Unless you’ve been living in a cave for the past year, you will probably have heard of contouring, the make – up technique that’s soared in popularity recently. The technique, favoured by celebrities such as Kim Kardashian and Helen Flanagan, involves shadowing and highlighting specific areas of the face to define and shape features in the most flattering of ways.

Thanks to the inordinate amount of tutorials available on the internet demonstrating how to perfectly execute the technique, many women are making the trend part of their daily make-up routine – it’s no longer the preserve of make-up artists preparing models for catwalks.

Use these contouring tips to subtly enhance your profile.

• Use the right tools, and you’re halfway there. You will need an angle brush, a blusher brush, a bronzing brush, a cream highlighter and a flat brush.
• Apply your foundation in the normal way. Before starting the contouring process, suck your cheeks in! Using an angled blusher brush, sweep bronzing powder such as B.Sculpted Bronzing powder into the now pronounced hollow of your cheekbone. Then sweep diagonally towards your ear lobe, using firm but light strokes to blend the bronzer into place.
• Now work the blusher brush across your jawline, this will define and soften the profile of your face. For those who want to disguise a double chin, sweeping the bronzer under the chin will help create a flattering, slimming shadow. Finally, apply the bronzing powder to each side of the nose to slim and sculpt the width of the bridge.
• The cream highlighter must then be applied above the bronzer – never allow it to come into contact with the powder. Apply it with your fingers to the areas where the sun would naturally hit your face, patting and blending the cream into these areas. It’s best to start with the centre of your nose, the arch of you brow bone and forehead.
• A touch of highlighter in the corner of your eyes will give you a bright, wide awake look. If you want your lips to look fuller then apply some to your cupid’s bow too. Then, highlight the top of the cheekbones to give you a divine, sculpted look.
• Apply a light blusher on the apple of your cheeks, (the bits that stick out when you smile!) to complete the fresh-faced look.
• You’re now good to go!

Image courtesy of Studio 10 Make-Up, I love their contouring tutorials, follow them on Twitter.