Looking Back on a Year of Obsessive Contouring
Photo: Getty Images; Corbis
You may have entered 2015 without knowing the word contouring, but we’ll bet you know what it means now — even if you don’t know exactly how to do it. Contouring had a bigger year than Jennifer Lawrence; next to Kylie Jenner’s lips, it was beauty’s biggest trend. Its ubiquity forced us all to ask big philosophical questions about artificiality, authenticity, and blending techniques. From the Hood by Air show, to Kylie Jenner’s lopsided boobs, to the war between contour’s haters and lovers, to Amy Schumer’s “You Don’t Need Any Makeup” skit, here is a review of contour’s biggest moments.
Contouring Enters a New Era Contouring — the art of playing with shadows and light to make it look like you were born with Angela Bassett bo...
Contouring Enters a New Era Contouring — the art of playing with shadows and light to make it look like you were born with Angela Bassett bone structure — has been used by makeup artists forever, most often in drag or stage makeup. But it wasn’t until Kim Kardashian Instagrammed pictures of herself in ghostly pre-blended contour that it really became part of public consciousness. Her makeup artist calls the makeup "correctional." Questions like What is she doing to her face? and Should I do that to my face? resulted in “How to contour like Kim Kardashian” becoming a Google sensation, with over 3 million results.
Photo: Instagram
Contouring Becomes Big Business Capitalizing on beauty's newest trend, Sephora creates a “Year of Contour." There are now more contouring ki...
Contouring Becomes Big Business Capitalizing on beauty's newest trend, Sephora creates a “Year of Contour." There are now more contouring kits at Sephora (73) than there are accounts Lady Gaga follows on Instagram (24). The store also launches a contouring app called Map My Beauty.
Photo: Sephora.com
Contouring Gets More Likes Than You Ever Did
Contouring videos begin to appear on Instagram, with people showcasing befores and afters. The mor...
Contouring Gets More Likes Than You Ever Did
Contouring videos begin to appear on Instagram, with people showcasing befores and afters. The more dramatic the transformation, the more Likes, as demonstrated by this pointillism contouring video.
Photo: Instagram
We Learn Everyone Contours
Kylie Jenner makes news with her boob-contour mishap. People begin to realize that contouring is the Big Brother of ...
We Learn Everyone Contours
Kylie Jenner makes news with her boob-contour mishap. People begin to realize that contouring is the Big Brother of celebrity red carpets. It is everywhere and can be used on anything (including your lips). Jenner later says she might want to add a contour kit to her growing beauty empire.
Photo: WUF/Corbis
Beyoncé Is Way Ahead of Us All
As a reaction to all the contouring news, strobing — also known as highlighting — is dubbed the...
Beyoncé Is Way Ahead of Us All
As a reaction to all the contouring news, strobing — also known as highlighting — is dubbed the "anti-contour." Beyoncé’s makeup artist, Sir John, reveals that Queen Bey has been strobing all along, starting even before the Mrs. Carter World Your. Beyoncé wins again.
Photo: Brock Miller/Corbis
The French Brag About Yet Another Thing Of course, the French announce that they are impervious to strobing and contouring, and basically everyth...
The French Brag About Yet Another Thing Of course, the French announce that they are impervious to strobing and contouring, and basically everything Americans do.
Photo: Gigi Iorio/Corbis
Contouring Gets Haters
Critics like makeup artists Pati Dubroff and Bobbi Brown lament the trend. Brown calls the trend "artificial" ...
Contouring Gets Haters
Critics like makeup artists Pati Dubroff and Bobbi Brown lament the trend. Brown calls the trend "artificial" and refuses to do contouring or sell any contouring palettes, while Dubroff vocally calls it out on her own Instagram, labeling it a “mask” and questioning the effect it can have on self-esteem. “You can use makeup to accentuate the things you love but not to completely reimagine your face. But when they take it all off — what’s happening? What’s the psychology of it all? If there is so much time and product spent on fixing, where is the self-love?” she says. Dubroff's post draws such a strong critical reaction that she refers to it as bullying.
Photo: Instagram
Amy Schumer Asks, "What's Natural?" Amy Schumer's "No Makeup" skit pokes at the hypocrisy of men claiming that they only like...
Amy Schumer Asks, "What's Natural?" Amy Schumer's "No Makeup" skit pokes at the hypocrisy of men claiming that they only like "natural makeup." At the end of the skit, Schumer shows her pre-contoured face.
Photo: Youtube
Contour Becomes Equal Opportunity An Instagram meme making fun of the way women contour becomes popular.
Photo: Favim
Who's the Clown Now? In response to the haters who call contouring clown makeup, YouTubers like Bella De Lune try to reclaim the term. In this Yo...
Who's the Clown Now? In response to the haters who call contouring clown makeup, YouTubers like Bella De Lune try to reclaim the term. In this YouTube video with over 4 million hits, Bella De Lune says, "We did this [video] to send a message that even though you don't [do] this amount of makeup or any at all, makeup is fun and it's a way of expressing yourself. I can't tell you how many times I've been called a clown ... and have been hated on, but I just did this to show you what a real payaso [Spanish for clown] looks like." Note the poop emoji on the corner of her forehead.
Photo: Youtube
Contouring Gets High-Concept Hood by Air features models walking down the runway with pre-blended contour as the beauty look. Makeup artist ...
Contouring Gets High-Concept Hood by Air features models walking down the runway with pre-blended contour as the beauty look. Makeup artist Inge Grognard is careful to say the look is not Kardashian-inspired, and that designer Shayne Oliver requested it to fit with the collection's theme of "self-alteration." They're not trying to mock the trend, but make a statement about the way that society views body modification and the pursuit of perfection.
Photo: Joe Kohen/Getty Images
Contouring Embraces the Holiday Spirit Contouring makeup gets festive. You can contour now with candy canes and Christmas trees. Maybe menorahs a...
Contouring Embraces the Holiday Spirit Contouring makeup gets festive. You can contour now with candy canes and Christmas trees. Maybe menorahs are next.
Photo: Instagram
It Comes Full Circle In addition to texting a friend Kim Kardashian's butt, you can also send her a "kimoji" of her pre-contoured face....
It Comes Full Circle In addition to texting a friend Kim Kardashian's butt, you can also send her a "kimoji" of her pre-contoured face. There is no better emoji response to the text "Did you wake up from your nap and start getting ready yet?"
Photo: Instagram
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