15 insane types of contouring you need to see to believe

Date April 11, 2016

When Kim Kardashian’s makeup artist, Mario Dedivanovic, first revealed the epic makeup routine behind her perfectly defined features, women started amping up their beauty routine. Contouring, which has been used as a part of theatre makeup for ages, quickly became mainstream.

Spinoffs like clown and henna contouring have emerged on social media, as artists are getting more and more creative with their brushes. Another trend, baking, isn’t quite the same as contouring but uses similar principles of light. Makeup is placed on the skin to “bake” from the natural heat of the body and is then blended in to create a matte finish.

Seeing what these techniques can do for skin, women have started to move south and are starting to apply the same contour principles to all areas of the body. Lip contouring has been a go-to technique for years (Marilyn Monroe used five different shades) but now more and more women are paying attention to resizing their pout. Body and hair contouring have even been added to the mix.

Tontouring is another part of the contouring family. Similar to the classic contouring technique, this one takes very little time and it lasts for about a week, as it uses self-tanner to contour. Just be careful as it doesn’t scrub off as easily as a misplaced brush stroke of bronzer.

But with all this contouring happening, a bit of a beauty backlash was bound to happen; enter: strobing. Instead of using dark shadows and shading to angle ones face, highlighters are applied to attract light and help it bounce off the face creating a healthy and more natural glow.

We’ve rounded up all the different types of contouring (and anti-contouring) to aid in your quest for the ultimate beauty routine.

1/15

Types of contouring

Ab contouring

Because nothing says summer bod quite like a well-defined six pack, right guys? But seriously, as ridiculous as ab contouring may sound and look, we’ve tried it out and it actually kind of works—desperate times call for desperate measures (read: festival season). Check out the Instagram video by viral contouring expert, MakeupByMeri, here.

2/15

Types of contouring

Flower contouring

What else is there to say about this technique other than it’s gorgeous and mesmerizing to watch?

3/15

Types of contouring

Heart contouring

Don’t want to draw flowers? Hearts work too!

4/15

Types of contouring

Leg contouring

You can watch the full video here but basically, makeup artist @makeupbymeri was inspired by the “Anatomy of the Human Body” book that her son was reading, and gave leg contouring a try. The video is totally worth a watch, because it looks intricate and time-consuming AF. We don’t suggest trying this one at home, though, because we don’t really see much of a difference in the before and after shots.

5/15

Types of contouring

Décolletage contouring

Décolletage contouring is used to help create the illusion of bigger breasts. Simply take the same techniques used for the face and apply them to your collarbone, above the boobs and in-between your cleavage.

6/15

Types of contouring

Clown contouring

YouTube beauty vlogger BellaDeLune used clown contouring as her response to being “called a clown” for her use of makeup. With the use of much brighter colours than we are used to seeing for this technique, this version is definitely made for selfies.

7/15

Types of contouring

Tontouring

Tontouring is the quickest and easiest way to a long-lasting contoured look. Simply use a self-tanner to create depth to the cheeks and nose and you will be able to go makeup free for a week. It’s every lazy girl’s makeup dream come true.

8/15

Types of contouring

Strobing

Strobing was dubbed the “anti-contouring” technique. Instead of using varying shades to create depth and sharp angles, strobing draws light to your face using highlighters and illuminators to create a healthy glow.

9/15

Types of contouring

Hair contouring

By placing light and dark highlights throughout the hair, particularly around the face, you can accentuate your cheekbones and get that chiseled look no matter how much makeup you’re actually wearing.

10/15

Types of contouring

Classic contouring

Classic contouring made famous by the makeup queen herself, Kim Kardashian. Although some of us may never fully achieve Kim-level cheek bones, with thousands of demo videos out there, we can certainly try.

11/15

Types of contouring

Baking

Baking is used to get a crease-free, matte finish. With the use of your own body heat, you allow a heavy handed application of makeup to rest on your face for 10 minutes while the makeup “cooks” onto your face before you take your brush to it.

12/15

Types of contouring

Henna contouring

As contouring continued to take over, Anastasia Beverly Hills’ held a contest to find the best 60-second sculpting video using their contour kit. With a prize of $10,000 going to the winner, hundreds of videos were submitted and with that came the most beautiful application we’ve seen. Henna contouring was submitted by Shahina Aslam, a self-taught makeup artist, showcasing all the beautiful intricacies of the art form to create such a stunning look on its own we almost wish it she didn’t have to be blended it in.

13/15

Types of contouring

Neck contouring

If you’re one to wear your hair up often, then neck contouring may be the thing for you. The technique employs basic contouring methods—using a dark shade to create the illusion of a slimmer neck, and highlighting the sliver of skin you want to stand out most. Easy? Yes. Practical? We’ll let you be the judge of that.

14/15

Types of contouring

Ear contouring

We know what you’re thinking: WTF?! Yes, let it be known that ear contouring is a thing as proven by—wait for it—Kylie Jenner. “I like it when you do my ears,” she tells makeup artist Hrush Achemyan, while having her face contoured for a video tutorial. Achemyan goes on to explain that ear contouring is a technique most people overlook. “It’s really not cute when you’re on the red carpet, or you get snapped and then your face is one color, and the ears are different.” Achemyan says. The more you know.

15/15

Types of contouring

Butt contouring

And just when you thought ear contouring was crazy, people are contouring their butts now. As shown on Instagram via LiveGlam, this makeup artist shows us a cheeky way of making sure our bums look perfect come beach season.