LOOKSMETER · GUIDE
Blush and contour placement by face shape
Every placement diagram online is drawn on an oval face, which is why copying it on a round or square face so often looks wrong. Blush, contour and highlight have one job: to move your face closer to balanced proportions. Where that means putting them depends entirely on where you start. Here is the rule, then the map for each shape.
The one rule behind every placement
Contour recedes, highlight advances, blush adds life wherever it sits. So you contour the dimension your shape has too much of, you highlight the dimension it has too little of and you angle blush in the direction you want the eye to travel. A round face has width to spare and needs length, so contour goes on the sides and blush angles upward. A long face has length to spare and needs width, so contour goes top and bottom and blush runs horizontally. Everything below is that rule applied.
Blush placement, shape by shape
Blush is the product most people place by habit rather than by shape. It is also the quickest fix.
Round
High on the cheekbone, angled toward the top of the ear. Never on the apples. Blend up, not out.
Square
On the apples in a soft rounded shape, blended slightly upward. The roundness counters the angles.
Long or oblong
Horizontally across the cheek at the level of the nose bridge, blended toward the ear. Horizontal placement visually widens.
Heart
Low and soft on the apples, kept below the cheekbone so it does not add width to an already wide upper face.
Diamond
On the apples and slightly under the cheekbone rather than on top of it, which softens prominent cheekbones instead of sharpening them.
Oval
On the cheekbone, blended toward the temple. The shape that every tutorial is filmed on, so most defaults work.
Contour placement, shape by shape
Use a cool-toned shade one to two steps deeper than your skin. Warm bronzer is for warmth, not for shadow. The two should not be confused.
Round
Under the cheekbone from the ear toward the corner of the mouth, stopping two fingers short of it, plus a soft sweep down the sides of the face from temple to jaw.
Square
On the corners of the jaw below the ear and on the outer temples, blended inward to round the corners. Skip the under-cheekbone stripe.
Long or oblong
Along the hairline across the top of the forehead and under the chin, which shortens the face. Keep the sides clear.
Heart
On the temples and the point of the chin. The goal is to narrow the top and soften the bottom.
Diamond
On the very top of the cheekbone near the temple and at the chin point, which takes width out of the middle third.
Oval
Only where you want definition, usually a light under-cheekbone shadow. Over-contouring an oval face is the most common way to lose it.
Highlight placement and the mistakes that age a face
Highlight goes on the points you want forward: top of the cheekbone, brow bone, inner corner, a touch on the cupid's bow. Shape edits the list. A long face skips the nose bridge and chin, both add length. A heart face adds the jawline to build width low down. A round face keeps highlight to the centre line and never on the outer cheek, which widens.
Three mistakes read as older on every shape: a contour that is too warm or too dark and sits as a visible stripe, blush dragged below the level of the nostrils, which pulls the face down, then shimmer highlight over texture, which magnifies it. When in doubt, use half the product and a bigger brush.
Getting the map for your own face
All of the above assumes you know your shape. Most faces are a primary shape with a runner-up. The Beauty Report reads your shape from one photo and places blush, contour, highlight and setting for it inside the complexion map, next to your foundation shade family and concealer, written for the Look you pick. The free scan gives you the Beauty Score, tier, percentile and three descriptor words first.
Frequently asked
Where should blush go on a round face?
High on the cheekbone, starting just outside the iris line and angled up toward the top of the ear. Avoid the apples: smiling and dabbing colour there widens a round face further. Keep the shape elongated rather than circular.
How do I contour a square face?
Soften the corners. Contour sits on the angles of the jaw just below the ear and on the outer temples, blended inward. Skip the hard line under the cheekbone, which adds more angles to a face that already has them. Blush goes on the apples in a rounded shape to add softness.
Where does highlight go?
On the points you want to bring forward: the top of the cheekbone, the brow bone, the inner corner of the eye, a touch on the bridge of the nose and the cupid's bow. Which of those you use depends on shape: a long face skips the chin and nose bridge, a heart face adds the jaw.
Cream or powder for contour?
Cream blends into skin and suits dry, normal and mature skin, applied before powder. Powder sits on top and suits oily skin or a full-coverage base. Either way the contour shade should be cool-toned and only one to two shades deeper than your skin, because warm or dark contour reads as a stripe.
What if I do not know my face shape?
Measure it. The free face shape detector returns a primary and runner-up shape with a match percentage from a photo. The Beauty Report uses the same read to place blush, contour and highlight in its complexion map.
Is the placement different for Everyday and Evening looks?
The placement stays the same because the face shape does not change. What changes is intensity and finish: Everyday uses a sheer cream blush and a whisper of contour, Evening deepens the contour, sets it and adds a stronger highlight for flash and low light.
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Blush, contour, highlight and setting placed for your own face shape
Face shape detector
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AI beauty report, explained
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This page is general information about facial aesthetics terminology, not medical or cosmetic advice. Scores from our tools are calibrated reads of one photo that describe presentation, never your worth.