Having a “Fake Sexy Body” Has Become a Reality in the Makeup World

By Victoria Priola

Source: E! Online

Ladies have wrapped, tucked, and squeezed their bodies for years to look like Victoria’s Secret models, when all they really needed was the right shade of foundation.

Body contouring makeup tutorials have gone viral through social media in recent weeks, targeting areas like the neck, cleavage, abdominals, collar bones and arms.

“Body contouring is great because it gives the person the option to sculpt her body and face to have more dimension,” said Lauren Christopher, CSI student and freelance makeup artist. “[With] makeup, you can transform yourself.”

When asked, Christopher said that she would body contour her clients if they requested. She also said that she has previously contoured her clients’ faces in the past.

However, some makeup artists are not too pleased with the art of contouring in general. “I hate [facial] contouring”, Bobbi Brown told Cosmopolitan. “I don’t get it. No one’s a good enough makeup artist to make it look good!”

Regardless of opinion, people will still contour whatever and wherever they can to become “picture perfect.” Your A- cups can now be C’s using only two products according to YouTuber Siennaspaldingtv, who’s full body contouring video has over 65,000 views.

The directions provided in this article can be seen in live action through the 42,900 videos that come up when a user types in “body contouring with makeup” on YouTube.

Macy’s sells Mac Studio Face and Body Foundation in tan/beige for $27. This is a prominent product in the body contouring field. All you need is one other shade that is at least three tones darker than your natural skin.

If you use foundation that’s too dark, it will expose you for the faker you are right away, but if you use foundation that’s too light, the contouring will have no effect on your skin. Liquid foundation is the best and most efficient way to contour any part of your body, so skip the powder foundation this time.

To accentuate the cleavage area, use the dark tone and an eyeshadow brush to draw on your “boobs”. Make sure they’re even; it’s best to do it in front of a well-lit mirror. Next, run the dark tone over the top and bottom of your collar bones.

You want to make sure your “boobs” pop so all the attention isn’t on your cleavage and it looks believable. If you want, add a lighter-toned foundation to the top of your breasts; this will enhance the effect. After that, blend like your life depended on it. This process should take around 10 minutes.

If you’re going to do this, do it right. Celebrities like Miranda Lambert at the AMC Awards and Kylie Jenner at the Nip+Fab launch in London have been victims of just how south cleavage contouring has the potential to go.

Jenner’s makeup artist used a darker bronzer on the top of her chest to enhance cleavage but missed the lower half of her breasts. After hours of being praised as the London makeup line’s brand ambassador on the red carpet, her contour malfunction was exposed.

In Lambert’s case, the cleavage line she was supposed to have looked more dark gray than brown. The harshness of the foundation’s undertone clashed with her skin.

Neck contouring is a bit more complicated, mainly because you can’t actually see your neck. Using two mirrors (one in back of you and one in front), you can use the same two-toned palette.

Put your hair in a high bun and draw two lines down the sides of your neck to the collar of your shirt with the darker tone. Then, take the lightest tone and dab a few drops of it down the middle of your neck. Blend, blend, blend and you’re done.

Want that washboard abs look? With the right foundation, anything is possible. Take the darker tone and, using your brush, run along the natural lines where your abdominals line up.

If you’re not sure where that would be, draw what looks like a timestable on your stomach, three lines horizontal and one vertical.

Line it up with your belly button if you need a guide. Put four small lines, no bigger than the size of a jelly bean, of the light toned foundation in between the columns of the darker tone and blend away.

Arms are by far the easiest to do, and they’re the least noticeable.

Take the darker toned foundation and draw a curved line from your arm pit to your antecubital fossa, or in less science-y terms, the opposite side of your elbow. Take the lighter tone and draw lines on the top and bottom of your bicep and blend.

Using makeup to have the “sexy body” you want is commonly done by fitness models or Hollywood stars before a photoshoot or event. The average makeup user is not advised to do this everyday because it takes a lot of foundation and a lot of patience to successfully contour your entire body.

If you’re gonna do it, own it. The key to a successful fake body is to blend; as long as you do that, everything else will fall into place.