How to contour the nose with an eyebrow pencil

Oct 14

Your nose - love it or hate it? I admit I've wished my nose was less round and large, but I've accepted it now. It's my nose. I have come to be affectionate towards it the way I would towards a ratty old pair of pajamas. I haven't really considered something drastic like rhinoplasty because, well, it doesn't honestly disturb me that much. I'm not the type of person whose positive image of herself can easily be ruined by something as minor as a wide nose.

But sometimes I just want to have more definition and height, y'know? Especially in photos where the flash or bright sunlight can wash out my features. I prefer to use a contour powder, but here's a handy trick I learned from YouTube: eyebrow pencils work pretty well too! I particularly like the Shiseido Natural Eyebrow Pencil in Deep Brown BR602 for nose contouring. It's the perfect matte brown shade, something that defines without looking weird and harsh!

You can use other brow pencils if you wish, but yes if you already have the Shiseido pencil then this is a great way to repurpose it. So, here's a quick tutorial on how you can use an eyebrow pencil like this to define your nose. It's super easy!

Step 1: Map out your ideal contouring areas. Your goal is to make your nose look slimmer and higher. To do so, shade along the sides of your nose. Use the tip of your nose and beginning of your brows as the reference point.

Step 2: With your eyebrow pencil draw lines along the contour area of your nose. Don't forget to put a small "u" right beneath the tip! This'll give your nose a nice sharp edge.

Blend blend blend!

Step 3: Blend the lines downwards then outwards with your finger. Remove any visible marks - you're looking for a soft finish! If the results look too faint, add a bit more of the brown until you get your desired definition. In these photos, I used about two layers of eyebrow pencil to get the results above.

Step 4 (optional): Add a shimmery beige or white right on the bridge of the nose to highlight! You can also use a matte white shadow or a foundation shade two steps lighter than your skin if you're concerned about your t-zone looking too oily.

And that's it. Easy right? ^_^ Contouring sounds so intimidating, but once you get the hang of it, you'll wonder why you never did it before. Using an eyebrow pencil cuts the application time in half!