Contouring is popular among beauty gurus and makeup lovers everywhere since it can instantly emphasize your cheekbones and best features— all without surgery. While it certainly takes practice to master, several extra steps are necessary with aging skin (but they are fairly simple).
We spoke with Marsha Page, a.k.a. The Melanin Therapist, an Emmy-nominated professional makeup artist and beauty expert who gave an easy technique tip for contouring as well as the type of tool you’ll need to get started. Read on for no-fail, go-to advice for defining, enhancing and sculpting your face!
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Use an Angled Brush and a Powder Palette
There are many different types of makeup that people use to contour their face, and the most popular ones are sticks, creams and powders. Page notes that using a powder is best for women over 40 as it is less likely to emphasize wrinkles or other areas you might be using concealer for.
"Contouring for aging skin differs from contouring younger skin because the fact that mature skin is losing its elasticity causes areas on the face to fall," says Page. "Keeping that in mind, I use a soft contour brush with an angle, along with a powder-based contouring palette." An angled brush as a tool will be your best friend, as it is designed to blend on an angle, as opposed to a rounded brush for general powder application.
For a quick and easy contouring tip, Page says to "start off subtle and build contour using upward strokes" (rather than blending in circles or side-to-side).
Page also notes that on her longtime client, Broadway-starring and Tony-award-winning actress LaChanze, she uses the Studio Fix Sculpt and Shape Contouring Palette by MAC Cosmetics, as "it offers shades for medium to dark skin tones."
For lighter skin tones (like on her famous client, Erica Gimpbell, Fame, ER and Veronica Mars star), Page uses the Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Kit as it is "perfect for light to medium skin tones."
Overall, no matter what your skin type or tone, using powder to contour and grabbing an angled brush can help dramatically lift and sculpt your face over 40— all with makeup and no surgery required.
