Dos and don'ts

DON'T contour on a daily basis. Most make-up artists don't recommend contouring on a day-to-day basis but if you are attending a big event it's worth the time. "Makeup works with light," says Nick Barose, make-up artist to Lupita Nyong'o. "For me, I can contour in a photo shoot, because I know the light is going to be controlled. Contouring for every day just isn’t realistic unless you are Kim Kardashian and can hire people to follow you around, like a camera crew with a light. But light conditions change throughout the day."

"Just as you’re not going to wear stilettos to the beach (unless maybe you are on a TV show), it’s the same with makeup. In real life, if you walk around with too much contour, it will cast a shadow under your eyes. Too much white concealer under the eyes is too bright, although it’s meant to be correcting," added Barose.

DO use colours that complement your skin tone. Most make-up artists suggest using one shade lighter than your skin for highlighter, and two shades darker for contour.

DON'T use any make-up with noticeable glitter or with a chalky finish

DO use contouring selectively. Do you want to define your cheekbones? Do you want a slimmer nose? A softer jaw line? Or a shorter chin? Use contouring to accentuate or slim down selective features. Kim Kardashian recently admitted, "I’ve seen photos of myself where my nose will be too contoured, and it looks tiny! I guess some makeup artists just have a style where they heavily contour a nose. I'm like, ‘Wa-wa-wait! It really looks like I got a nose job with that contouring!"

DO apply make-up sparingly. "When I personally do my own makeup, I pretty much will only contour, and then I don’t like to wear a lot of foundation," said Kardashian. "Most people slap on too much highlighter and look like the Tin Man," says make-up artist Mally Roncal. Her technique is: "Lightly coat my pointer, middle, and ring fingers with highlighter, and then rub them against the same fingers on the other hand. Tap your fingers up and down your cheekbones, and then dab whatever's left over on your brow bones, the center of your chin, and just one tap on the tip of your nose".

The golden rules for contouring your make-up