CREDIT: KOVACSALEX/THINKSTOCK
Apply darker tones in areas you want to slim, like the hollows of your cheeks.

One of the most prominent trends in makeup is altering the face shape to make it appear slimmer and more defined. This was definitely made popular by a video Kim Kardashian posted that revealed her makeup routine and how much contour and highlight was used.

While this can look absolutely flawless on camera and film, it can look quite theatrical and heavy on a day-to-day basis. However, they are techniques we can use to create a more structured face that appears lighter and more natural.

To create a strongly defined face, three to four different colours of foundation (or cream concealers) are used; a light tone, a tone that matches your skin and a dark tone.

The dark tone is placed in areas you want to recede or slim down – hollows of cheeks, temples, hairline, sides of nose and jaw line. The light tone is placed on the high points of the face – enhancing the contour – such as the bridge of the nose, height of the cheekbones, bow of the lip, chin and center of the forehead. Then finally the tone that matches your skin is used to blend everything together.

While this will drastically change the appearance of your face, it can look absolutely horrible close up and in daylight. When celebrities use this technique, they are often under very bright lights and camera flashes.

To achieve the same look that looks more natural, you can do the same technique using cream products underneath your foundation. Lise Watier Portfolio is an excellent product that contains all the shades you would need to highlight and contour, in a lightweight creamy texture. Place the dark tone and light tone in all the places mentioned above and then blend out with a kabuki brush to soften its appearance. Lastly, apply a foundation or a tinted moisturizer – more natural looking – over everything to blend the look together.

If you want to create an even softer contour, use a powder product on top of a foundation. Brands such as Nars, Smashbox and Makeup Forever all create excellent contour and highlight powders that are the perfect shades. People often will use bronzing powders to contour but they are usually too warm in tone to look natural. You need to make sure the powders are more of a cool tone or taupe to create the appearance of a shadow.

Contouring is a very fun and effective way to slim the face down but you need to make sure you are using the right products. For evenings out at nightclubs, a heavier contour is acceptable but on a day-to-day basis, I would recommend using a powder so it is much more subtle and natural looking.