Celeb MUAs Share Contour & Highlighter Shade Matching Tips For Deep Skin Tones

Complexion
by Zipho Ntloko |
Wed, 29 Dec 2021

Summer-skincare-tips

Just because we’re in the pits of winter rn, doesn’t mean you should part ways with your hot girl glow. A word of advice? Fake it till we make it back to sunny days with some contouring and highlights to snatch and light up your complexion. ICYMI, a couple of weeks back, we did a lengthy roundup of some of THEE most bomb bronzer products for rich skin tones. And as you know, a sun-kissed beat is never complete without some played-up angles and strobes. So we consulted two A-list experts — MUAs to the stars, Ashunta Sherriff and Jaleesa Jaikaran – for a quick crash course on highlight-and-contour-shade-matching for deep skin tones.

Get your notes, carts, and banks cards ready cause class is officially in session!

Seminar 1: Picking Out Your Contour Color

One frequently asked question we often encounter is ‘where the hell do I even begin when selecting a contour shade?’ And this has become a lot trickier during COVID, where makeup sampling and swatching are no more. But there is a method to get around this. Jaikaran advises using your foundation as “a benchmark” and from there, choose a contour color that’s a couple of shades deeper while “paying close attention to the natural colors on your face – as the shades you choose should resemble the shadows we’re essentially going to enhance.” For Sheriff, “3-4 shades richer than your skin tone” is what she finds ideal but try stick to the warmer spectrum of colors because “if your contour color is too cool, it will read ashy instead of rich and sculpted.” And one last backup tip from Jaikaran if you struggle to find a shade match, “when in doubt, just use a darker stick foundation as your contour color.”

Seminar 2: Matching Your Undertone

Much like other face base products, the key to contour shade-matching all comes down to undertones. “Undertones are extremely important, and they literally can make or break [your] makeup in totality,” says Sheriff. For richer complexions, Jaikaran recommends a warm or deep neutral contour shade with “a red or orange undertone,” and Sheriff adds, “[this is] because women of color like to be warmer around the perimeter of their face, and it also blends more seamlessly with hairlines.”

What to shop: Ashunta Sheriff’s A-List Contour Picks

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What to Shop: Jaleesa Jaikaran’s A-List Contour Picks

 

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A post shared by JALEESA JAIKARAN (@jaleesajaikaran)

Seminar 3: Mastering a Pro-Level Glow

We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again, undertones are pivotal when picking a highlighter as well. For a beam me up, lit-from-within glow, Jaikaran loves “golden and bronze hues as these melt into the skin beautifully – and I especially love cream and liquid highlighters as they look very natural on the skin.” Sheriff also vouches for “warm gold or copper-gold tones” and suggests refraining from highlighters that have “too much green or blue as these [tones] can appear ashy on the skin instead of leaving a highlighted sun-kissed glow.”

What to Shop: Ashunta Sheriff’s A-List Highlighter Picks

What to Shop: Jaleesa Jaikaran’s A-List Highlighter Picks

For more AH-mazing highlighter tips, check out these seven tricks that’ll give you ultra-HD beams.

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