@kkarenzeng

Karen’s Guide to the
Perfect Contour

Find your face shape, then sculpt for it. Contour is just shadow — placed to bring your face into balance, the way real light would fall.

// every face shape here drawn, shaded + mapped by me

Step 01 · which one are you?

Find your shape

Hair back, face the mirror straight on, and look at your outline — not your features. Match yourself to one of these six.

Oval face
Oval
balanced, no standout widest point
Round face
Round
as wide as it’s long, full cheeks
Square face
Square
strong angular jaw, forehead ≈ jaw
Heart face
Heart
wide forehead + cheekbones, pointed chin
Diamond face
Diamond
widest at cheekbones, narrow forehead + chin
Pear face
Pear
widest at the jaw, narrower forehead
// still unsure? quick check
as wide as it’s long · soft jaw→Round
as wide as it’s long · sharp jaw→Square
widest at forehead · pointed chin→Heart
widest at cheekbones · narrow top + bottom→Diamond
widest at the jaw · narrow forehead→Pear
all even · soft rounded jaw→Oval
Step 02

Your contour map

Bare face, where the shadow goes, and the result. The dashed map is the part to copy — soft and diffused, never a hard line.

Oval contour map
where the shadow goes
before
before
after
after

Oval

enhance

Spot it

Balanced, slightly longer than wide, with a soft jaw and no single widest point.

Where to contour

Barely anything. A soft shadow under the cheekbones, kept vertical down the sides. Your structure is already there — you’re just adding the faintest depth.

Round contour map
where the shadow goes
before
before
after
after

Round

add edges

Spot it

About as wide as it is long, with full soft cheeks and a rounded jaw.

Where to contour

Like oval, but a little more to bring in some edges. Shade vertically down the sides and stop level with your eyes. On the forehead, line it up with the arch of your brows to carve out the shape.

Square contour map
where the shadow goes
before
before
after
after

Square

soften corners

Spot it

Forehead and jaw a similar width, with a strong, angular jaw.

Where to contour

Soften the sharp corners that don’t flow with the rest of the face — usually the jaw, and the cheekbones if they’re sharp too. Round those out for balance.

Heart contour map
where the shadow goes
before
before
after
after

Heart

bring the top in

Spot it

Widest across the forehead and cheekbones, narrowing to a pointed chin. (Mine.)

Where to contour

Bring the wide top in: shade the sides of the forehead and the cheekbones, ending the cheek contour around your eyes. Sculpt the forehead edges so the widest part sits back.

Diamond contour map
where the shadow goes
before
before
after
after

Diamond

pull cheeks in

Spot it

Widest at the cheekbones, with a narrower forehead and chin.

Where to contour

Almost the same as heart — but skip the forehead, since yours is already narrow. Just contour the widest part: the cheekbones, around the eyes.

Pear contour map
where the shadow goes
before
before
after
after

Pear

sharpen the jaw

Spot it

Widest at the bottom — a fuller jaw with a narrower forehead.

Where to contour

All the focus is the jawline. Contour along the jaw to bring it in and sharpen it. Leave the top completely alone — nothing on the forehead.

Step 03

The technique (every shape)

01
Shade matters most — go grey-brown, not warm brown. A warm brown is a bronzer; it adds warmth, not shadow. A real shadow is cool and has grey in it, so a grey-brown taupe is what tricks the eye. (I use the SheGlam Sun Sculpt liquid in Soft Tan — repurchased for two years, affordable, exactly that grey-brown.)
02
Place it on your shadow zones from your map above — your widest or longest areas.
03
Blend up and back toward the hairline. Diffuse the edges — you want a shadow, not a stripe.
04
Set the outer edge with a soft powder contour for staying power and that last bit of dimension.
05
Less is more. A soft, diffused shadow always reads more natural than a heavy line — you can always build.