The art of highlighting and contouring

Get Tyra's sculpted look with a little makeup know-how.

Do you ever wonder how celebrities keep their skin looking so youthful and healthy year after year? Could it be a spray tan, plastic surgery, or are they aging backwards like Benjamin Button? None of the above…it’s just makeup and a subtle way of highlighting and contouring.

Makeup artist Christina Lee Adams gave us the scoop. Her work has appeared on the runways of Miami and Palm Beach including shows such as Versace and Zac Posen, Palm Beach Illustrated, Steve Madden’s 2009 Fall and Spring Lookbooks, and hundreds of Manhattan’s most seasoned makeup aficionados.

What you will need to achieve this look:

  • A cream or liquid foundation or concealer 1 to 2 shades lighter than your skin tone
  • A cream or liquid foundation in 1 to 2 shades darker than your skin tone
  • A translucent finishing powder( I recommend Makeup Forever HD Microfinish Powder $30.00)
  • A natural haired brush (I recommend MAC #168 Angled contour Brush $32.00)

ATTENTION: No bronzer or shimmery products required!

You will want to start by placing your lighter colored foundation in the center of your forehead and chin, down the bridge of your nose, under your eyes and on the area beside your nose.  Don’t blend just yet. Place the darker shade of foundation around the perimeter of your forehead just below your hairline, the hallow part of your cheekbones, the sides of your nose, and underneath your jawbone.

Refer to the chart below for visual.

After you have placed the foundation, you will then take your natural fibred brush and begin to blend the two shades together, beginning with the lighter shade and finishing with the darker shade. By using a soft brush, you will avoid streaking of the foundation, and the natural hairs will pick up any excess makeup sitting on your skin, giving you an all around more natural look.  Once you have finished blending the foundation you will take your translucent finishing powder and dust it over your skin, add a touch of blush, and voila, you are now looking like a better version of yourself, and your skin is red carpet ready.

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