Create subtle drama with Eye contouring or Eye framing makeup

 

You’ve already heard of contouring the face, but can you ever pull off the same with your eyes? Is there enough canvas to go around? How does eye contouring work? If these questions are on your mind, you’ve come to the right place. Don’t shoot arrows in the dark with your eye makeup, and read on to learn about eye contouring and why it’s necessary.

What is Eye Contouring?

Contouring is all about defining and accentuating your natural features. Just like face contouring brings out your bone structure; eye contouring makeup helps you define the shape of your eyes. For all you know, you’ve already been doing it! Simple makeup steps like adding a highlighter in the inner corners of your eyes or shaping your brows, all of these steps count as eye-framing makeup. However, if you’re trying to do it in a more structured, fool-proof way, it’s time to jump into this step-by-step tutorial on how to do eye contouring.

How To Do Eye Contouring? A Step-By-Step Guide

Step 1 - Clean and Prep  

All good makeup routines start on a clean canvas. Cleanse your skin, finish your skincare, and grab a primer. Use a dewy primer to keep the skin around your eyes hydrated and prevent the makeup from creasing. Use enough under your eyes, on your temples, and around your eyebrows.  

Step 2 - Even the Base  

Owing to tanning, screentime, stress, or simply genetics, the skin around your eyes can turn a few shades darker than your normal skin tone. This is why concealer is necessary before you start with eye contouring. Take some skin illuminating concealer on a damp sponge and blend it on your upper eyelids and under-eye skin.

 

Step 3 - Find your Crease  

Contouring is all about accentuating the high and low points of your face. Eye contouring makeup follows the same theory, which is why finding your crease is crucial. The crease is the place where your skin folds above the eyeball. Once you have it, it’s time for eye contouring makeup.  

Step 4 - Eye Contouring  

Grab a contour stick or a concealer that’s a few shades darker than your skin tone. If you don’t have it handy, try a brown eyeshadow palette. While keeping your eyes open, sweep the colour into your crease for eye contouring. This adds depth and dimension to your eyes. You can choose the eyeshadow or contour shade depending on your skin tone and undertone.  

Step 5 - Blend in the Edges

Blend the eye contouring outwards, following the natural shape of your eyes. Go back and forth in ‘windshield wiper’ motions and flick the colour slightly upwards. You can also add a bit of eye contouring to the outer corner of your eyes in a V-shape. For round or almond eyes, try blending towards the edges of your eyes. For mono-lids and hooded eyes, blend upwards.

Step 6 - Shape your Brows  

Now it’s time to draw light and attention to the high points of your face. But first, start with eyebrow contouring. Use an eyebrow pencil to sharpen and fill in your eyebrows wherever they are scanty. Read up on eyebrow shapes for different face types to nail your eye contouring makeup.

 

Step 7 - Highlight  

Grab your highlighter and, using a small blending brush, swoop it along your brow bone to define your face structure. Go on to dab some more in the inner corner of your eyes, along the nose bridge, to make your eyes appear larger.  

 

Step 8 - Eye Makeup  

Now you can go on to execute the rest of your eye makeup as planned. Try tight-lining with an eyeliner, use eye kajal for definition, and mascara for added flair. Add more eyeshadow colours if you please, but don’t disturb the crease!   

Eye Contouring Tips For Beginners

Now that you know how to do eye contouring makeup, here are some eye contouring tips for beginners that can come in handy -

 

• Don’t use very dark shades. Blending very dark shades can look too bold and out of place. Try using contours that are only 2 shades darker than your normal skin tone. 

 

• Choosing from the different types of makeup brushes can get overwhelming sometimes. For eye makeup, choose small, precise, blending brushes to add definition.

 

• Contouring in yellow lights or ring lights can be misleading. Try eye contouring in natural lighting to get precise creases that don’t look too dark or too light.

 

• Focus on symmetry. Eye makeup is trickier than face or lip makeup because you need to get it right twice. Go step-by-step on both sides and accentuate your brows to bring symmetry to your face.

 

• Start with a light hand. Try using little pigment and build up your eye contouring makeup, rather than going all in at once.

 

Now that you know all there is about how to do eye contouring and eyebrow contouring, it’s time to put it into practise. Check out the wide range of Maybelline eye makeup products and try them online with the Virtual Try-On tool. Check out the eye makeup tips to learn everything in trend, from smokey eyes to cut crease - the best types of eyeshadow looks to try today.

 

Don't forget your lip and face makeup (Use Foundation Finder Tool to find tone-matched foundations).