This post has been updated since its initial 3/27/22 publish date to include more expert insight and tips.
Contouring your face is a great way to get the youthful-esque, glowing, radiant look you want all without surgery, and this technique can be applied to your neck area as well. If you’re experiencing drooping or sagging skin on your neck (which is inevitable and normal!) and want to learn to contour that area just to enhance your natural beauty, read on for one vital (but simple) tip from professional makeup artists. We checked in with MUAs Natasha Moor and Sherry Morgan, who explained how contouring one important area helps the ultimate appearance of your neck.
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Essential Tip: Contour Beneath Your Chin For A Slimmer Neck Overall
A double chin can be concealed with contour, which in turn can help slim your neck area and draw more attention to your face. “Contouring is about building an illusion and sculpting, chiseling and lifting your face,” says Moor, who says using a contour stick can help lift the area. To lift a double chin, she says, draw a line with the tool “starting from a point under the center of your chin in a 2-sided triangle back to your neck.” She adds to “blend to create shadow and depth.”
Morgan agrees, and says that when contouring to use a color that is two shades darker than your skin tone. “Apply the contour along your jawline, kind of underneath, all the way from end to end,” she says, noting to “make sure you don’t apply the contour any higher as it might create a weird shape on your face.” She then says to use a damp beauty blender to blend the contour downwards towards the neck. “It’s important to also set your contour with a powder, so it wouldn’t move,” Morgan says.
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Contouring will undoubtedly take practice to master and likely won’t come out perfectly on your first try. With that said, Moor also recommends using a damp sponge. “Over the years, i have discovered that the smoothest possible application comes from using the right sponge or tool,” Moor says. “Using your hands to apply makeup will take up too much time and will likely give you a cakey result. Using a brush won’t give you as flawless of a finish.”
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Moor, who is the founder and chief empowerment officer for Natasha Moor Cosmetics, concludes that the first step when using a sponge is to dampen it first. “This will ensure that it doesn’t soak up too much product, not only saving you time and money, but also ensuring that the application on your skin looks seamless and smooth.” Neglecting to contour your double chin area and the rest of your face, both experts say, will only draw more attention to your neck, so it’s important to attract the eye to your best assets with powder and shading— like your cheekbones, for example.