One of the most important makeup skills you can learn is basic contouring for your everyday look. With just a few tools and products, you can easily learn how to define your cheekbones and highlight your favorite features. Ready to learn more? Follow along as we break down some basic techniques to contour your cheekbones and answer some common questions, including:

• Can you use bronzer as contour?

• How to define your cheekbones with bronzer

• How to highlight your cheekbones

Can you use bronzer as contour?

Contouring traditionally makes use of a contour powder that is a slightly darker shade than your skin. For summer, we love to contour using a bronzer instead of a traditional contour because it’s a product you likely already have in your makeup kit, and it creates a warm, flattering glow. To get ready to contour your cheekbones with bronzer, you’ll want to first gather a few supplies:

● Bronzer

● Highlighter

● Contour/blending brush

● Fan brush

How to define your cheekbones with bronzer

First, apply your bronzer beneath the cheekbones and jawline with a blending brush. We like the jane iredale Rose Gold Blending/Contouring Brush because it’s gentle on the skin and versatile enough to use with both powder and cream products. It has a large angled top that works well for contouring as well as blending.

Using a bronzer to contour is a great way to contour your cheekbones, but applying it in the wrong place can make your face look disproportionate. When determining where to apply bronzer, you can hold a pencil against your face, lining it up with the top of your ear. Its natural downward angle is where you’ll want your bronzer to go. Start back toward the ear and be careful not to drag the color too close to your mouth, as this won’t look natural.

You can also brush a bit of bronzer along your hairline and around the temples. One of the most common mistakes made with bronzer is applying it all over the forehead. The uniform color will probably look too dark against your skin, making it appear as though you simply chose the wrong shade of foundation. Instead, go for a sun-kissed look and apply bronzer only to the hairline and temples.

If you prefer a matte bronzer, one of our go-to picks is jane iredale PureBronze Matte Bronzer. This powder comes in three shades and is easy to build and blend your color. It also comes in a refillable compact, so you can just pop the bronzer pan out and refill when you’re done. If you prefer a stick formulation instead, consider jane iredale Glow Time Bronzer Stick. It has a creamy formula made with coconut oil and jojoba seed oil, so it goes on smoothly and blends effortlessly.

For a bronzer choice with a shimmery finish, you can’t go wrong with Glo Skin Beauty Powder Bronzer. This mineral-based makeup offers sun-kissed color with a touch of pearlescent shimmer. Another excellent option is Laura Geller Baked Bronze-n-Brighten, a unique bronzing product with self-adjusting pigments that goes on with a weightless feel. Each compact is created by first mixing liquid pigments until they form a marbleized pattern. Then, they’re baked on a terracotta tile to create a creamy powder texture that goes on smoothly and naturally.

How to highlight your cheekbones

The next step to define your cheekbones is to add a highlighter, which is a powder, cream or liquid product that has a light-reflecting, luminous effect to give your skin a warm glow. Laura Mercier RoseGlow Highlighting Powder is one of our favorites thanks to its finely milled texture and pearly finish that helps give your skin a naturally dewy look.

You’ll want to apply your favorite highlighter to your cheekbones and above the jawline using a fan brush. We like the Laura Mercier Fan Powder Brush because it’s designed for more precise, delicate application, making it ideal for controlling shimmery products you’ll want just a touch of, such as highlighter.

Are you looking for more ways to subtly enhance your natural beauty? You can check out six easy steps to create a no-makeup look on the LovelySkin Blog.