From The Straits Times    |

Makeup techniques and how you apply makeup are often dependent on the type of facial features you have. The way you highlight and contour, for example, is usually different depending on the shape of your face – oval, heart-shaped, square and more.

But your features play a part too. For example, the nose bridges of East-Asians are often not as high while those of South-Asian descent, like Indians, tend to have more prominent nose bridges – which is why when you are looking for a highlighting and contouring YouTube tutorial, it’s not the best idea to just follow along with a YouTuber who looks vastly different from you.

Here are six YouTube tutorials to watch, to pick up the right skill for highlighting and contouring Asian faces.

1. Pony

What is Pony (aka Park Hye-Min) known for? Her makeup skills, which have helped her transform into famous people. What are the Kardashians and Jenners known for? Extreme contouring, among other things. In this video, Pony replicates the super-sculpted makeup you see on the Kardashian-Jenner clan.

Here, she uses a concealer as a highlighter on her forehead, cheekbones and chin, and eyeshadow and contouring palette on her nose, sides of the face and jawline. One tip we learned from the video: Use loose powder to “mark off” the highlighted parts before doing the contouring as a guide, then dust off extra powder afterwards.

If you are not interested in transforming into Kylie Jenner, start watching from the 3:10 to 4:30 mark for just the contouring and highlighting parts. Otherwise, you can watch the weirdly mesmerising transformation in full – six minutes long. Pony also has a video collaboration with Etude House, where she uses the brand’s contouring sticks to teach different ways of highlighting and contouring according to different face shapes.

2. Aisha Liyana

Malaysian makeup enthusiast and Youtuber Aisha Liyana does a full glam makeup look here. Her tutorial is easy to follow, and the highlighting and contouring parts are from 5:10 to 7:05. We like that she uses affordable makeup for her look, and that the look isn’t OTT.

3. Jovita George

Youtuber Jovita George gives a lot of tips on how to contour different face shapes in this video tutorial. We like that she demonstrates each tip on her face so you can see exactly how it works.

Plus, she uses only a touch of contouring powder on the sides of her nose because she doesn’t have to “deepen” the areas as much due to her South-Asian features.

4. Banila Co

All right, this may be a video made by a beauty brand (Banila Co), but it shows you exactly how to get the 3-D dewy look the Koreans covet, using highlighter and contouring makeup. We like how the makeup artist leaves the “streaks” from the contouring and highlighting sticks on so you can see exactly where to put it before he blends it out on one side, then has the model do it herself on the other side, to show how easy the process is.

Plus, one great tip we gleaned from the video is that you can dab a little cushion foundation on a brush before blending out the lines to get a really natural effect, as it doesn’t leave any harsh lines.

5. Emily Quak

Malaysia-born, Melbourne-based YouTuber Emily Quak gives really specific tips on how to contour and highlight Asian faces here. We like how she teaches the viewer how to find the crease under the eyebrow to connect to the contour at the nose bridge to make the look more natural.

6. Tina Yong

Makeup artist/influencer/Youtuber Tina Yong has pretty much a perfect face shape with her slim jaw and pretty high cheekbones. We like how she gave a “cheat” tip: if you can’t really suck in your cheeks to determine where to contour, just draw an imaginary line from the top of your ears to the corners of your lips, and use that as a guide to place the contouring product.

This makes it much easier for people who have chubby cheeks and can’t really see a dip when they try to suck in their cheeks.

ALSO READ: 16 BEST CONTOURING MAKEUP PRODUCTS FOR DIFFERENT SKIN TONES AND 16 BEST HIGHLIGHTERS TO MAKE YOU LOOK LIKE A GLOWY GODDESS