Beauty Post: The Art of Contouring ⁰

by Aimee • Beauty • Tags: beauty, rae morris

To the average Jane, the art of contouring is purely a mystery, a glowing beacon of knowledge reserved for those inducted in the professional realm of make up application. I was intrigued and I wanted to know more so I arranged an interview with the make up maestro herself, Rae Morris. Now Rae Morris is known to make up artists, models, celebraties and photographers in the know as one of the most influential make up artists in Australia. She is also a best-selling author with three invigorating how-to titles under her brush belt and she sure knows the importance of contouring. Read on for the result of my phone conversation with Rae while she was in Hong Kong overseeing the production of her new brush line which is now available in Australia.

Rae, why is contouring so important?

Contouring is the most powerful tool that you have in make up. It is more powerful than a smoky eye, more powerful than brows and lips. It is the one make up tool that can make women look ten years younger. It is something that I do on every single face I do, it is really important.

Why is it such a powerful tool?

It is a simple technique once you know how to do it but it has the most effect. False lashes will give you an effect or eyebrows or a smoky eye but they can’t change the structure of the face where contouring can make you look five kilo’s thinner, ten years younger, it can lift your eyes, give you cheekbones, it can give you a thinner nose, a structured jawline. If you did all that and just put mascara and lipgloss on you could look amazing.

What tools do we need for contouring?

It is really simple. You have to use a colour that looks like a shadow. Imagine that you have a torch over your head and you get those shadows. It is that dark brown, grey tone that you need to contour with, not bronzers, not shimmery blushes. It needs to be a very flat muddy colour. The best colour to explain is the colour you normally use to do eyebrows, that is what is going to give you curvage. To be a little more technical if you are using a liquid foundation use a cream because cream blends beautifully with liquid and if you use powder or mineral foundation find the same tone in an eyeshadow or powder form. The colour you choose should be at least three shades darker than your foundation it has to be pretty dark. If it is not dark enough it is going to look like blush. It has to be blended so well to look like a shadow. If you go lighter it doesn’t have the same effect.

Fingers or brushes?

I am all about brushes. It is really important that it is applied to the exact area that it needs to be applied. There is a really simple rule that I follow. To create a cheekbone you have go under the cheek, not on it.

Imagine a line from the corner of your mouth to the tip of your ear. Now you start contouring from your ear and work down, you want it to look darker at the hairline and blend out. Imagine a very long extended triangle where at the earlobe it might be 1cm thick and then it comes down to nothing. You are really aiming for a beautiful blend that becomes a shadow under your cheekbone. You have to use a brush that is no wider than your little finger. I have actually made a brush in my brush range just for contouring so you can’t go wrong so you just pick the exact size. If you got your little finger and pressed it under your cheekbone that is all you want, you don’t want it to extend all the way down to your jawline you want that really fine indent underneath your cheekbone.

The cheekbones are the hardest part to do, the second area is really easy. Imagine a line going from your nostrils to the outside corner of your eye then up through your temple and that is the other area that you shade. This part of blending is actually what gives you that really beautiful cheekbone and helps your eyeshadow to give you a cat eye and really lift your eye. It’s a line going from the corner of your nose to the corner of your eye and out to the temple then there is another line going from the outside corner of your nose, the inside corner of your eye and out. It is through that region that you also contour. Don’t contour this area if you are underweight or are over 45 as we can get very hollow around the eyes.

The blush goes quite high so don’t smile when you put it on otherwise you will get lines. When you are young your cheeks flush very high, not all the way down to your jawline so just keep it really high along that cheekbone and blend it beautifully.

Tell me about your brush range.

Every make up artist that has played with them has said they are the best makeup brushes in the world but they are cheaper than M.A.C per brush so the average price is $35. I really wanted them to be affordable so they are the best but still cheap.

Why is it so important that we arm ourselves with good makeup brushes?

Notice a woman’s makeup bag and notice a makeup artists bag. The makeup artists bag will have ten times more brushes than makeup because it is not so much about the product but rather how you apply it. As a makeup artist I physically find it impossible to do makeup without brushes. Then when you look in a woman’s bag she has a cotton bud and a sponge tip and a finger and wondering why the hell she cant put makeup on. It is that simple. The only brushes get aquainted with are honestly the free gift with purchase ones and that is what they think a brush is.

With my brush range they are shaped into a pointed tip and what that means if you do a line of black eye shadow it blends in one stroke. Normal square or rectangle shaped brushes give you edges and also the skin moves. They are amazing and your makeup will be done in half the time. You are better off buying a simple makeup kit and great brushes instead of the other way around. Sometimes it is about finding the best foundation brush so your foundation looks airbrushed.

I was reading in your first book that you recommended a fiber-optic foundation brush. Is this what you mean?

Yes, my fiber-optic brush is better than what you will find on the market because what I have done is acutally increased the black part of the brush and decreased the shorter hair. There is nothing like this brush, I came across it accidently and every time I use it on someone the first thing they say is always , oh my god, what is that brush.

Biggest mistakes women make when attempting contouring?

They use a shimmery, shiny product. They also use the wrong shade in that they use a colour instead of a shadowy colour. And not enough blending, You have to physically look at your face on its side and check it that way.

Beauty tips that you pass onto your girlfriends…

I was recently in a beauty store buying some stuff for work and I saw a section on facial bleaching and I said to my friend, when is a blonde moustache better than a brown one? Please ladies, lets remove that hair. Also keep a pair of tweezers in your glovebox of your car. When your stationary in your car just check in your revision mirror and check for little hairs that you don’t think are they but are and pluck them out. Because in your car you have natural light you can see makeup mistakes. Also forget the make up lights, natural light is the best light to do your make up in. Go sit in front of a window and do your make up.

In Zoe Foster’s book  Amazing Face she says contouring is too hard for the average punter. What do you think?

Not at all. I actually find applying a red lip harder than contouring. It is a basic tool and the best thing about contouring is that there is a rule to follow where everything else is a bit free-range. It may not be easy but if you follow the exact lines and start with a really light shade (so soft that you almost can’t see it) and also take photos of yourself and have a look. It is only hard because you haven’t done it before. I think a woman could do it two or three times and she would nail the technique. That is why I have made a special contour brush!

If you want to nab Rae’s latest book, get yourself to a bookstore and ask for Express Makeup by Rae Morris $39.99. If you want more information on her new brush range click here.

It just so happens that Napoleon Perdis has just released a contouring palette as part of the Love Unleashed collection created to coincide with Napoleon’s sponsorship of the Australian Ballet.

What Napoleon says:

Napoleon insists the new palette is his ‘can’t-work-without essential’ to create A-list cheekbones with this ultimate three-in-one face sculptor. The contouring shade adds contouring shade adds depth and definition, a rosy blush will create a healthy hue and a shimmering highlighter will diffuse light. It is also enhanced with nourishing marine extracts and is entirely paraben-free.

What GCM says:

Well done to Napoleon for identifying and filling a gap in the market for contouring products. We love the gorgeous packaging on the palette (clear plastic with a mirror inserted for touch-ups) and the three easy to use colours that allow you to experiment with the application of contouring. Napoleon even gives you a little how-to guide on a plastic sheet that can be left inside the palette until you get the hang of application which is a nice touch. We really loved the three colours – apply the brown colour first beneath your cheekbone (to define), the intense blush second on your cheekbone (to add colour) and the highlighter above your cheekbone (to highlight). Easy!

There is no applicator brush included in the palette but your existing blush brush will do the trick, or if you want to use the tools of a pro invest in Rae’s foundation and contouring brush.

This palette is an excellent introduction to the art of contouring and for just $45 is a solid investment to having the cheekbones you have always wanted! To purchase your own contouring palette (and one for your bestfriend and sister) click here.