sculpting the face

note: To simplify your understanding about  how you “sculpt the face” I have indicated mineral powder and highlighter products in bold.

sculpting the face

The most perfect face shape is considered to be oval, and your goal in sculpting your face is to make it appear to be more oval-shaped. Trust me, any face can look more oval with nothing more exotic than foundation and powder. This technique will also add color, warmth, and life to every face. You will be surprised at how this subtle effect can add the most incredible youthful glow to your skin.

            The basic "sculpting" method involves highlighting and contouring your face. Think of it this way: everything you highlight (or lighten) comes forward, and everything you contour (or darken) goes away from you. By sculpting your face, you pull forward the area of your face we want to see (the oval area) and push back the areas you do not want to see. So you can minimize that fullness around the outer edges of your face that is making you feel like your face looks too full. Not only will this make your face look slimmer, but it will give you a beautiful glow, making you look your absolute youngest because you are adding color and depth to the skin.

Before you start, you will need to select three shades of foundation or powder (highlight powder and bronzers) in three different depth levels.

1.      The first color should match your skin exactly. It is your true foundation color.

2.      The second color, your highlight color, should be one level lighter than the first, preferably with the same undertone. This is where you would use your highlight powder (pink porcelain for ivory/beige and desert sun for bronze/ebony).

3.      The third shade, your contour color, should be one level darker than your first, preferably with the same undertone. This is where you would use your bronzing powders (sandstone for ivory, bronze diva for beige/bronze and canyon gold for ebony).

The more dramatic you want your final result to be, the more dramatic the contrast between the three shades’ depth levels should be. For example, if you want your contouring to be more noticeable, you could use a shade that is two to three levels darker than your natural shade. This will create a much more dramatic result. To create contrast if you have dark ebony skin, you could choose a highlight shade that is two to three levels lighter than your natural shade to get even more impact out of your work. Just keep in mind that the more dramatic your choices, the more thoroughly and carefully you will have to blend the shades together.

Be sure to blend the three shades really well, because it is the blending process that makes the sculpting method work.

Step 1. Apply your first or true foundation color over your entire face. Then visualize an oval on your face. The width of the oval is your eye sockets; the height and length of your oval extends from the tip of your forehead to the tip of your chin. The reason you do this is that it helps you see where to highlight and where to contour.

Step 2. Apply your second or highlight foundation/ powder color to the high points inside the oval, including your forehead, under the eyes at the top of the cheekbones, and the tip of your chin. The features that you highlight will be what the eye will focus on first. So if your face is too full, you’ll be drawing attention to the narrow area in the middle of your face and away from the fuller sides.

Step 3. Finally, use your contour or darkest shade (foundation/ powder) and apply it to the areas outside the oval, including the temples, along your hairline and the sides of your cheeks down to the jaw. By deepening the outside areas, you are visually helping those areas recede, making your face appear more narrow and oval. 

If you have ivory/ beige skin, you will contour your face more than you highlight. Especially if you have really pale skin, the last thing you want to do is wash your skin tone out even more. So contouring is going to give you the most dramatic change. On bronze/ebony skin, you will highlight your skin more than contour. Especially if you have darker bronze/ebony skin tones, God gave you beautiful dark pigment in your skin, contouring will not really show. But what will make a huge difference is what you highlight, because it will brighten your skin and add life. So, again, my simple rule: With ivory/ beige skin you will contour more than you highlight, and with bronze/ ebony skin you will highlight more than you contour.

When you’ve finished applying your three foundation shades, you can simply powder with a shade that matches your natural skin tone. It will not negate all the work you have just finished, but it will set everything beautifully. If you want your results to be even more dramatic, you can finish with three shades of powder: one that matches your true foundation shade, one that matches your highlighter shade, and a darker or bronzing powder to match your contour shade. This will reinforce all of your work and give you a beautifully sculpted, three-dimensional effect that will make any face shape appear more oval and more youthful.

Of course, the next step for that youthful glow is a pop of the perfect shade of blush on the apples of your cheeks, but we will get to that in just a bit You can now see how adding this bit of depth (your contouring) and shape to the face really makes you look years younger.

robertjonesbeauty.com : 6333 prospect avenue : dallas : texas : 75206 : 1.888.826.0050