Add Dimension to Your Face!

Sorry I've been gone so long! I started school and had to get settled into the new semester. Anyway, what I want to talk about is keeping your face from looking so one dimensional.

Foundation (especially depending on the coverage) takes away the natural highs and lows we have in our skin.When you have these highlights and lowlights taken away, your face can look very flat. What I mean by that is that it can take away from the definition of your bone structure and leaving you looking as exciting as paper bag.

Luckily, thereareways for us to avoid appearing so dull...

1.Blush--Blush is the quickest way to add some life to your face. It's also the easiest thing to overdo! Be light-handed with blush as you only need a very subtle hint of color for it to do the job. You'll also want to be sure to choose a shade that works for your skin tone. You don't want anything too harsh or so soft that it doesn't show. The most important thing about blush (alongside being light-handed) is that placement is key!!!Unless you're walking someone's runway, you never want blush shooting up the side of your face. You can even use blush on the days that you don't wear foundation to make your face a little more lively.

2.Bronzer--Bronzer is another quick way to make your appearance a little brighter. As with blush, you will want to carefully choose your shade of bronzer to avoid looking "dirty". Choose a bronzer with light shimmer so that when placed appropriately on the face, it provides a warm glow. For the more fair skinned, it can also give you a sun-kissed complexion (a healthier alternative to tanning and can be a better looking alternative to spray/lotion tanning). Bronzer should be applied to the areas of the face that the sun naturally hits such as the middle of the forehead, the bridge of the nose, along the cheekbones, etc. Below is an example of too much bronzer.

3.Contour & Highlight--Contouring and highlighting is the most time consuming way to add dimension. It also requires a lot more practice to perfect. The contouring portion is basically just the opposite of applying only bronzer. When contouring, you would want to choose a bronzer shade that's slightly darker than your skin tone. You would apply it to the areas of your face where shadows usually fall such as the hollows of the cheeks, the creases of the eyes, the jawline, etc. The highlighting portion consists of applying a highlighter to the places you would normally apply your bronzer, as well as other places such as the browbone, cupids bow, and the center of your chin. Contouring and highlighting requires careful blending and can be difficult, especially for beginners, to make look natural. This may be the most difficult option for an everyday look.

PLEASE Ladies. If you can help it, never leave the house wearing only foundation. Add the dimension back to your face!