Unlocking the True Techniques of Makeup: Bronzing and Contouring

Contouring has been a very important part of our makeup routine for a long time. If done correctly, contouring can sculpt and shape your face perfectly. But a new technique, using a similar product, has been quickly making its warm and soft dominance in the makeup world. As people learn more about makeup, bronzers, and bronzing have been getting all the attention.

The confusion of ‘bronzer vs contour’ is present even now in the makeup circle, especially for beginners. People often get confused about how the two differ from each other and to explain it, we have a short guide on how both work.

 

Difference Between Contour and Bronzer

Contours and Bronzers might look similar, which confuses people about how they work. Contouring is used to contour and shape your face, enhancing features such as jawline, and nose. It is used for sculpting and shaping. Bronzers, on the other hand, are used for adding warmth to your face, giving a natural glow of the sun.

What are Contours?

Contours are used to shape and sculpt your face, enhancing the lower points of the face, such as the hairline and below the cheekbones, bringing out its natural sharpness. They often come in cool or neutral undertones as they mimic the shadows on the face, giving an illusion of depth and definition without adding additional warmth or color to the skin. People usually prefer contours that give a matte finish so that they blend seamlessly into the skin, giving a very natural appearance, but on special occasions, a shimmery bronzer is used as it makes the face glow symmetrically, enhancing the natural shape of your face. Contours come in various packaging for your convenience, the most preferred being a contour stick, so that you get a chiseled look without any hassle.

What are Bronzers?

Bronzers, on the other hand, come in warmer tones and mimic the sun-lit glow on your face. They add a touch of warm color to your face when applied and are typically used to have a healthy and vibrant look. People mostly use matte bronzers but go for shiny, luminous bronzers when they want a dewy sun-kissed finish on their skin. An advantage of bronzers is the availability of them in various formulations such as cream, powder, and liquids. They are applied wherever the sun usually hits your face, such as the cheekbones, forehead, and nose so that the sunshine glow is visible in all the right places.

 

What are the differences between Bronzer and Contour?

Bronzers add warmth to your skin, giving you a healthy glow. They are typically applied to give your face that soft and warm sun-touched look, and add a little bit of healthy color. Since bronzers come in warmer hues, they appear in soft browns and nude shades. Contours, on the contrary, are designed to sculpt, define, and enhance your facial features. They are applied in areas such as the hollows of your cheeks, sides of the nose, and along the jawline to chisel your face. With their cool tones, contours can lean towards the grayer tones

 

Where and How to Apply Bronzer and Contour?

Bronzers are supposed to add warmth to your face and hence are applied where the sun naturally hits the face, such as the forehead along the hairline, on top of the cheekbones, a soft dusting on your nose, along the jaw and finally a little on your chin to unify the whole look.

Contours’ purpose is to create shadows while defining your face. So to sculpt the face, they are applied in areas such as the hollows of your cheeks in a diagonal line from the ear towards the corner of your mouth, on the sides of your nose to make it look slimmer or more defined, the jawline so that it looks more sharp and on the forehead or temples to make them appear smaller or adding dimension.