Is contouring only for evening looks?

[janwa09]

I went to MAC a few weeks ago and asked an MA for a good powder to contour my face with...he recommended studio powder in NC43 for me (I'm an NC30-35). So I gladly bought it and tried it on the next day for a lunch date. I put it sparingly on the hollows of my cheeks, along my jawline and under my chin. But as I checked myself in the mirror sometime during lunch, the powder to my horror, stood out against my skin and my face ended up looking blotchy and discolored (it wasn't a pretty sight!). I talked to the MAC MA about it and he told me that contouring is really only for the evening and that during daytime it's really not recommended coz it always looks 'obvious.' Is this true? I blame the powder he recommended but he insists that it's the right color for me and that I just have to be careful with the amount I put on my face and to contour only at night...which for me is useless cos I'm mostly out during the day!!

I've heard of others using blushes like Harmony and Emote for contouring....are these better and more natural looking?

 

[kimmy]

i contour my face everyday. i'm irish and have those infamously chubby cheeks of one. i used refined golden bronzer in the hollows of my cheeks and then whatever blush i use that day on the apples. i usually use some bronzer around my hairline too, to kind of minimize the appearance of my extremely large forehead. so in a word, no.

blending is key, though!

 

[Kiseki]

I also think contouring is best for evening wear, it looks less obvious, no matter how well you blend, if you're sitting in front of someone who has contoured the face in broad daylight, yes it's noticeable. That doesn't mean that contouring is forbidden for the daytime, it's just a lot more obvious and most of the times, people don't want it to be.


Kimmy is right though, blending is the key.

Usually when I contour someone's face I'll use MUFE's compact modeler, whose darker shade has a bit of gray pigment in it to achieve the illusion of shadow instead of just brown/orange or whatever. And I apply it very sparingly until I achieve the desired look.

MUFE's webpage has a few types on where to contour depending on your face shade and so does Guerlain's. Hope this helped.

 

[dollbabybex]

i do in the day... but just on the cheeks...using blush

i feel like my makeup isnt right without something on my cheeks

 

[ambidextrous]

I use MAC blush in Strada for contouring or Guerlain Terracotta Powder and I rather think it's the Studio Fix texture that causes the blotchiness, not evening or daytime