Redefining your Face - Contours and Highlights

The art of Highlighting and Contouring: Jennifer Lopez

Hey beauties, happy midweek. Here's a lil makeup trick, that may come in handy for your weekend ;). 

As you know, celebrities are markers in setting "standards" and they also keep us abreast of trends apart from what is being translated by the runways.

But...have you ever wondered how do they remain so flawless? The trick is all in the wrist of their makeup artist (for some), and one of them is called Contouring and Highlighting. With this method you could bring out your best features and minimize your not-so-best ones. This is one of the oldest technique in makeup, and with much practice you can easily use your makeup to reshape your face while subtly hiding flaws. The key with this trick is being able to not look overdone; as this technique is very advanced, you have to handle with care. Each face shape has it own instructions for reshaping, so understanding the plane of your face is also very important, as this will enable you how to apply the technique - dark shading recedes (contour), light shading makes facial features more prominent (highlight) . 

What facial sculpting does:

• Slim down a nose.
• Define cheekbones
• Make lips appear fuller/smaller
• Lift sagging eyes
• Minimize receding hairline and can also make forehead appear smaller
• Thin down neck/double chin .

You will need the following: 

• Your foundation (shade that matches your skin exactly)
• Highlighting colour (a shade that is 1 to 2 shades lighter than your foundation with the same undertone)
• Contouring colour (a shade that is 2 shades darker than your foundation with the same undertone) 
• Large - medium round makeup brush

Now imagine your face as a blank canvas and then determine what shape is your face, by simply touching your face and feeling the structure.

Guidelines:

• Everything with a shimmer in it will make the area pop out so always contour with a matte finish powder/cream.
• Whether you use cream or powder, always start with the creams first.

Below I have added some visual representations and added imagery as to guide you. 

  

Oval shaped faces are deemed symmetrical and are considered the perfect face length so you need not contour. Persons with oval faces can experiment alot, as this shape can support most makeup trends and even hairstyles. 

Rihanna: Oval shaped face

Characteristics:

• Hairline to eyebrows are equal in distance and also from eyebrows to tip of nose and  from nose to chin.
• The forehead and the jaw are the same width.
• High/Prominent cheekbones.

Techniques for the oval face

Diamond shaped faces: The goal is to balance forehead and jaw line, so they appear  wider.

Nicole Ritchie: Diamond shaped face

 Characteristics:

• Forehead and cheekbones are narrow.
• Wide jawline.

Techniques for the diamond shaped face

Tip: Your cheekbones are your best asset, so be sure to make them pop.

Rectangle/Square shaped faces: The goal is to soften and angle forehead and make jaw line narrower.

Demi Moore: Rectangle/Square shaped face

Characteristics:

• Prominent Jawline
• Width of jaw line, cheeks and forehead are similar
• Angular features, slightly masculine in overall appearance

Techniques for the rectangular shaped face

Heart shaped faces: The aim is to balance the face, by making the forehead appear more narrow and the lower half of the face wider. Marilyn Monroe also had this shape face.

Beyonce: Heart shaped face

 Characteristics:

• Cheeks tapers down to chin, then narrows down to a sometimes pointed chin.
• Jawlines are not prominent.
• Widest area is across the forehead.

Techniques for the heart shaped face

Oblong shaped faces: A long shaped should never be highlighted too much, as this will make the face appear longer. Concentrate on contouring across the lower section of your chin to shorten your face length. In essence, face length must appear shorter and the lower half of the face wider.

Kelly Rowland: Oblong shaped face

Characteristics:

• The face is thinner in width than the length.
•  Pointed/Narrow chin

Technique for oblong shaped faces

With a Round shaped face; it's mostly about contouring, by creating more definition so the forehead and jaw line appears more narrow.

Drew Barrymore: Round shaped face

 Characteristics: 

• The facial width and length is about the same
• Cheeks are very wide
• Short forehead
• Obvious roundness through jaw

Techniques for round shaped face

Check video below where I demonstrate the technique on my face, which is oval shaped:

Hope these tips helped!
xxo
G

 

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Vlog + Wedding Contracts

Makeup for bridal party: Moi

You are developing your brand as a freelance makeup artist and is still unsure of how to cover your bases?

One thing to consider are contracts. These will hold a great importance in your life, as it is one of the major sources of income for you..

A freelance makeup artist contract is an agreement held between a makeup artist and his or her client, in order to protect the rights of both parties and make certain points clear to both of them, so that no conflict may arise in future. Once certain points are agreed upon, they should be followed and in case of violation, charges may be made in case of liabilities. 

When it comes to a contract, there are some terms and conditions that are very important  and should be mentioned - like the name of the involved parties, the service charges and the date & place of service delivery.

Though you may consider this an ordinary piece of paper, it is not, as it has to be prepared very carefully. Make sure to include all the necessary details in the contract so there are no misunderstandings.

A bride I did before she had put on her dress and lipstain.

 

Contractual Agreement for Bridal Makeup 

One of the most difficult events you may have to handle, is a wedding. It involves many relatives and bridesmaids, who may want their makeup done for free. So make sure that the contract clearly states that all the services provided will be charged accordingly. Demand half of the amount as a non refundable reserve at the time of signing the contract, so that you may not have to suffer in case of cancellation of the event. Here are some tips:

• Both parties should agree to the terms of the contract, when signing.

• Always ensure contract is accurate.

• Before the day of the wedding, make sure to conduct a consultation at least a month before - there should be no cost attached to this service.

• Ensure that you also have a bridal questionnaire on hand, which will cover all your bases from the colour of the bride's dress, concerns the bride may have and the look the bride is hoping to achieve. 

• A deposit should be paid on the day of consultation.

• If a member or members of the bridal party is/are interested in having a consultation, a cost should be quoted. 

• Payment should be received on the day of the wedding, after completion of job.

• All expenses should be covered, especially if the wedding is out of town.

Make sure that clients can easily afford to avail your services, so try to have competitive and reasonable prices. Do a thorough research in order to determine an appropriate service charge for a particular event. Realize the importance of each event as it will help you in determining the right service charges for your clients.

Weddings, prom nights, parties and other events hold a great importance in the life of your clients so you have to plan accordingly. For example - the service charges for a wedding makeup cannot be equal to the charges of a party makeup as both of these events have entirely different importance levels. Moreover a wedding makeup requires a lot more time and effort as compared to a party makeup so it should be charged more than a party makeup.

Hope these tips helped!

xxo

G

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