Yes, You Can Contour

I am not a makeup artist. I hire makeup artists. To be sure, I’ve learned a lot about makeup and how to apply it since opening Bellacara, but there are still things I’ve never really gotten comfortable with. One of those things is contouring.I’ve watched all the videos. I’ve pinned a dozen pins and copied the steps one by one. I’ve tried every contour kit, stick, and powder on the market. Somehow, I always felt like the end result just made me look, well…like I had dirt on my face. So, when the Westman Atelier line arrived in store, the contour stick was the one item I had no interest in. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt.I showed everyone who came in the entire line and just ignored the contour stick. Then one night during an event I watched one of my artists use the contour stick on someone and my life was forever changed. A big statement to be sure, but a true one. She took the stick and drew a line from the middle of the ear down under the cheekbone. She stopped just where the eye begins. If you hold a pencil at the outer edge of the eye downward, that is where the contour stops. She then took a flat top kabuki style blending brush and blended the cream up and toward the ear. It perfectly carved a cheekbone where one did not previously exist. Boom. Mind blown. It could not have been easier. The color is perfect too. Not too orange, not too red, not too grey. The perfect color to create a shadow. She then drew under the jawline and blended with the same brush. Lastly, she took the leftover cream on the brush and swept the upper forehead at the hairline. The woman’s face was chiseled right before my eyes.  As a complete bonus, she took the stick and with a small brush used the color on the woman’s eyelids in the crease to create a bit of depth to the eye. Suddenly, the one item I had ignored was on my must-have list. I have used it every single time I put makeup on since that night.If I can do it, trust me, you can do it. Don’t believe me? Come in, I am happy to show you. I feel pretty accomplished every time I do it. I use it on my cheeks, my nose (to thin it), my jawline, and my eyes as shadow or crease color. It really is a must have item.Yes, you can contour.