Beauty Basics: The right makeup for your face shape
As a professional makeup artist, it is part of my job to work on different clients with different face shapes creating different looks, and working on areas to bring out their shape - highlighting what's needed & contouring what has to be hidden.
The most ideal face shape is the oval face shape which doesn't need any change as it is the perfect face shape which everyone wants to achieve after highlighting and contouring. However, the six main face shapes do need the right makeup to correct their face shape.
Heart shapes (wide forehead & narrow chin) : Since your cheekbones & chin are the most prominent areas on your face, wear softer tones for cheek colors and give your lips a pop of color so all the focus gets diverted away from your high cheekbones & chiseled chin. Don't contour heavily, keep it very soft as your cheekbones are already so prominent and your jawline is sharp enough.
Round shapes (forehead and lower part of the face are the same width) : Go for a bronzed look all over not only on your cheeks or chin. Round faces generally have more prominent cheeks, so try winged eyeliners as it gives a slimming effect above fuller cheeks. For blush, don't apply it anywhere near/around your nose or lower than your cheekbone but only around the cheeks in an upward and away direction, making your face seem longer & lifted.
Square shapes (forehead and jawline are of the same width, usually broad in appearance) : Must contour the corners of your face with a bronzer i.e. sides of forehead and jawline. Feel free to use a dramatic lip color like plums, cherries or even sheer lip stains/lip glosses to distract away from the jawline. When applying blush, don't take the blush too high, concentrate the blush color mainly on cheekbones. Rose-tone blush looks great, but keep away from harsh colors. Blend well to create softness.
Oval shapes (the perfect face shape) : Since it is the ideal shape, it doesn't need many products to make it look right. If you want your face to appear shorter and thinner, use a foundation darker than your shade and use it below your jawline. Keep your eyebrows the natural shape, don't over pluck or thin them out. Choose your look wisely, either pair a dramatic eye with a soft natural lip color, or pair a soft eye with a loud lip color. Highlight your forehead and chin to bring your features forward and make them prominent. Contour your cheeks and highlight your cheekbones as you would. Feel free to experiment with different tones.
Diamond shapes (wider cheekbones, and narrower jawline & forehead) : Highlight your forehead to make it seem wider, and your under eyes but don't highlight your chin if it is too pointed. If your chin is quite pointed, avoid bright or glossy lip colors and use matte shades following your natural lip line with a lip liner. To make your forehead appear wider, let the arch of your eyebrows be slightly arched but not too dramatic, it has a lifting effect. Use warm blush colors (peaches, apricots, browns) on the apple of your cheeks rather than your cheekbones to make them stand out, but without any shimmer or illuminating effect as you don't want your cheeks to appear fuller than what they already are.
Oblong faces (long rectangular face) : To make your face shorter and broader, use a pressed powder of a darker shade or even a matte bronzer along the hairline and to the bottom of the chin. Attract focus to your cheeks by applying blush on the apples and sweep highlighter over it to widen the face. Experiment with your eyes- go for a cat eye makeup, bold eyeshadow colors and false lashes to get away from the length of your face.
