2017 was the year of contour and highlight! Last year we saw some amazing contour and highlight makeup looks from makeup artists across Instagram that left us stunned.  We rounded up some of our favorite looks to share with you. And we’re even gonna give you a tutorial so you can try these looks yourself.

Contouring is a makeup technique that uses shadows and highlights to create subtle definition on your face. For example:

Image credit: @makeup__bar_ on instagram

Here are some our favorite contour and highlight looks from Instagram 2017. We hope you love them as much as we do! <3

 

Hannah Willis

We Absolutely Loved this look from Hanna Willis aka @hannwillis. She is a 19 year old freelance MUA from Oklahoma City, USA. This lovely look featuring bright lips, bronze eyeshadow and shimmering highlights would be perfect for any elegant occasion. We love her winged liner and her eyebrow game is on-point.

 

Brook Tiffany

We really loved this playful look from @makeupbybrooktiffany. This vegan MUA has stunned us with her looks all year. We especially loved this perfectly highlighted look. The combination of  shimmering pink eyeshadow and nude lips are more than enough to turn some heads. We absolutely love her lashes, and her highlight was executed flawlessly!

 

Sarahy Delarosa

We’ve been very impressed with some of the looks from latin bombshell @iheart_sarahy. She’s absolutely gorgeous! This bronze look is perfect for day to day wear and stunning enough for a night out. A nude matte lip, subtle contour & highlights with bronze eyeshadow makes this look classic. And those lashes...

 

Anise Ruxton

We love @aniserux_mua playfully edgy looks! Even though her eyes, brows, lips and highlights were bold, this look is just enough. For most people, less is more but Ms. Ruxton was able to bring a “softness” to it all. So in love right now <3

 

Ayeesha B

This look from @ayeeshabx might be one part contour, one part glam, and two parts magic. We absolutely love this golden cat eye makeup with her choice of dark lip. The subtle cheek contour and highlight really pulls this mysterious look together. She certainly has put a spell on us with this amazing look!

 

How To Contour and Highlight

So you’ve seen some of our favorite contoured looks from MUA’s on instagram in 2017. Now it’s your turn to get your face contour on point.

Tools needed:

-Concealer/foundation/powder (1-2 shades lighter, 1-2 shades darker than skin tone)

-Blending brush or sponge

-Highlighters

-translucent powder, setting spray

 

Step 1: Determine your face shape

Determining your face shape is the first and most important step when highlighting and contouring. There are six face shapes: Oval, Long, Round, Square, Heart, and Diamond.

For each face shape, there is a slightly different placement of the highlight and contour.

 

Step 2: Contour and Highlight

When contouring, you can really use anything a couple shades darker than your skin to create a shadow. We know people some say you must use a contour palette but we believe makeup is all about the artistry! Learn the rules to break them! You can use cream based or powder products. If you’re really daring, you can even combine them.

With your lighter concealer, you want to place it in the areas where you will want to accentuate like the bridge of your nose, chin, under eye area and the middle of your forehead. You can also take it a step further and highlight the inner corners of your eyes and your brow bone.

With your darker shade of concealer or powder, you want to place it in the areas where you want to add more depth like the sides of your nose, the jawline, the hollows of your cheeks, your temples and the perimeter of your forehead.

 

Step 3: Blend

This step is simple. Contouring is meant to look as natural and flawless as possible, so you want to use a brush or sponge to blend any harsh lines, leaving a flawless transition between makeup shades.

 

Step 4. Set

Use a brush to apply a lighter powder to the highlighted areas (your cheekbones, bridge and tip of your nose, chin, cupids bow, and above your temples).

 

Show Us Your Skills

Now that you have the step by step how to and some makeup inspo you can try your hand at creating your own amazing contoured looks! Don’t forget to add a pair of Stunning 3D Lashes to complete your look. This dollar lash club has you covered for beautiful dollar lashes. Make sure to upload your selfies to instagram and tag @dollareyelashclub so we can see your beautiful makeup work! We hope to hear from you soon!