From oblong, square, oval, to round we’ve all got our very own face shape. In the beauty world the ‘oval’ shape is the most desirable. Why? I hear you ask…. I’m going to say, its most probably because this shape allows for the most amount of symmetry (which is perceived as most attractive). So why is face shape so important when it comes to makeup, what difference does it really make? Well it’s a similar concept to body shape if you’re naturally tall you don’t accentuate this by wearing vertical stripes nor if you have wider hips would you choose a horizontal striped skirt. So with that in mind let me share what I can for the following face shapes:
Oblong face shape – oh why the long face? Well not anymore. To enhance this particular face shape the bronzer would be better placed at the direct north and south points of the face in the hairline and a little onto the forehead and under the chin. Remember that with this face shape we are introducing horizontal stripes. So bronzer to be placed from each side of the nose (with a slight curve in the middle) to the point just above the middle of the ear. (almost like you’ve been skiing and you’ve got a tan under where your mask lay). To widen the face further highlight in a straight line from the arch of one brow to the other. Long winged liner can also be great for a longer face as it widens the eyes.
Round face shape – top tips for a round shaped face, is actually to bronze around the hairline leaving an inch or two gap in the middle and bronze around the jawline again leaving an inch or two gap… why? Doing this will detract from round and make your face appear more oval. When it comes to blusher then it must be a small amount on the apple of the cheek and swept up to meet the middle of the ear so giving us a diagonal line accentuating the cheekbone and length of the face. To lengthen face vertically further use highlighter all the way up the bridge of the nose and a small amount between the brows then down the chin this will visually lengthen the face and nose drawing your eyes vertically from the head to the chin.
Square face shape – with a square shaped face we would concentrate on bronzing the four corners of the face the jawline and where the hairline is furthest back. By doing this it softens the angular lines of the face. Blusher is best to be place just on the apples of the cheeks to again soften the linear angle to more circular. It also helps to elongate a square shaped face by highlighting up from the tip to the bridge of the nose and then the small fan area between the brows and on the forehead. Also highlight the cupids bow and chin reflecting the light down the centre of the face, elongating it.
Triangle face shape – with this face shape you only need to bronze the right and left of the hairline to give you a more curved shape around the forehead. You can also really work on the lips lining them before lipstick, to draw the lips to appear wider, making the chin and jaw area appear less narrow.
Heart face shape – oh how Lovely, this is probably one of the simplest face shapes to enhance. Simply bronze where the hair sets back on each side of your hairline. And blush from the apple of the cheek, sweep diagonally to the middle of the ear. To accentuate or widen the bottom part of the face contour the lips, line with a dark liner on the bottom lip and ensure it is drawn from corner to corner and highlight the top lip across the lip line, it’s like magic!
Everyone has their very own unique face shape and features so please see the images to see which you most closely match. The Peach areas are where the bronzer should be placed, the pale pink for the highlighter and the darker pink for blusher… all to be blended (obviously!).