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551
552

How I feel about all the recent contouring posts (i.imgur.com)

submitted ago by itsduckling

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[–]kuhlonel 57 points58 points ago

I think Walter would look lovely with either just foundation and blush or a fully contoured face.

[–]sssstickyHopelessly Addicted 55 points56 points ago

Different strokes for different folks.

[–]tabbycatCasual user 47 points48 points ago

Hahahha, I don't even use blush.

[–]HSMOM 12 points13 points ago

LOL, I'm a blush addict, I was so scared of using blush for years, then I found r/MUA, and I am blush whore now. I love them!

[–]_Choppy 9 points10 points ago

As a rosacea sufferer I feel like I should never use blush...

[–]ThisJustGotAwkwardOn a quest for THAT red 3 points4 points ago

my red cheeks show through everything. I just use a small amount of light pink blush to make it look even.

[–]soignees 1 point2 points ago

know that feel :( I find actually that a pinkish, cotton candy type blush helps disguise the rosacea and the flush looks less overpowering.

Have you tried medication from doctor yet? I am taking a very low dose of Tetracycline and it cleared it up within a month. I am actually terrified what will happen when I stop taking it though, and if the rosacea will return.

[–]_Choppy 0 points1 point ago

I haven't tried meds, just a chemical peel now and then. He actually never brought up medication. I hesitate to use blush so much so that I don't even own any.

[–]soignees 0 points1 point ago

it might be because I used a foundation/primer that has a green tinge to it that hides redness. How are you with Clinique? They have a good range for rosacea called "Redness Solutions." I usually use it when it the flush will. not. go and use (I have the rosecea where I'll get the weird hard spots as well as redness, which is FffFFFF inducing.)

The three step cleansing routine is pants for rosacea though, made it worse. Make up is okay.

[–]pitchandwoodMatte Magician 15 points16 points ago

For real! I haven't figured it out yet.

[–]allisviolent 6 points7 points ago

Sometimes it's just a matter of finding the right one. I have a bunch of blushes that people rave about that I never wear because they seem kind of meh. But this one MAC blush just makes me have this lovely little natural glow that nothing else can match.

[–]smithsknitsClueless Newbie 9 points10 points ago

I'm in the same boat. I have blush; I've used it once or twice, but I always forget that I have it and frankly, I don't think I need it. Contouring seems to take an obnoxious amount of time.

[–]wambolicious 154 points155 points ago

I don't need to contour shit. This face is gorgeous.

[–]zsteph 14 points15 points ago

My problem is I never have the time or energy to do anything more than make a mess of my face and stumble out the door.

[–]seambyseam 7 points8 points ago

me too, but dammit, it's a planned, calculated mess!

[–]zsteph 1 point2 points ago

I just laughed out loud!

[–]beefmaster 47 points48 points ago

Nothin' wrong with people who use more, or less for that matter. This IS /r/makeupaddiction yaknow :)

[–]ButtFartMcPoopus 25 points26 points ago

Some people like some things and other people like other things. Otherwise we'd all look exactly the same, and there would be no point for a makeup discussion subreddit at all, heh.

[–]dietigress 17 points18 points ago

words of the wise from our dear ButtFart McPoopus

[–]alysaface 27 points28 points ago

My skin is wayyy too pale to be able to successfully contour. Sucks, because I'd like to mess around with it.

[–]soignees 30 points31 points ago

don't use bronzer, use a shade/ half shade darker then your foundation. S'what I do.

[–]alysaface 2 points3 points ago

Smart! Thanks for the awesome idea. I can't wait to play around :)

[–]epookaHopelessly Addicted 0 points1 point ago

this is what I have resorted to doing as well :/ everything else is too orange!

[–]mayamysMakeup Artist 0 points1 point ago

THIS! SO MUCH THIS! People need to learn to think outside the box when it comes to make up. Just because the industry tells us that it's one thing doesn't mean we can't use it for something else if it's going to work.

Make up is art, so we should get fucking creative.

[–]soignees 1 point2 points ago

i get the same butterfly in stomach, kid in a candy store feeling about artshops as I do make up counters. All the pretty colours in a row, hnggghhhhhhh-

[–]sugarqube 0 points1 point ago

Yes! I use a pressed powder one shade darker than my normal powder. I also heard NYX blush in Taupe is a good contour powder. I have yet to get my hands on the damned thing.

[–]imaginelove615 6 points7 points ago

Me too! I just look dirty when I use even the lightest of bronzers. I started using a tiny bit of NARS Orgasm all-in-one stick for the contour areas and it looks great.

[–]gypsiemagicHopelessly Addicted 3 points4 points ago

yes, the general rule of thumb for makeup artists is that contour is 8 shades darker than your foundation. so if you are on the pale side, 8 shades (in a range of foundations with many shades) puts you at about a medium skin tone. only going up two shades will just make your foundation look too dark.

[–]krl1327 5 points6 points ago

Wait, what? How does this work? How does it even look not-ridiculous?

[–]mayamysMakeup Artist 0 points1 point ago

I don't get the logic behind your last sentence. Doing contour with a shade that's not dark enough will just make for an ineffective and barely visible contour....but seeing as the product is only applied to areas that need contour, I really don't understand how it would make the foundation look too dark.

[–]gypsiemagicHopelessly Addicted 0 points1 point ago

i mean if you only use two shades darker, it doesn't really create the illusion of shadow under the foundation. meaning in those certain areas you wanted to contour, the foundation will just look muddy and like a mismatch rather than a contour.

i did not mean foundation in the sense of the face as a whole :P

[–]emmarose329Eyeing that Liner 4 points5 points ago

Haha, same, it looks like I smeared brown all over my face or got a bad spray tan.

[–]mizztreeBrow perfectionist 5 points6 points ago

I actually have been starting to dabble more with contouring and while I've found that a lot of the stuff has been amazingly useful - the only piece of advice that I've really learned was from a MUA who told me that contour should never come in past the corner of your eye. From them on - I figured it out in spite of my incredibly pale NC15 complexion.

I do think that people need to give it a bit more of a chance than they have lately - but I agree - the posts are kinda overkill.

[–]DepthChargeEthel 3 points4 points ago

Inner corner or outer corner?

[–]mizztreeBrow perfectionist 0 points1 point ago

outer corner. . .any more and it's overkill for my face.

[–]rosebleuEyeing that Liner 6 points7 points ago

on the other hand, i sometimes contour but never really use blush because my face is so damn red and i'm terrified of adding to it, heh.

[–]moonbeamwhimHopelessly Addicted 1 point2 points ago

Have you tried using a green tinted primer?

[–]rosebleuEyeing that Liner 1 point2 points ago

i have, and they work all right, though most break me out. i have very annoying combination skin that's oily and flaky at the same time so the green clings to every flake/sinks in every pore no matter how much i exfoliate beforehand. and then sometimes the foundation sort of slides off and you can see the weird greenness and it's just not a good look/i can't do my makeup properly lol. the best thing i've found yet is eucerin redness relief perfecting lotion. & my skin has been better since i started wearing mineral makeup, so i am verrrrry slowlyyy venturing into blush. it still scares me though (residual trauma from being called bozo b/c of my red nose & cheeks in grade school.)

[–]jenacious 1 point2 points ago

I just bought the smashbox green primer and it's nothing to write home about. I think my face is just too red. The only way to really cover it up would be white clown makeup. /le sigh

[–]Cormasaurus 4 points5 points ago

That's all I use. I don't even know how to contour a square shaped nose.

[–]redyellowand 1 point2 points ago

Nope. I even tried it out today and I just look weird. Sticking to my foundation and blush, thank you very much.

[–][deleted] ago

[deleted]

[–]TwiggyOs 18 points19 points ago

Well there's only one meme now on MUA front page but I agree that memes kind of take away from the discussion and make it more about karma. Which is disappointing because I generally enjoy the discussions going on in this subreddit and I personally learned a lot from yesterday's posts.

Same concept here. Just downvote and go on. I guess everyone likes memes that's why they are upvoting.

[–]STR33TL16HT 16 points17 points ago

I don't think memes are all about karma. I think they're a good, quick way of relating with one another. Personally, I really like memes in smaller subreddits because they represent an intersection of interests: Reddit (or internet culture in general) and, in this case, makeup. I'd hate to see MUA become overregulated like a few other subreddits I'm subscribed to.

[–]tigerstylee 1 point2 points ago

FORREAL. I really enjoy the memes. Also, do you like Streetlight Manifesto?

[–]STR33TL16HT 0 points1 point ago

Ohmygod yes! Favorite band! :)

[–]tigerstylee -1 points0 points ago

Heck yeah! They were my favourite, too, at one point. I was so obsessed that I was on the Streetlight Manifesto Unofficial Message Board. (I still go on it.)

[–]jenacious 0 points1 point ago

I'm unsure if so many people actually hate them or if it's just the cool thing to circlejerk about. I'm not buying all of the fuss.

[–]AppleButterToastHopelessly Addicted 4 points5 points ago

/r/harrypotter has a text-only week once a month - all images/memes are banned for that week and it really encourages discussion. I think it'd be awesome to try that here. Yes, it's nice to see pictures of everyone's looks and before and afters and whatnot, but discussion has been kind of lacking.

[–]rosebleuEyeing that Liner 10 points11 points ago

makeup is a much more visual medium, though--maybe a ban on just memes, because sans all photos the discussion would probably be pretty lacking.

[–]jenacious 0 points1 point ago

I see quite a bit of make up conversation in this thread.

[–]aspmaster 1 point2 points ago

I totally agree, but I will admit... that I love Beauty Addict Kitty.

At least BAK has to do with makeup stuff though. The Walter meme is basically an image form of /r/DAE. :|

[–]awkwardskribble 3 points4 points ago

Right? I use eyeliner, mascara, blush, and foundation. That's it. I'll do a bit more if I'm going out, but I don't contour because I'm really self-conscious if I think I'm wearing too much makeup. The last thing I want to do is look like my stepmother. Good lord.

[–]HideAndSheik 2 points3 points ago

So, I've been subscribed to r/Makeupaddiction for a while now, and I'm not a makeup addict, I'm just hear to learn things and admire pretty faces...I probably only own a fourth of the amount of makeup most of you guys do! That being said, can someone explain what exactly is contouring for? Are there any good "before" and "after" pics that people have as examples? I guess I get it on principle, but I want to see why some people choose to use it and others don't. I'd never even heard of it before this past week! I'm so behind...

[–]tigerstylee 5 points6 points ago

I've contoured for years because I want my cheekbones to be more dramatic and I want my eyes to look deeper and I want my jawline to be stronger. There are many ways of contouring to draw attention away from unwanted areas and highlighting to bring attention towards other areas. It is all about creating shadows. I love it.

[–][deleted] ago

[deleted]

[–]thegreatescape 1 point2 points ago

i think that would depend on what colour your contouring product is and how well you blend it. if you use a dark dark brown powder on NW15 skin it's going to look like you smeared dirt on your face (unless you are a blending pro and have magical makeup skills that i don't have).

[–]DarknessWithinHopelessly Addicted 1 point2 points ago

This video helped me http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHAwKaN6Ubo (edit: read the info box)

I stay away from bronzing powders because they're either too orange and/or shimmery. I wanted to contour and define my face, not look like I'm weirdo tanned. I have very large cheeks and defining my otherwise invisible jawline gives me something I quite like.

I personally use Illamasqua's Wolf eyeshadow (wanted Disobey blush) with a very lighthand and it works (recommended by Sephora SA and fellow Illamasqua addict) but you can use MAC's Harmony or Blunt, depending on skintone.

[–]HideAndSheik 0 points1 point ago

Holy crap, what an awesome video! She's got the same skin tone as me, which seems to be rare in the examples I keep getting...thanks! I think I might try this out...

[–]neighburrito 0 points1 point ago

Contouring is a good way to accentuate the highs and de-accentuate (for lack of a better word) areas you don't want to highlight. People contour to bring forward cheekbones that you normally won't notice without some help. Others feel their faces are too round and want to kind of recess the sides of their face and below their jawlines so their face looks slimmer. Also, contouring and highlighting areas of your eyes and nose, can give the appearance of a thinner and higher nose and deeper set eyes. As an asian girl, I have a really flat and wide nose and no eye socket. So contouring really gives an illusion of both. If you youtube the word contour a lot of makeup artists have videos of what they look like before and after. I think pixiwoo and lisaeldridge channels have contouring videos.

[–]Eurisko 2 points3 points ago

I encourage you to give contouring a shot, even if it's just with a bronzing powder or an appropriate blush shade (I recently discovered--"Oh, so that's what this grey/brown blush color is for in my jumbo Sephora palette.") It doesn't take long and makes a huge difference. Especially if you've got "extra meat on your bones" like me.

I tried it for the first time the other day when I was experimenting and it will now likely be part of my regular routine. It was very subtle. Things that are darker on your face tend to recede, lighter things stand out, so if you're just using blush on pale skin like mine, that only makes your cheeks recede and the perimeter of your face stand out--not a good look, now I know why I looked like a big fat face in all my pics. You're basically just counteracting the rest of your makeup--the foundation/powder that makes you look flat/mask-like and the blush that darkening your cheeks, making them recede.

[–]jzeee 2 points3 points ago

I was actually inspired to try contouring after seeing all those posts... I usually only do foundation and blush but I think it's just because I don't really know any other techniques. I tried it today- contouring with bare minerals Warmth and highlighting with a a shade a little bit lighter than my foundation (both were freebies that I've never tried out before!!)

Honestly, it was a little tricky at first but I really loved the results. I had the problem before of my face looking really flat but contouring helped a lot. Maybe not everyone has this problem but it's a really good technique to know!!

[–]ThisJustGotAwkwardOn a quest for THAT red 2 points3 points ago

I don't even think I'm using the blush correctly.

[–]jenchan13 2 points3 points ago

I find them interesting but I don't even use foundation.

But if I ever wanted to contour I now know where to go.

[–]I_AM_NO_MAN_ 1 point2 points ago

I don't even use foundation anymore. I just lotion and prime my face, throw on concealer if I need it anywhere, then use a fluffy brush to blend in my mineralize face powder.

It's summer, so I use bronzer right now, and I slightly contour (not much, honestly I suck at it!) and then some blush!

[–]beef_n_peaches 0 points1 point ago

No way girl! you're not alone

[–]valhrona 0 points1 point ago

That's basically all I wear on work days (+ lip balm). But I'm a nurse, and 12-hr shifts are not for eye make-up, I think.

My nails are always flawless, though.

[–]rosebleuEyeing that Liner 0 points1 point ago

How do you keep nice nails? I feel like being a nurse is sooo hard on mine :( they are always a mess

[–]valhrona 0 points1 point ago

Well I redo them like every 3 days-- as soon as they start to chip. I'm fairly good at them (mom was a manicurist, taught me all the tricks*), and people can't tell I didn't go to the salon. Practice makes perfect. But I also do my nails so often because when they are polished, I find they split less frequently.

*Clean up the cuticles, wear a good strengthening basecoat, and always use some kind of fast-dry topcoat.

[–]rosebleuEyeing that Liner 0 points1 point ago

Ahh, ok. I just chip mine so much whenever I work that I'd have to redo them every shift, it's frustrating. I probably haven't found the right top coat yet (right now I use Seche Vite but it's obvs not working all that well for me lol)

[–]scatterbraine -1 points0 points ago

Yup

[–]redditor99161 1 point2 points ago

I use zero make-up now, but when I did I only wore blush and mascara.

[–]AYellowFix 0 points1 point ago

Right? I got online today and was like WTF is contouring?!

[–]Natalia_Bandita 0 points1 point ago

On a regular work day i dont contour. i keep it clean, simple and sophisticated. Nature Luxe foundation by cover girl (very light, smells like cucumbers) blush, winged eyeliner, mascara. that's all. But when i go out to a bar, dinner, party..i go all out and contour and conceal and prime and higlight and basically throw a face painting party in my room with music and lip-syncing in the mirror.

[–]adultcereal 0 points1 point ago

I think the face painting party is half the reason I wear any makeup.

[–]keew 1 point2 points ago

Okay question about contouring (not sure where to ask) -- should I be using some kind of primer beneath the bronzer/dark side & highlighter? I usually don't use foundation or anything since I don't need to.. so.. yeah.

Should I use lotion beforehand? The only thing is.. when I do, it makes my face look shiny and I HATE that. ):

[–]FeloniaShimmer Junkie 0 points1 point ago

Contouring can look lovely, and classy, but it's not for me. I might like it better once I master it, but it intimidates me.

So yes, I typically just wear foundation and highlighter or blush on my face. You are not alone.

[–]shottsan 0 points1 point ago

I have moderate cystic acne. I use a full coverage foundation so without a little bit of blush my face looks like a mask :P I never really saw the huge difference of using highlighter/bronzer/ everything else.

[–]valhrona 0 points1 point ago

I end up polishing them about every 3 days, but I am fairly good at it. I keep them kind of short, but always polished. Nail Tek is my favorite nail strengthening basecoat, keeps them stronger.

[–]wiktorya 0 points1 point ago

I can't wear blush, I'm naturally blushed, so I just use foundation and mascara most of the days. The rest of the days, if I have time, I use liquid eyeliner.

[–]lesmis39 -1 points0 points ago

Eh for me it adds more dimension. I use bronzer more than blush. I hoenstly think blush looks silly.

[–]cosmickitty 1 point2 points ago

I still can't figure out what shape my face is!

[–]sparklechickens 1 point2 points ago

Lulz, I don't use either one of them.

[–]lisette23 -1 points0 points ago

You're not alone!

[–]narcissuspapyraceusHopelessly Addicted -2 points-1 points ago

Nope. I've already got very defined cheekbones and a jaw. Sometimes I think they're too defined, to be honest.

[–][deleted] ago

[deleted]

[–]boughsmoresilent 17 points18 points ago

Woman here and I've seen enough men say they prefer women "natural" when that woman is actually still wearing makeup, men just don't notice it. Then when she is actually wearing no makeup she's asked if she's feeling ill or she's called ugly.

So yeah, no. Also "You shouldn't be using those." Really? Thanks for your completely unsolicited advice on what people should or should not be using. Believe it or not, some people wear make-up because they enjoy it, not to be found attractive by you. So you can keep your preferences to yourself, thanks.

[–]OtterMiss 15 points16 points ago

Who gives a shit? Certainly no one here.

[–]ninja_guineapig 18 points19 points ago

In case you don't know, you're in /r/makeupaddiction. That means we (1) don't care and (2) like makeup.

[–]soignees 11 points12 points ago

SHOO! GET OUT

[–]coldvault 9 points10 points ago

Cool story, your opinion is fucking irrelevant.

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