Saoirse Ronan Makes Yet Another Case for the Death of Contouring
Blake Lively did it, Gigi Hadid did it, Kendall Jenner did it, and now Saoirse Ronan has joined the ranks of celebrities who’ve figured out that contouring is not a necessary tactic for defining cheekbones and subtly sculpting the face. Non-touring, as it’s cleverly called, is the self-explanatory art of not contouring, and it’s pretty impressive for something that’s so damn simple.
MORE: Is Contouring Over? You Be the Judge
Non-touring works like this: Instead of adding shadows to the face for dimension, you add highlight to draw attention to the high points of the face, thereby creating definition without overdoing it. Smart! To give Saoirse the dewy look at last night’s Tony Awards, makeup artist Talia Sparrow started off with a luminous-finish foundation for the base, then used Laura Mercier Face Illuminator Powder ($44) in Devotion, a cool, pearly pink, to highlight cheekbones, followed by the same powder in Seduction, a soft bronze, to the bridge of the nose, Cupid’s bow, and brow bone.
The result is a youthful glowy effect that Sparrow says is “more natural and three-dimensional” than traditional contouring. I welcome this shift with open arms, since it means I can finally stop trying to enhance my bone structure without making my face look dirty. Win-win!
