When I was first asked to write a blog post about sculpting with PureBronze Matte Bronzer, I was a little apprehensive. I never quite mastered contouring as a skill, having spent years trying to shape my round, pale face with bronzers that were always too orange for my skin tone.
Fortunately, I knew the person to turn to for expert guidance: Shawn, our Director of Artistry and Education, who was kind enough to give me a tutorial on how to create a naturally sculpted look.
The lesson
When shaping the face, Shawn recommends highlighting first and then contouring, as it makes it easier to determine where to add definition. To highlight, choose a shade a few shades lighter than the skin tone, or use a product with luminosity to create a similar lifted effect.
Once the highlighter is blended, apply the contour with a contour brush to the areas of the face you want to pull back. Common bronzer placement sites include: along the hairline, in the cheeks, along the nose, and along the jawline. Pro tip: When shaping the jawline, remember to start behind the ear so there isn’t a clear line where the contour begins.
Then, once you’ve reached the desired level of sculpting, the key to making it all look natural is to blend it all out. In depth. Keep the areas closer to the hairline darker and gradually fade the color out more with your contouring brush as you move towards the center of the face.
Think
To prep my face for makeup, I prep my skin with Smooth Affair® Brightening Face Primer. Then I put in Glow Time Pro™ BB Cream GT1 on my cheeks, forehead, chin and nose and quickly blend it in with the Blending/Contouring Brush. (I find that a little bit of this product goes a long way and it dries quickly, so it’s important to start blending as soon as possible.)
When it comes to highlighters, I prefer luminous over matte, so I add some Active Light® Under-eye Concealer. 1 to the high points of my face, and blended it with the Blending/Contouring Brush. For extra shine, I finish it off with the Glow Time® Highlighter Stick Solstice.
I swipe on PureBronze Matte Bronzer light(Shawn’s recommendation as it’s not a too warm bronzer), under my cheekbones around my forehead and under my jawline, blending with the Blending/Contouring Brush.
Since I have a rounder face, I skip applying blush to the apples of my cheeks and apply Glow Time® Blush Stick instead sultry from my temple, down the top of the cheekbone to the center of my cheek.
I add PureBrow® Precision Pencil Dark brown to my brows for definition, sweep the shimmery rose gold shade of the Ravishing PurePressed® Eye Shadow Trio over my lids and lengthen my lashes with Longest Lash® Thickening and Lengthening Mascara Black ice.
I finish the look with a swipe of our NEW ColorLuxe Hydrating Cream Lipstick Sorbet for a subtle hint of coral.
When I look in the mirror, I am pleasantly surprised to see that my face looks naturally sculpted and lifted. I don’t look orange either. (Big shoutout to Shawn and his Sculpting 101 Contour Guide.)
