Contouring with Maybelline

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With Valentines Day just on the horizon - I teamed up with my friends over at Maybelline to create a look to love. Y'all know I'm a makeup junkie - so I can't wait to tell y'all about my contour-highlight routine! Having flawless skin is key to any makeup look, so I always perfect my base before I do anything to my eyes and lips. Without further ado, here we go!

I headed to Walmart to pick up a few new products from Maybelline. I love getting makeup at Walmart because it's super easy to run in and out - AND I can get all the items I need without breaking the bank. You'll find all of the products I mention in today's post at the end of the Maybelline aisle in the makeup section.

First things first. You HAVE to have a good foundation. I used Maybelline's new Dream Velvet Foundation in 15 (Ivory). It's a hydrating, matte foundation with a gel-whipped texture. And just as important as the foundation, is the tool you use to apply it. Maybelline just came out with their own sponge - the Dream Velvet Blender! If you keep up with the makeup world, you know that makeup sponges are the new it item. They apply foundation super smoothly and keep the "cake face" away. To use the sponge, simply get it wet, then dry it with a towel so it's a little damp.

To apply the foundation, I squeeze a little bit of the product onto the back of my hand, pick up a little with my sponge and bounce the sponge on my face. I use the sides of the sponge for the broad parts of my face (cheeks, forehead, chin) and then use the tip to navigate smaller areas (around the eyes, nose and mouth). After I finish my foundation, I take a little bit of concealer under my eyes, around my nose and anywhere I need extra coverage. I have SUPER oily skin - and although I love the finish of this foundation, it's a little moisturizing for my skin type. So to keep my foundation and concealer in place all day, I set everything with a translucent powder (and I went ahead and did my eyes since today we're focusing on the contour).

Next, I start in on the contour. If you noticed the picture of the Maybelline Master Contour Palette earlier, you'll see that it comes with a contour shade, blush and highligher. It's the perfect all in one kit! It's also available in two different shades so it will work for any skin tone (I'm using the light to medium palette). I LOVE a good contour. It literally shaves 5lbs off your face and makes everything look better. I take a medium sized tapered brush (this gives you more control) and swipe a little bit of product right under my cheek bones (yes, I make the kissy face), then take a little on my jaw line and on my temples. Just make sure that it's all nicely blended. You don't want lines on your face. The whole point of contouring is to enhance the natural shadows of your face, so you want to make sure it's really feathered into the rest of your makeup to avoid looking like a clown.

To finish it off, I took the blush included in the palette along my cheekbones (right above the contour shade) and a tiny bit on the tip of my nose. Then I took the highlight shade on a fan brush and dusted it on the very top of my cheekbones (right above the blush), down the center of my nose, under my brow bone, on my cupids bow and in the inner corner of my eye. The final touch - setting spray! And voila, that's it!

I hope you all enjoyed this tutorial and I can't wait to bring you more makeup tutorials in the future! You can get all of the products mentioned here!

xoxo