Although face shapes are all unique, they do fall into some common categories. How you apply your makeup will be dependent on the face shape you are born with.
Determine Your Face Shape
In order to understand how to best use makeup for your face shape, you first need to determine what shape it is. Start by standing in front of a mirror with your hair pulled back completely from your face. Use a dry erase pen, lipstick or bar of soap to draw the outline of your face in the mirror. Basically, find a washable marker and trace around your face's image on the mirror itself and step away. If you have never tried this before, you may be surprised how your face does take on a distinct shape.
Defining the Shape
Makeup and hair style will affect how your face actually appears to the outside world. Although you cannot change genetics, you can use subtle techniques to enrich your face shape.
Contouring is a common practice for restructuring the appearance of your face through makeup. You will need a dark and light skin-color shade of makeup. The best type is a powder formula in two shades or a bronzer for the darker shade. The use of blush is also helpful. When contouring, the most important steps are to blend, blend, and blend. Otherwise, you will look like you are wearing face paint instead of your natural face.
Also, work with your hairdresser. A skilled stylist will know the best ways to cut your hair based on the shape of your face.
Five Main Face Shapes
Oval
The oval face shape is considered to be the ideal. A shape that is perfectly symmetric with broader cheeks that taper in at the forehead and chin describes the oval face. If you are lucky enough to possess this face, enjoy. Your face can support most makeup trends and needs no contouring.
Round
The round face shape is fuller and more youthful. The distance from the forehead to the chin tends to be short, while being wider from cheek to cheek. A round face has full cheeks and a rounded chin.
To enhance the appearance of a round face, you can use some basic contouring. Place your highlight color on the forehead, under the eyes, the top of the cheeks and the center of your chin. Then use the darker shade for the temples, cheeks and jaw. Blend.
Square
The main difference between a round face and square is usually seen at the jaw line. When looking at the shape on your mirror, see if the corners are sharper rather than round. Also, a square face has the same width from the edges of the forehead, across the cheeks, and from jaw to jaw.
To soften the square face you can highlight the center of the forehead, under the eyes, and the very tip of the chin. Then, darken the hairline by the temples and the chiseled corners of the jaw. Finish the look with blush on the apples of the cheeks.
Heart
The heart shaped face is wide at the forehead, but then curves down to a point at the chin. To soften the lower half of the face, you will highlight the chin, forehead and under the eyes, while also darkening the temples and cheeks.
Long
Most women with a long face know they have it. They learned early on that they could not wear their hair long and straight without looking stretched out. The long face is characterized by high cheek bones, a raised forehead and distinct jaw line.
In order to shorten this striking face shape, all it takes is a little of bronzer on the chin. You can also apply extra blush on the apples of the cheeks to bring out the distinctive cheek bones.
