Makeup has the power to transform faces – highlighting your best features and disguising your worst. It can even give the illusion of more prominent cheekbones, a narrower nose and more defined jawline. It’s all about creating optical illusions so that it looks like you are constantly under the best lighting ever – and, to do this, light and shade will be your BFFs, highlighting and contouring to create a glamour-girl look.
First, we need the right base, and where would we all be without a good primer? It minimises the look of pores, evens out skin colour and just feels so ridiculously smooth on your skin. A good BB cream has also become a staple in my daily beauty ritual; it mimics the texture of perfect skin and creates a great base for your foundation to glide right on.
Now for the magic: contouring your face. Generally, the idea is to use an illuminator or lighter shade of foundation to highlight the areas of your face where light naturally hits – cheekbones, bridge of your nose, temple, brow bone and along your jaw line. Conversely, to add definition use a darker colour under your cheekbones (to really make your cheekbones pop) and under your jawline to add more definition to this oft-neglected area.
Finish with a dusting of powder, some extra concealer under your eyes, a little shimmer or bronzer on your cheekbones and a dab of blush on the apples of your cheeks.
Conceal it!
I don’t believe there is a one-size-fits-all concealer. Instead, invest in a few good quality concealers – one specifically for under the eyes, a highlighter concealer to add as a mini illuminator on the run, and another to camouflage imperfections on the face. Remember, a little goes a long way! Another trick is to add a dab of concealer to your eyelids to help make eyeshadow stick.
Primers
As Napoleon Perdis famously said: Not to prime is a crime! While we’re not suggesting a jail sentence for those who skip this essential step, primers do make a big difference to your finished product. It smoothes the look of pores away right before your very eyes, evens out the complexion and primes your face for foundation or finishing powder. You can also multitask with it if it’s a fancy hybrid one and use it as an illuminator.
Highlighters & Illuminators
Contouring gives the illusion of more defined contours, smaller nose and chin, higher cheekbones. We’ve all seen the “in between” makeup shots of Kim Kardashian with light and dark stripes strategically placed all over her face and neck. This clever makeup trick works wonders to create a more chiseled, defined face that reflects light beautifully and gives an air brushed effect.
Skin Fixers
Oh, BB Cream, in just a short period you have become one of the staples in every beauty devotee’s makeup kit. Used alone or under foundation, it really does fake the look of moisturised and healthy skin. And what’s not to love about that? Many also have additional benefits, improving not only the appearance of your skin but also skin health.
![Lancôme Visionnaire [1 Minute Blur]; L’Oreal Nude Magique Blur Cream; L’Oreal Revitalift Magic Blur; Estée Lauder Double Wear All-Day Glow BB Moisture Makeup; L’Oreal Skin Perfection BB Cream 5-in-1 Instant Blemish Balm.](https://i0.wp.com/cosbeauty.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Iss65_Products_SkinFixers.jpg?ssl=1)
Mascaras – fake it til you make it!
Got short and sparse lashes? Not to worry! We can make those babies transform into beautiful lush lashes as quickly as you can say the word “mascara”. The technology that is being pumped into mascaras these days means we can rock a big flutter and create that false lash effect with ease.
