When I was first asked to write a blog post on sculpting with PureBronze Matte Bronzer, I was a little apprehensive. I’d never fully mastered contouring as a skill, having spent years trying to shape my round, pale face with bronzers that were always too orange for my skin tone.
Luckily, I knew the person to turn to for expert guidance: Shawn, our Director of Artistry and Education, who graciously offered to give me a tutorial on how to create a natural sculpted look.
The Lesson
When sculpting the face, Shawn recommends highlighting first and then contouring, as that makes it easier to tell where you need to add definition. To highlight, choose a shade that is a few shades lighter than the skin tone or use a product that has luminosity to create a similar lifted effect.
Once the highlighter is blended, apply the contour with a contour brush to the areas of the face you want to draw back. Common bronzer placement areas include: along the hairline, in the hollows of the cheeks, along the nose and along the jawline. Pro tip: When sculpting the jaw line, remember to begin behind the ear so there’s not an obvious line where the contour starts.
Then, when you’ve achieved the desired level of sculpting, the key to making it all look natural is to blend everything. Thoroughly. Keep the areas that are closer to the hairline darker and gradually blend the color out more with your contour brush as you move towards the middle of the face.
Makeup
To ready my face for makeup, I prime my skin with Smooth Affair® Brightening Face Primer. Next, I dot Glow Time Pro™ BB Cream in GT1 on my cheeks, forehead, chin and nose and quickly blend it in with the Blending/Contouring Brush. (I find a little of this product goes a long way and it dries down quickly so it’s key to start blending ASAP.)
When it comes to highlighters, I like to go luminous vs matte so I add some Active Light® Under-eye Concealer in 1 to the high points of my face, blending it in with the Blending/Contouring Brush. For extra glow, I top it off with the Glow Time® Highlighter Stick in Solstice.
I sweep PureBronze Matte Bronzer in Light(Shawn’s recommendation as it’s not an overly warm-toned bronzer), underneath my cheekbones around my forehead and under my jawline, blending with the Blending/Contouring Brush.
Since I have a rounder face, I skip adding blush to the apples of my cheeks and instead apply Glow Time® Blush Stick in Balmy from my temple, along the top of the cheek bone to the center of my cheek.
I add PureBrow® Precision Pencil in Dark Brown to my eyebrows for definition, sweep the shimmery rose gold shade from the Ravishing PurePressed® Eye Shadow Trio across my eyelids and lengthen my lashes with Longest Lash® Thickening and Lengthening Mascara in Black Ice.
I finish the look with a swipe of our NEW ColorLuxe Hydrating Cream Lipstick in Sorbet for a subtle hint of coral.
Looking in the mirror, I’m pleasantly surprised to see that my face does look sculpted and lifted in a natural way. I also do not look orange. (Big shoutout to Shawn and his Sculpting 101 Contour Guide.)
