How to Highlight Your Best Features Using Makeup

While some of us might feel 100% confident about our appearance, most of us can see our facial flaws pretty clearly. It may not be something you want to bother with on a day-to-day basis, but there are some simple makeup tricks you can use to disguise your flaws and bring your best features to the forefront.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Things You’ll Need:

• Powdered camouflage
• Powdered highlighter
• Makeup brush
• Additional makeup supplies

1. Purchase a shimmery highlighter that is a shade or two lighter than your natural skin tone. This can be blush, bronzer, foundation or any kind of powder that isn't sheer.
2. Purchase some matte camouflage that is a shade or two darker than your natural skin tone. Again, this can be a blush, bronzer, foundation or any kind of powder that isn't sheer.
3. Take a good long look in the mirror and assess your facial features. The key here is finding a way to balance out your face: our seemingly magical sense of beauty is really all about symmetry. An excessively large forehead, a protruding nasal bridge or a receding chin can distract from an otherwise lovely face.
4. Use a makeup brush to apply the camouflage to those areas of your face that protrude too far forward. For instance, if you have a typical roman nose, you would want to brush some of the camouflage lightly along the edge of the nasal bridge. Start just above the nasal cavities and end just below the point where it lines up with the inner eye.
5. Use a makeup brush to apply the highlighter to those areas of your face that recede too far back. For instance, if you have a receding chin, you would want to dust the tip of your chin with some highlighter. This will bring light and focus to the chin, making it seem more prominent than it really is. Then try adding a little camouflage to the surrounding areas (chin dimple, jawline, etc.).

Tips & Warnings

• It's best to steer clear of liquid-based makeup when using this shading technique. Powder is easier to apply, and the effect will be more subtle.
• Don't overdo it! Don't do big lips, big eyes and big cheekbones all at once. The end result is not attractive. It looks too unreal and overwhelming.