Contouring a “Moon Face”

By Erin Gobin Erin Blair Beauty Studios LLC

Let me tell you about my friend Kellie. First of all, she was smokin’ hot. Total bombshell – always tan, curves that would make any girl jealous, high cheekbones and a killer smile. Kellie was hilarious, sarcastic and loud… always the life of the party. One time she showed up to a Christmas party with her hair sprayed into the shape of a Christmas tree (complete with lights and ornaments). She wasn’t afraid to call attention to herself (quite the opposite actually) and her outward appearance reflected this. She embraced glitter in all its forms and frequently sported a bright red lip.

Sadly, in 2019 she was diagnosed with a very rare and aggressive type of ovarian cancer. When she began chemo treatments and lost her hair and eyelashes and then subsequently developed “moon face” from the steroid treatments she received to strengthen her lungs, she felt unattractive for the first time in her life. She wondered aloud to me if maybe God gave her cancer to teach her a lesson about being too vain. Of course we all told her that was ridiculous, and not even a bald head or puffy face could make her unattractive.

Luckily, Kellie was a makeup enthusiast and I, one of her closest friends, was (and still am) a professional makeup artist. So whenever she was feeling less than pretty or had a special occasion we busted out the makeup palettes and were able to downplay the puffiness she was so self-conscious about, making her feel more like her normal vivacious self again.

Allow me to share some of our best tips and tricks to combat the dreaded “moon face” phenomenon.

By now you’ve probably seen some intimidating contouring videos on YouTube, or perhaps that viral image of J’Lo where she has dark brown and white stripes painted all over her face like war paint. Trust me, contouring is way less complicated than you think it is!

1) Start with two shades of face powder. One that’s just 1-2 shades darker than your skin tone and a second that’s 3-4 shades darker.

2) Using a large fluffy brush, take the first, lighter-colored powder, and buff over any areas you would like to appear less “fluffy” in a circular motion. This adds depth, creating an optical illusion that the area is smaller and further away from the viewer.

3) Use a smaller, pointed face brush to add additional depth with the darker face powder. This will create a more dimensional contoured effect.

Use this technique on the sides of your face under your cheekbones, under your jawline and on your neck.

If the perimeter of your face is puffier and larger than you’d prefer, call attention to the center of it. Add some big false lashes if you can, draw in your eyebrows a little bolder –bringing the insides just a LITTLE closer to your nose. Add some sparkly eyeshadow to your eyelids and around the tear ducts of your eyes. And my favorite Kellie tip – give yourself a bold red lip and don’t forget to SMILE!

Erin Blair Gobin has been a professional makeup artist since 2004. She is the owner of Erin Blair Beauty Studios LLC in McKinney, TX.