Contouring your nose can make a
wide nose appear narrower, a long nose appear shorter, or a short nose appear
taller — it all depends on the placement. Contouring is also called shading or
shadowing, and it’s the process of using a darker color than your skin tone to
create “shadows” to transform your features and make them more defined. When I
contour my nose, I like making my nose appear a little taller and narrower:
You can use
many different products to contour, but I mainly use powder. A brown blush or
sculpting powder with a gray undertone (since shadows are gray) that’s two to
three shades darker than your skin tone works best.
Before
you contour your nose:
·
Apply foundation, if desired.
I usually contour my nose as after I
have all my makeup on already. If you contour with a cream-based product
though, contour your nose before powdering your face.
Here’s how to do it!
STEP 1:
Figure out what type of look you
want for your nose to determine the placement of the powder (or cream).
To make a wide nose look narrower,
the placement will be similar to the lines shown in this picture. A trick is to
take 2 Q-tips and hold one in each hand (using your thumb and pointer finger).
Align the Q-tips on either side of the cartilage of your nose, parallel to the
middle of your nose. The Q-tips will look like the 2 lines in the picture. Keep
in mind where these lines are, because this is where you will be contouring.
To make make a short nose look
taller (or to make a flat bridge more defined), follow the curve from your brow
bone to the top part of your nose and continue with the placement in the
picture on the right.
To make a tall nose look shorter,
the placement will be on the curve on the tip of your nose (between your
nostrils).
You can also do any combination of
these placements, depending on what look you’re going for.
STEP 2:
Pick up some powder (that’s about 2
shades darker than your skin tone) on the tip of an angled shading eyeshadow
brush. I like using a chiseled double angle brush, because it has a point at
the very middle for more precision when it comes to placement. If your
placement includes the curve from your brow bone to the top of your nose, begin
placing the powder on the inner part of your brow bone, follow the curve, and
then go straight down the line determined in Step 1 (like I did in the picture
on the right). Where you place the brush initially will have the most amount of
product, so you want the darkest part to be near your brow bone. However, if
you don’t want to do this, begin your line about where your tear duct is and
then brush down the line.
If you’re contouring the tip of your
nose to make it look shorter, then apply powder on the curve between your
nostrils.
STEP 3:
Using the same brush, blend the
powder by moving the brush down the sides of your nose, working from the top to
the bottom.
If you are contouring the tip of
your nose, blend powder down right between your nostrils.
STEP 4:
Apply some invisible powder or a
translucent powder 1 to 2 shades lighter than your skin tone down your nose.
The placement of the powder is shown in the picture on the right. Either buff
it in with a kabuki brush (if you have oily skin) or blend it with a fluffy
powder brush using a vertical motion down your nose. Continue blending the
powder until it’s not visible anymore.
If you contoured the tip of your
nose, also apply and blend in some invisible or translucent powder on that
area.
You can also get the illusion of a
straighter nose by using a lighter powder in Step 5 without having to contour a
dark powder on the sides of your nose at all. If you do both though, it will
create more contrast and hence a more dramatic change to your nose.
Here are some pictures of me without
and with my nose contoured so you can see the difference:
This technique can take some practice to master, but once you get the hang of it, it can make a subtle yet big difference to your look!
