How to sculpt your face with make-up

How can I make my face look more sculpted with make-up?

To accentuate your features, just play with light and shadow, says make-up artist Maxime Poulin, who is part of the international art team at French cosmetics brand Guerlain.

Asian faces are typically rounder and wider, so elongate them with clever shading and highlighting.

Bronzer and highlighter are the two key items you need.

When choosing a bronzer, go for a colour that is one or two shades darker than your natural skin tone. It should also blend well into your skin instead of making it look dirty.

For that reason, don't use brown eyeshadow as a substitute for a bronzer.

For highlighter, get one that is a shade lighter or one that matches your skin tone.

Cheeks: Suck in your cheeks to find your cheekbones. Using a kabuki brush - a full, round and short brush - sweep the bronzer upwards from under the cheekbones while twisting the brush in a clockwise direction for a natural finish.

The contouring should start diagonally from the cheekbone near your ear and end about an inch from the corner of your mouth.

Dab liquid highlighter on the top of your cheekbones and blend. This will give the illusion of higher cheekbones.

Jawline: Brush the bronzer along the jawline with long strokes. Disguise any double chin with bronzer too; but use upward strokes.

Put and blend some highlighter on the middle of the chin so it looks more defined.

Temple: Brush on the bronzer from just before the browbone to the hairline. Twist the brush in a clockwise motion to create a natural shadow. This will help to elongate the face.

Nose: Use highlighter on the bridge and tip of the nose.

Contour the nose with bronzer using a more precise brush, such as an eyeshadow blending brush. Start from under the inner browbone and down the sides of the nose.

Decolletage: For a glamorous night out, especially when you are wearing a low-cut or strapless dress, apply light-reflecting primer on your decolletage too.

Then "push out" your collarbones; blend highlighter along the length of the bone and bronzer under it.

Apply highlighter on the ball of the shoulders to finish the look.

This article was first published on June 26, 2015.
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