Clarins Contouring Perfection

Contour is all about tricking the eye into thinking there’s shadows and depth to the face, when there really isn’t. You can instantly make your face appear thinner, pop out some new cheekbones or even give yourself a nose job (without surgery) all with the swipe of a brush. Although contour is a huge trend right now, some shy away from it, in fear of looking like their playing with their mom’s makeup. Adding shape to your face doesn’t have to be that hard, with the correct products, tools and techniques. Don’t be fooled into purchasing a ton of products to get that perfect cheekbone or flattering contrast to the eyes.

The goal to contouring is to look as natural as possible. You don’t want to look over-done or too-contoured. A general rule of thumb is adding a slightly darker shade will make your features recede and appear smaller, whereas a lighter shade will make areas pop out. By applying contour and highlights to specific areas of your face, you’ll be able to change your entire look. The Clarins limited edition Face Contouring Palette features 3 universal shades that allow you to highlight, contour and add a healthy rosy glow to your cheeks. It’s designed for all women, is easy to use and features everything you need all in one convenient palette.

Look for a matte contour shade to help re-shape your face. The shading powder found within the Clarins Face Contouring Palette isn’t too light or dark. Keep in mind, your ideal contour shade should be a few shades deeper than your natural skin tone. Remember to also look for a shade that isn’t too warm, in fear of looking orange. This contour shade is slightly greyish, creating perfect depth to the face. Its rich and creamy formula is easy to apply, blends out beautifully and is extremely pigmented.

Apply the product where shadows would normally be found. Suck in your cheeks and use the contour brush found within the packaging to apply the shadow to the hallows of your cheeks, directly underneath your cheekbones. You can also place some product on the temples of your forehead, as close to your natural hairline as possible. To sculpt out your nose, run the brush down both sides of your nose, along with the bottom of your chin, along your jawline. The most important step is the blend. The goal is to illuminate any harsh line. A strong contour cheek is great for photography, but not every day looks.

Highlighting is just as important as contouring, in fact, you can’t have one without the other. The highlight helps to balance out your contour and give a natural finish to your complexion. The highlight shade found within the Clarins Face Contouring Palette is completely matte and a nice alternative to a super intense glow we’ve seen for seasons. Apply your highlight to areas of the face that would most likely get sun-kissed by the sun. Think down the bridge of your noise, top of cheekbones, top of your brow, cupid’s bow and just below your lower lip (middle of the chin).

To achieve that perfect flushed cheek, apply the peachy nude shade to the apples of your cheeks. This will help make your beautiful face glow and look incredibly healthy. The thing to keep in mind, is not to smile. This can bring up your cheeks and the blush will appear too low. You want the powder to be placed in the same area where you’d naturally feel flushed. Clarins Face Contouring Palette retails for $49.

Don’t be afraid to play with light and shade to create depth to the eyes. The Clarins 4-Colour Eyeshadow Palette in Smoky Eye features 3 richly pigmented charcoal shades, alongside an illuminating pearly white. It’s designed for eye contouring thanks to its 2 cool-tone contour shade, slightly deeper grey shade, perfect for defining, and then a highlight shade to really make the eyes pop. It’s created with carnauba wax to help provide a seamless, flawless and long-lasting finish. It features an incredibly rich and creamy, incredibly soft, finely-milled texture that’s extremely lightweight. You can easily achieve true colour payoff in a single stroke. Each shade can be used dry for a subtle wash of colour, or dampened to help intensify the results. It retails for $45.

Clarins 4-Colour All-in-One Pen is leaving me feeling incredibly nostalgic. I can still remember taking rainbow notes in elementary school with my retractable 4-colour pens. The brand has jumped on the 90’s bandwagon and created an adult version of this pen that you’ll want to play with each day. It takes the same concept as the novelty pen and applies it to your makeup routine. Instead of the barrels being filled with ink, it’s filled with rich and creamy eye and lip liners.

With a click of the button, the Clarins 4-Colour All-in-One Pen shades will help to sculpt the eyes and contour the lips. It’s formulated with sunflower, jojoba and black acacia waxes to provide eyelids and lips with extreme comfort. It features a classic black to achieve the perfect cat-eye, chocolate brown to warm up the eyes, indigo blue to enhance your natural eye colour and to have fun with colour, along with a universal nude shade to line your lips. Although I might not be carrying around pens in my backpack, I will be bringing this all-in-one, compact and portable liner in my purse. It retails for $44.

To create a multi-faceted smile, apply an even layer of Clarins Joli Rouge Brilliant. It features a tiny amount of fine pearls and shine boosters to help amplify the refection of light to add both dimension and luster. It’s all about subtle colour with a sparkling, shiny, glossy finish. This lippie is enriched with marsh samphire extract and mango oil to help soften, nourish and moisturize the lips. It’s lightweight, hydrating and long-wearing. It comes in 3 new shades, Tender Nude, a pinky-beige, Pink Fuchsia, a bright pink fuchsia and Soft Plum, a luminous plum. It retails for $29 each.