieve a lovely sheen.

Below are some photos of all three products under indoor artificial lighting. You can see that the Taupe looks the darkest in pan, but actually translates to the least color payoff once it's directly on the skin. On the other hand, Candlelit Glow looks approachable, but is actually the girl who spills her drink on your face for being too direct. It's always a good idea to apply your contouring products in a well lit environment, near a window of direct sunlight, or in a cave for trolls if you have no regard for naturalism when using makeup to restructure your face.