Shadows & Highlights
In honor of the dramatic solar light show on Monday August 21, 2017, the last episode of the Summer Season of Makeup Gourmet Live is dedicated to the rare Total Solar Eclipse.
We will be treated to a grand example of shadow & light which is an essential component to makeup generally and contour specifically.
heightening angles and shapes of our face has primitive roots. What fascinates me is how this primal style is often used now as an undercoat to beauty and Fashion makeup.
Historically astral events like a solar eclipse also triggered fear and doom alongside hope and joy.
I wonder what connection, if any, is there between primitive face paint and modern contour makeup.
Anyway…
The techniques used on the women in the above images are primarily reserved for photo shoots, fashion runway, film and video.
Thankfully, contour is so much easier (and so much less product) than those images.
The same concept we use to minutely contour our eyes, we enlarge to contour our face.
The primary area of contour for most makeup is the underside of the cheeks. This creates a heightened lift to the cheekbone and slim the face.
Other parts of the face subject to contour are the nose, jawline and forehead.
In the Face with a Heart technique, I refer to contour as where the face turns the corner.
The red arrows indicate the heart line which is a straight line that borders the outer corner of the lips and eyes.
Within these 2 lines are your main attractions, eyes and lips. To heighten contour it is best to keep the skin within these heart lines clear of any coloring excluding foundation, powder corrector/concealer.
The blue arrows indicate where the face ‘turns the corner’.
Here is where shading/contouring begins. Blush, contour, bronzer all live outside the heart lines, and in the best scenario, rest just outside the heart lines.
These contrast colors outside the heart line heightens the contour effect. It is, in essence, how to highlight the heart of the Face.
The best way for me to share contour techniques is to share this video tutorial contour playlist.
Here are 20 short contour tutorials on faces of all ages, ethnicities and makeup intensities.
If a picture is worth a thousand words, how many words is a video worth?
Makeup Gourmet Chris Scott’s new series of how-to video tutorials based on his
#1 international best seller Face with a Heart Mastering Authentic Beauty Makeup
Please let me know if this blog was of value to you and share your own Authentic Beauty Makeup tips in the comments box below. I would love to hear how you get on trying this new method of makeup application – tell me how useful you find the tutorials and how you found the results. You can also use the comments box to tell me what interests and concerns you when it comes to which makeup colors to choose. Please let me know so I can fashion future blogs that are relevant and interesting to you.
Want to know more? My new book, Face with a Heart: Mastering Authentic Beauty Makeup is available on Amazon now.
Warmly,
Chris Scott
17th of August, 2017
CHRIS SCOTT, M.A. is the creator of San Francisco-based Makeup Gourmet®. Over his nearly 30-year career, in addition to doing makeup for top models from every corner of the planet, he also had the honor of working for legends like Paul McCartney, US Vice President Al Gore, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Shirley Temple Black, Maya Angelou and Olympic Gold medalists Oksana Baiul and Kristi Yamaguchi. He was the creator and host of the TV show ‘Makeup Gourmet’ from 2008 – 2010. He was a leading Chanel Beauté national artist for over two decades, and is also the creator and guest teacher of Fashion Makeup at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. He created his unique Makeup Gourmet line to ensure his clients and the public could have access to high-quality, ethically produced, ‘green’ makeup and skincare with a low-carbon footprint. Chris is also the author of Cosmetic Counter Survival Guide: How to Buy the Right Skin Care and Makeup and the international #1 bestseller Face with a Heart: Mastering Authentic Beauty Makeup.
‘The grass is always greener where you water it.’
CS
