I Just Discovered the Easiest Contouring Trick Ever From Tom Pecheux

Contouring is not easy. Sure, those folks on YouTube make it look real easy, but first off, you need to know your face shape. Next, you have to pick the perfect color that won't make it look like you smeared dirt on your face. Then you need to have right brush or sponge to apply said color. And then you need the skills to use that brush or sponge to blend your contour powder/cream/liquid so it doesn't look like a racing stripe down your face or like you're wearing 16 pounds of makeup. And let's not even get started with the highlighter. Point is, the contouring you see on social media is time consuming and tricky. But it doesn't have to be. In fact, in every day life, it's probably better you don't go that route. And today, backstage at the No. 21 Spring 2018 show, makeup artist Tom Pecheux showed me a trick that helps accentuate your bone structure in the simplest, easiest way possible.

Jason Lloyd-Evans

The focus of the makeup look for No. 21 was on the eyes. Pecheux cut the M.A.C. 21 lash strips in half and glued one half to the outer corner of left eye, and one half to the outer corner of the right eye, coating them in mascara to create a feline effect minus the cat-eye. Then, he took a grayish-taupe powder (M.A.C. Shadowy Sculpting Power) and smudged it from the outer corners of the eyes diagonally up towards the end of the brows — basically where you'd normally put the wing if you were doing a dramatic winged shadow look. Except this shadow was so soft and blended, it was almost imperceptible.

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Jason Lloyd-Evans

He then contoured the cheekbones using a mix of the Taupe and Shadowy Sculpting Powders from M.A.C.. The line of contour along the hollows of the cheeks created a parallel line to the shadow at the outer corner of the eyes. "It's subtle, but the shadow combined with the contour on the cheeks helps to frame the face," said Pecheux. Basically, it created the illusion of higher cheekbones and sharper bone structure but minus all the effort, half the products, and with no YouTube video tutorials necessary. I'll definitely be trying this one at home.

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For even more makeup and hair tricks from backstage at fashion week, check out the following:

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See how the makeup look at Jason Wu Spring 2018 came together: