Extreme Contouring

In Sue's lesson we get taught and cover the basics of beauty make-up, so with Kat we got to see a more dramatic and creative look to try out and push our boundaries a bit, this lesson was on extreme contouring. Where as eyebrows were the biggest make-up trend last year, this years is contouring. Contouring is using shadows to define the bone structure of the face (and body if you wish) to give a more chiseled and framed appearance. Some peopke have a very prominent bone structure so just need a small amount of definition, however some people need a lot more to create the look they desire. When contouring first came to my attention I used to use the bronzer I would use all over my face to try and achieve the striking look we see on celebrities and catwalks, however during my last make-up course I learnt that it is better to use more grey toned powders or creams as when contouring you want to make it look like the natural shadows that would be visible with a very defined bone structure. I love the idea of contouring and think it is a really effective technique that can be used in so many ways in different areas of make-up, for example; subtle contouring for natural, wearable everyday beauty looks, very glamorous nights out, crazy creative fashion looks, theatrical character looks and the list goes on.

In Kats lesson she did a demonstration on Lucy and used a white base to really make the contouring stand out. I really liked the final outcome of Kats demo (pictured below) however didn't have enough time to have a go at it myself in class so I had a go on my class mate Sammie at home. I think Kats demonstration was so striking and worked really well with Lucys natural facial structure and colouring. It reminded me of a make-up that would work really well on a high fashion shoot in a woodland environment maybe. I liked the way it winged out and lifted at the corners of the eyes and Kat worked with Lucys amazing eyebrows and followed it on down the nose.

I was pleased with my outcome however would like to try again with more brown and copper shades as I really enjoy working with those colours and I think they would really suit Sammie who I practise with at home. I also think I would like to mix my mattes when contouring with a shimmery colour to create a more beautiful highlighted finish and be more experimental with the heavyness and lightness of the contouring in certain areas and maybe try and create some textured looks around the eye and eyebrows. I didn't contour the cupids bow and underneath the bottom lip like Kat did and I believe this would have really made my look stand out more and make Sammies lips look more 3D as the white base washed them out a bit. I am really looking forward to practicing and developing my contouring techniques as it is one of my favourite make-up effects (as well as the over drawn lip line!) and I will be using it a lot during my future work and career. Contouring is very on trend right now and I don't see it going anywhere anytime soon!